Bishops as Presidents of Priests’ Quorums

Bishops as Presidents of Priests' Quorums BY CHARLES W. NIBLEY, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE CHURCH At the late general conference of the Church, the Priesthood Quorums Committee presented a report placing special stress upon the usefulness of the Priests' quorums to the bishoprics of the various wards, and the necessity of having a Priests' quorum in as many wards as possible. A ward of seven hundred souls should have enough young men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one to form a majority of a Priests' quorum of fortyeight. The bishop of the ward must preside personally over these priests, sit in council with them, and teach them the duties of their office, because the president of the Priests' quorum, according to the word of the Lord, is the bishop, and to preside over them is a part of his duties. He should do so in person, and should never substitute anyone else to preside over this quorum. It would be as inappropriate as to call a Seventy to preside over an Elders' quorum, or an Elder or High Priest to preside over a Seventies' quorum. The bishop, as the president of the Priests' quorum, should teach the members of that quorum how to develop faith, how to expound the principles of the gospel, including repentance, baptism, and other fundamental doctrines of the Church. They should be taught to memorize the covenant of baptism and how to baptize. They should be taught to administer the sacrament of the Lord's supper, to memorize the prayers, and to conduct themselves properly while officiating in this sacred ordinance of the gospel. They should be trained to act as messengers of the bishopric, visiting from house to house, announcing special meetings, meetings of quorums, and local business, tithing settlement, etc. ; and should be assigned their duties for the coming week and required to report at the next meeting. The bishop has a splendid opportunity to teach the members of this quorum temperance, morality, chastity, truthfulness, observance of the Word of Wisdom, the law of tithing, honor, and general good deportment, as well as their duties as denned by revelation which, as we have it in section 20:46 of the Doctrine and Covenants, is to preach, teach, expound, exhort, baptize, and administer the sacrament, also to visit the house of each member and exhort him to pray vocally and in secret, and attend to all family duties. The Priest may also ordain other priests, teachers, and deacons, and take the lead of meetings, when no Elder is present, and assist the latter in his duties if occasion requires;

1040 IMPROVEMENT ERA all this, of course, under the direction of the presiding authority. If the bishop and his counselors should feel that they themselves are not qualified to teach the Priests' quorum in these matters, they may invite members of the ward who are specially qualified to teach the Priesthood on these various topics, to do so, but such subjects should always be discussed in the presence of the bishopric of the ward. Let us ask what better persons are there in the Church to teach the Priests how, when, for what, and where, to pray than the bishopric of the ward? This same may be said in regard to teaching the Priests how to present to the Saints the principles of the gospel, the law of tithing, the Word of Wisdom, priesthood-quorum duties, the value and importance of the auxiliary organizations, etc. Properly taught these things, they could be sent out two by two to visit the delinquent members of the ward with conclusive arguments on these subjects. There is no quorum in the Church that needs the fatherly care and constant attention and companionship of the bishopric more than the Priests' quorum. They need to have conditions explained to them which they do not understand. They need to have developed in their hearts faith in the gospel, and confidence in the presiding officers of the Church. And to the extent that the bishop teaches them these things, and gives the members of these quorums his companionship, sitting in council with them, teaching them their duties, to that extent will the labors and burdens of the bishopric be lightened. Think of having a quorum of twenty-five to forty-eight young men in a ward in close touch with the bishop, working with him, in sympathy, with him, teaching the people with him, calling upon persons who have recently arrived in Zion or who have recently moved into the ward, inviting them to meetings, and notifying the various quorums and auxiliary organizations of these new arrivals in the ward ! The burden to a great extent of looking after the people would be taken from the shoulders of the bishop, and a new strength heretofore unfelt would permeate the bishopric, and at the same time would build up the community, as well as the workers themselves who would be a power of strength to the ward and the Church. Besides this, the Priests might assist or direct auxiliary organizations in taking charge of the social activities of the ward, under the direction of the bishopric, and would thus prove a valuable aid in controlling the younger boys, and in some cases setting a good example to the older persons. And in as much as it is the duty of the Priest to teach, preach, expound, exhort, etc., he should be actively engaged in the Sunday school, the Mutual Improvement Association, and other organizations of the ward ; and, when circumstances will permit, take charge of classes in these important organizations. He may also make special visits

BISHOPS AS PRESIDENTS OF PRIESTS' QUORUMS 1041 under the direction of the bishopric to those who are neglectful in their attendance at sacrament meetings. Thus taught and given work, the young men would be prepared to go into the world and preach the gospel, if necessity required, as Priests, accompanied by men holding the higher Priesthood. Here in the mission field they could develop themselves to a greater extent in the work of the Church, in preaching the gospel and teaching the people until they would be found competent and worthy of receiving the higher Priesthood and the ordinances of the House of the Lord. The present complaint which we sometimes hear that young boys are sent upon missions who are not prepared, and even, sometimes, not worthy of the authority of the higher Priesthood which is now in all cases conferred upon them before their departure for the mission field, would be silenced and avoided. In any event, no bishop should be satisfied until every member of his ward, of the proper age, is enrolled in the Priests' quorum and becomes an active member therein. The age of the Priest, from eighteen to twenty-one years, is the critical period in the life of a young man when he needs the fatherly care and influence of God-fearing men such as comprise the bishoprics of wards ; and not only the fatherly care, influence, and attention, but the training and discipline that the duties of a Priest, if properly attended to, would naturally provide him. In the regular weekly meetings, the Priests might be materially aided in their preparation for their important work, if the bishopric would read to them extracts from the Doctrine and Covenants, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and other selections, such as would bear upon their duties, and impress upon them the important labors which devolve upon them. In view of the specific instructions to the bishop contained in Doc. & Cov. sec. 107:87, 88, to preside and sit in council with the Priests, it is hoped that every bishop in the Church will make a strong effort to form a quorum or class if only of three or four, of Priests in his ward, and preside personally over them, and teach them their specific duties, set them to work, and make them living factors in the building up of the Church in their wards, and also prepare them for missionary work at home and, it is to be hoped, abroad, if conditions are so changed that labors in foreign mission fields, under the direction of the Higher Priesthood, shall be assigned to Priests. With the present population of the Church, there should be in the neighborhood of ten thousand Priests 'actively engaged in the work, and one can easily comprehend what an immense impetus for good, not only for the Priests themselves, but for the wards of the Church in general, if this great body of young and vigorous men were actively engaged in the performance of their important duties.