How did you know?

A young man recently posed to me the following question:

How did you know you were called to the priesthood? I would like to get an answer from someone I know more personally.

It is a good question and one I am not sure I can adequately answer, but I will try. Several reasons come to mind, particularly these three:

1. When I read the Scriptures and the accounts of the Lord calling the prophets and Apostles, it felt like he was personally addressing me, as well.


2. The thought of being a priest kept nagging at the back of mind and would not go away. It was persistent and so I thought it must be from God.


3. Other people told me I would be a good priest and encouraged me to consider the priesthood. God often speaks through other people.

You might think that each of these reasons would have been sufficient for me, but they were not. I t was not until I was talking with a friend in college that I really knew I was called to the priesthood. I shared with her that I thought the Lord was calling me, but I didn't understand why he wanted me. There were others more suitable and I was unworthy (truly, none of us is worthy of this call, but he calls us nonetheless). She responded with a simple question: Why not you? I had no answer and knew then what Lord wanted of me.