Moroni 10:32

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

We are perfected, or completed, only by Christ. We cannot do it on our own. All the self-help books in the world cannot change us enough to meet God's standards. Only Jesus and the atonement and the power of the Holy Ghost can make the kind of changes in us that qualify as perfection.  We must try and do our best, but we must always remember where the power to please God comes from.

Moroni 10:7

And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

God's power operates according to our faith. Our goal here is to learn to exercise faith, from which power comes. God himself works by faith. He has power because he has faith. We must therefore learn faith as a prerequisite to learning power. God's power does not vary, but as our imperfect faith fluctuates, his power in our lives waxes and wanes. Moroni is clear that it is not God who changed but us.

Moroni 2:2

And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles.

When Christ ordained his twelve special Nephite disciples, he gave them authority, but he added instructions that to exercise that authority with power, they had to pray.

Authority and power are  not synonymous. Authority is the right to do something; power is the ability to do it. We get our abilities from God. The enabling power of God is called grace. We must pray for grace, as we would for any worthwhile gift. God gives marvelous gifts, but only when we ask.

Neither can the asking be casual or occasional. The disciples, with all their authority and witness,  still needed to exercise "mighty prayer." Mighty prayer is the kind of prayer we offer when we know we are totally dependent on God's grace and no other help is available. In a mighty prayer we say, "Lord, it is you or nothing. I have nowhere else to go and no one else to lean on. Whatever you do is good, and so, give me whatever is good. Just don't  leave me alone."

Ether 8:16

And they were kept up by the power of the devil to administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as sought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms.

In Satan's unending ploy to usurp God's power, he offers his followers his own brand of power. We access God's power through righteous covenants. Satan offers his followers power through unhallowed oaths. God's power enables us to serve him by serving his children. Satan's power enables his minions to serve him by enslaving and destroying God's children. The fruits of God's power are love, peace, and joy. The fruits of Satan's power are momentary pleasure followed by misery and destruction. The differences between the true power of God and the imitation power of Satan are obvious in the bright light of day.  But Satan does not work in the light. And to the impatient and prideful natural man in each of us, Satan's brand of power can be appealing. May we hold to the light and seek that power that lifts and ennobles and fits us for service in God's kingdom.

Ether 2:14

And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord.

I am confident that a spiritual man like the brother of Jared would not have stopped praying for four years. I think what he had neglected to do was to ask the Lord for additional direction. He and the rest of the troop were perhaps satisfied with the good life they had on the beach. They had arrived at what to them was obviously the end of their journey on the shore of an un-cross-able ocean. With no place left to go, the easy conclusion was that they were in their promised land.

For four years they relaxed and enjoyed life. Yet something must have stirred the prophet to finally approach the Lord with a question. With the door of inquiry finally open, God took the opportunity to teach the brother of Jared about the mistake he had made.

The message to us is to not make assumptions about the Lord's will for us based on observable circumstances. God's plans for us almost always far exceed our own expectations. We ought not to limit his power in our lives by our own shortsightedness.

3 Nephi 28:39

Now this change was not equal to that which shall take place at the last day; but there was a change wrought upon them, insomuch that Satan could have no power over them, that he could not tempt them; and they were sanctified in the flesh, that they were holy, and that the powers of the earth could not hold them.

Power over the earth is truly rare and miraculous, but power over Satan is available to all. Satan has no power except the power we give him. We can dismiss him any time we want. All we have to say is "Get thee behind me, Satan! Get thee hence." If we really mean it, he has no choice but to depart.  Those who have bodies always have power over those who do not.  According to this scripture the three Nephites received additional power so that Satan COULD NOT tempt them.  In other words,  when they banished him, he had to stay banished, so they did not have to waste time and energy constantly casting him out. This is a marvelous gift, and in the Millennium we will all have this gift to truly bind Satan. For now,  however, we must depend on the gift we already have, which is to be able to cast him out regularly. Recall from the experience of Moses, who cast Satan out of his presence, that he may not go quietly or happily.  But if we are firm in our determination, he must leave us, at least for a period.

3 Nephi 27:1 Part 2

And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were gathered together and were united in mighty prayer and fasting.

Great power comes from unity of faith. The faith of a single individual can be tremendously powerful; the faith of many united in a single purpose multiplies the power exponentially. When we work and pray together, the individual weakness of one can be compensated for by a matching strength of another, and so the whole group can be perfect. God loves a united people.

3 Nephi 19:35

And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying he came again to the disciples, and said unto them: So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief.

Christ saw evidence of the people's faith in their diligent prayers. Humble, sincere prayer, led by the Holy Ghost, is one way we can show God our faith. When we pray in faith, we invite the Lord to do wonderful things in our lives. Without prayer, we cannot be aligned with God's will, and he will not exercise his full power in our lives.

3 Nephi 7:17-18

And he did minister many things unto them; and all of them cannot be written, and a part of them would not suffice, therefore they are not written in this book. And Nephi did minister with power and with great authority. And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.

Nephi is an example of one to whom God granted great power to do good by degrees. Step by step he learned obedience, and with each step he gained more power. The more faithfully and righteously he used that power, the more power he received. Eventually God gave him all power on earth because he knew Nephi would do much good with it and would never abuse it. 

We gain power in the same way, step by step, in small degrees, one test at a time. If we want more power, we must use the power we now have in all diligence and in total obedience. We must recognize our gifts from God, honor them, and always ask God how he would have us use them. The better we use the power we have, the more power we will receive.

Helaman 16:6

But the more part of them did not believe in the words of Samuel; therefore when they saw that they could not hit him with their stones and their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: Take this fellow and bind him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him.

Isn't it interesting that the unbelievers were willing to ascribe Samuel's miraculous protection to the power of the devil rather than believe it came from God. Apparently any ridiculous belief is better than the truth when the truth involves God. Today people would rather believe in the random chance of evolution than to admit an Intelligence in their own creation.

Helaman 12:8-23

For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God. Yea, behold at his voice do the hills and the mountains tremble and quake. And by the power of his voice they are broken up, and become smooth, yea, even like unto a valley. Yea, by the power of his voice doth the whole earth shake; Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to the very center. Yea, and if he say unto the earth—Move—it is moved. Yea, if he say unto the earth—Thou shalt go back, that it lengthen out the day for many hours—it is done; And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun. And behold, also, if he say unto the waters of the great deep—Be thou dried up—it is done. Behold, if he say unto this mountain—Be thou raised up, and come over and fall upon that city, that it be buried up—behold it is done. And behold, if a man hide up a treasure in the earth, and the Lord shall say—Let it be accursed, because of the iniquity of him who hath hid it up—behold, it shall be accursed. And if the Lord shall say—Be thou accursed, that no man shall find thee from this time henceforth and forever—behold, no man getteth it henceforth and forever. And behold, if the Lord shall say unto a man—Because of thine iniquities, thou shalt be accursed forever—it shall be done. And if the Lord shall say—Because of thine iniquities thou shalt be cut off from my presence—he will cause that it shall be so. And wo unto him to whom he shall say this, for it shall be unto him that will do iniquity, and he cannot be saved; therefore, for this cause, that men might be saved, hath repentance been declared. Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved.

God has power over all physical creation and all the elements. Man also has limited power over physical elements,  but man's power is different from God's. Man's power depends on force and coercion.  Man can move a mountain,  but it takes time, physical exertion, tools, machinery, and explosives. God moves the mountain by his word alone. His voice is sufficient. He speaks his will and the elements obey. They move of their own accord without coercion or compulsion. Whatever man can do, God can do better, bigger, faster, easier, and he has done it first.

At the end of this long list of powers is the one power that man cannot emulate or usurp.  That is God's power to save us. God may delegate many powers to man through the priesthood, including the power to seal up into eternal life, but only God can grant eternal life. Only he can save our immortal souls through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Helaman 6:30

And behold, it is he who is the author of all sin. And behold, he doth carry on his works of darkness and secret murder, and doth hand down their plots, and their oaths, and their covenants, and their plans of awful wickedness, from generation to generation according as he can get hold upon the hearts of the children of men.

Satan gets a hold of our hearts only to the degree that we grant him access. He has no power but what we give him. He wants to fully manipulate us but can do so only if we let him. God, on the other hand, has the power, but he will never use it to control us. He wants us to yield to him out of love, and he will expand our power as we do so.

Helaman 5:11

And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.

Of all the powers given to Jesus, the power to redeem us is the greatest. Through this power Christ can right every wrong, repair every injustice, heal every wound, and remove every sin. He can bring equality to all who have suffered the inequalities of mortality. He has the power to make us an exalted seat right next to his on the throne of heaven, as if we were his equals. That is power indeed!

Helaman 4:25

Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish.

Man for man and toe to toe, a wicked Nephite was no better off than a wicked Lamanite. Left to our own mortal strength, we are no stronger than anyone else. But God's power on our behalf tips the scales in our favor every time.

Helaman 3:27-30

Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name. Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.

If I were marooned on a desert island and could have only one small section of scripture to keep me company, I might choose these four short verses. Mormon sums up a series of lessons learned by the Nephites during a period of relative peace following many years of war. These are truths about how God works with his children in all ages of the world. This brief discourse sums up the whole Gospel of Christ:

1. God is merciful when we sincerely repent.
2. Everyone who repents is welcome in the church and kingdom of God.
3. True members of God's kingdom believe in Christ.
4. We choose belief and faith. 
5. The word of God is not just the written scriptures. It is also revelation, both through the prophet and personally to each of us.  We must choose to receive and obey revelation.
6. Revelation from God is life-giving and powerful to change our lives. 
7. When we live the gospel, we can avoid and overcome the temptations of Satan. The gospel leads on a strict path back to God.
8. To live with God permanently is our ultimate goal and destination.
9. We can look forward to the same exaltation as the patriarchs and prophets. 

Alma 58:10-11

Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people. Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.

The greatest weapon we have against the adversary of our souls is prayer. Prayer aligns us with God, his plan and strategy. By ourselves and armed only with our own power, we are no match for Satan's opposing forces. But armed with the power of God, we can come off conqueror. Note that when Helaman's army prayed in faith, they received more faith. Note too that even before the battle had begun the Lord assured them of victory through a testimony of peace from the Holy Spirit. If we pray in faith and with our whole souls -- holding nothing back -- God will replace fear with faith. Though we still have to face the battle, God will fight for us and deliver us. It is his power, coupled to our agency, that carries the day every time.

Alma 57:26

And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.

Faith is the key to power. When we have faith in God's power, we unlock his power in our lives. 

Now,  Helaman points out that thousands of patriotic and righteous Nephites died in battle while the two thousand stripling warriors all survived. Surely God did not love the Nephites less than the Lamanite youths. Yet he demonstrated his power on their behalf to a greater degree than he did on behalf of the fallen Nephites. The difference must have been in the nature of the faith of Helaman's boys. Their faith drew down the powers of heaven in a way that the Nephites' faith could not. Captain Moroni obviously had great faith and personal righteousness. His army had the faith to follow him,  but they may have had more faith in Moroni than in God. They had faith that God would bless and prosper the army but not themselves personally. The young warriors, however, had faith that God would preserve them personally and individually.

God can be as specific in his power as we are in our faith. If we have specific faith, God will manifest specific power.

The lesson of the stripling warriors is that God has the power to save us. He can protect us from the enemy of our souls, even if others around us seem to be succumbing. If we have faith in him, even though we may be wounded, he will heal us through the atonement of Christ and bring us home safely to him.

Alma 54:20

Nevertheless, I will grant to exchange prisoners according to your request, gladly, that I may preserve my food for my men of war; and we will wage a war which shall be eternal, either to the subjecting the Nephites to our authority or to their eternal extinction.

The war we fought in heaven against Lucifer and his followers continues here in mortality. It is a war of power and pride. It is the war that goes on within each of us. The question is always the same: who will be in charge? Who will run the show? It is a question we must answer within ourselves every day and every hour. Is God in charge of our lives, or is Satan? We get to make that choice constantly.

Alma 49:23

Thus the Nephites had all power over their enemies; and thus the Lamanites did attempt to destroy the Nephites until their chief captains were all slain; yea, and more than a thousand of the Lamanites were slain; while, on the other hand, there was not a single soul of the Nephites which was slain.

The message here is that we can have all power over the enemy of our soul. If we do not let him in, but resist his every attempt, he can do us no mortal harm. We may sustain an occasional flesh wound as he batters at our defenses from without, but he cannot have any real, lasting effect.

Alma 44:5

And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us.

Power is found in faith, in worship, in true religion, in faithful activity in church, in doing our duty towards our families, in support of righteous causes, and in the study of the scriptures. We don't need superheroes, we need super faith.