Priesthood Quorums

PRIES All matters pertaining to the Aatonic Priesthood under this heading, ate prepared under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric. Handbook for Weekly Ward Priesthood Meetings A booklet of instructions has been is- sued by the Presiding Bishopric relative to the holding of the weekly meeting of the acting ward teachers and all members of the Aaronic Priesthood, under the direc- tion of the ward bishopric. Inasmuch as gospel teaching will hence- forth not be given in the priesthood quorum or class meetings, these classes can be devoted primarily to the training of all priesthood members in the purpose and responsibilities of the priesthood, to the systematic performance of duty, and to the development of quorum identity. In like manner the general assembly of ward teachers and Aaronic Priesthood can be applied directly to the training in, and performance of, effective ward teaching. All of this work can be so arranged as to require not more than one-half hour of prompt, intensive effort. It is realized that to achieve the pur- poses above specified most satisfactorily, and to produce the desired development in all the young men who bear this Priest- hood, weekly meetings of the kind herein described, under enthusiastic leadership, are very important. The time for the holding of this week- ly meeting should be such as will prove most convenient and desirable to all con- cerned. Every effort should be made to secure the largest possible attendance of the priesthood, and to make the meetings most profitable. Success in Priesthood Meetings During the Summer Elder Arnold D. Miller, North Davis Stake Presidency (At the Bishop's Meeting, Assembly Hall, Oct. 8, 1927) I will direct my remarks to the work we have accomplished in the Syracuse ward, where I labored in the bishopric for nearly seventeen years. In reading the instructions that have been given to us by those who preside, we are advised that wherever possible priesthood meetings should be held throughout the year, that there be no vaca- tion period during the summer months. We did this in our ward during the entire time I was in the bishopric, and we have been amply repaid for the effort it has taken to put over this work. The greatest difficulty was due to the fact that while we were trying to hold meetings weekly throughout the summer months, adjoining stakes held them only once a month. The result was a number of our members felt that we were trying to do something not required in other stakes. The natural tendency is to follow the line of least resistance. We found, therefore, that it was a handicap to hold meetings in the summer when other stakes discontinued that work. Our ward is a farming community. A statement was made at the meeting held here six months ago, that in five minutes every boy of Latter-day Saint parentage could be reached by the ward supervisors. In our ward it is considerably different. Our meetinghouse is centrally situated, but our people are located over a radius of three miles in every direction therefrom. We are living on farms, — twenty, thirty, sixty and eighty-acre farms; so you will under- stand that we have long distances to travel, and it takes some effort to get there. During the summer months, when the irrigation season is on, fully 10% of the priesthood members are busy with various irrigation streams, so that we have a larg; number of excuses during that period. Yet in our summer reports of the Lesser Priest- hood. 70% of the officers and teachers attended during June. July and August;

PRIESTHOOD QUORUMS 545 46'/( of the Lesser Priesthood and about V\ of the Melchizedek Priesthood at- tended the weekly meetings. We attribute that success to holding our meetings continuously throughout the en- tire year. As a bishopric, we have been thoroughly converted to the necessity of holding these weekly meetings. When we come to the meeting and find twenty, thirty or forty fine boys — the future lead- ers of the Church. — regularly attending their meetings during the busy season, we feel ashamed even to think of discontinuing the meetings during any part of the sum- mer months. We have expected the class leaders to be present regularly. If a class leader is absent more than twice in succession, we must know why. If he is not interested enough to come out and take care of his class, we want to know why. If he is unwilling, we are ready to release him and sustain another man to take his place. In advancing the young men we have tried to follow the instructions given by the Presiding Bishopric. Boys like to group together and we often find that younger boys arc grouping with older boys, and when we come to advance them strict- ly by age limit, we separate groups of boys formerly interested but they often be- come disinterested after we break up their group. Some go ahead and some are left behind. We have tried to promote from one grade of the priesthood to the other in groups, and yet we sometimes find dif- ficulty in doing so. It was very marked in one instance where certain ones in a group of boys had become just a little wayward. We had to separate them in making the advancement. But. generally speaking, we found that it was more suc- cessful to promote in groups, and keep the groups together, where practicable. Nothing will keep up interest among boys better than group contest work, hence the supervisor in our ward is running a contest and allowing the boys' groups points for individual attendance at Sun- day school, Sacramental and Priesthood meetings, and for the performance of as- signments given by those who preside over them. The boys are grouped so that the deacons are contesting against the teachers' quorum. In the last two contests the teachers' quorum has lost. In the deacons' quorum there was practically 100'; at- tendance at Sunday school. Sacramental and Priesthood meetings. As boy9 get older, it is a little more difficult to hold them in the active line of their duty. One of the most important steps that the Church has taken is in laying stress upon the stimulation of this work of the Lesser Priesthood. It is one of the broad- est and finest fields that a man can labor in, — that of working with the young men of the Church. If I had my choice, it would be to labor with the young men, — the Lesser Priesthood of the Church. There is no need to fear that any other activity will take the place of priesthood work. If we put into thi9 work the sys- tematic organization and detailed work given to other organizations, priesthood work will appeal to our boys even more thoroughly than any other, because it comes from a divine source. Field Notes Aaconic Priesthood Meeting, St. George Stake. President William O. Bentley re- ports that on the first Sunday in January the Aaronic Priesthood meetings were started throughout the stake at 9:25 a. m. However, they had very few in attendance and it did not promise great success. The following Sunday in several of the wards the time of the priesthood meeting was changed to immediately after Sunday school, with the result that nearly 50% of the priesthood were in attendance at the meeting, and the order of business as suggested by the Presiding Bishopric was carried out and proved quite satisfactory.