authority

au·thor·i·ty

1. The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience

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re·spon·si·bil·i·ty

1. The state or fact of having a duty to deal with something.

2. The state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something.
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ac·count·abil·i·ty

: the quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions accountability

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Authority is one of a kind of power, it devolves from one of greater power, a sort of feudal hierarchy of might. It is done by commandment

Responsibility is a kind of accountability, it devolves from a delegation of accountability, usually because the delegator doesn't wish to be held accountable.

Both accountability and power are assumed, usually willingly and often voluntarily. They are democratic virtues. Sometimes, they are a burden to be carried for a time and then happily surrendered, as Cincinnatus. The tenure of responsibility and authority is left to the discretion of the overlord and are authoritarian values.

it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.  ...  men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;  For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. -- Doctrine and Covenants 58

ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free. He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you. -- Helaman 14

 Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.  All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.  Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light. And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation. Doctrine and Covenants 93

Do we have authority or priesthood power? Are we responsible or accountable? The power of agency is neither created nor made. Our accountability is in our wise use of agency. Neither is by delegation or commandment. At the existential level, we are plainly not responsible or authorized, we are accountable and powerful. However, we are not powerful merely to gratify our greed, our prejudices or whims: our power must be used for good (D&C 121:41) or it ceases to be. We are accountable before God for doing good.

Notions such as responsibility, authority and obedience have crept into our wisdom and speech from feudal sources in which a despot holding worldly power replaced a perfected being who was accountable, powerful and wise because he was good. These feudal concepts still cloud our vision of our purpose and divert us from holiness to submission to authority, or from accountability to responsibility and from agency to mimicry. It is time to put aside the lesser values and take up the greater values, eternity accepts nothing less. We don't train for 4-foot hurdles by practicing on 2-foot hurdles.