Priesthood Quorums

At! matters pertaining to the Aaconic Priesthood in this department are prepared under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric. Organizing the Quorum for Service The new era confronting the priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints — ^thc new era characterized by greater activity on the part of all quorums, whether from the viewpoint of class work in auxiliaries, of quorum affairs proper, or of service to the Church — -this new era finds the 64th Quorum of Seventy, not on!y rejoicing at the prospect of greater opportunity, but already organized and prepared to discharge fully its responsi- bilities. Indeed, it may be said that this quorum, for several months past, has been actively promoting a program entailing the essentials of the plan presented in Nibley Hall by Elder David O. McKay, addressing the joint meeting of priesthood quorums from Oneida, Benson, Cache, Logan, Hyrum and Bear River stakes. In anti- cipating this commendable development in the affairs of the priesthood, the 64th Quorum of Seventy lays no unwarranted claim to distinction; but it is happy in the belief that to all quorums has now come the opportunity to serve in a manner con- ducive to as much satisfaction as has been realized by the members of this particular group. The Cache stake presidency, having recognized the unusual interest and ac- tivity of this quorum, hasi requested that I discuss its plan of organization and the scope of its activities. In responding to this request, I desrie to make clear at the out-set the fact that the success of the 64th Quorum of Seventy is due, in large meas- ure, to the foresight and enthusiastic leadership of our senior president. Brother Edgar Everton, whose ability in this field was recognized even before he came to the presidency, and is appreciated more and more as, one after another, his proposals are put into effect. Fired by his con- tagious zest for the work that has been undertaken, the other six presidents of the quorum have taken hold of their re- spective assignments with a determination that breeds success; and this has been passed on, in turn, to every member of the quo- rum, with the result that there is unity of purpose and concerted, effective action in all matters coming before the group. The fundamental basis of the quorum's activities is the belief that every quorum should have something to do — that an idle quorum is not only a useless, but potentially a dangerous, unit in the priest- hood. It is vital to the priesthood that it be kept active; to allow any quorum to stagnate is to invite decay. Motivated by this belief, the 64th Quo- rum did not await the assignment of tasks to be performed by it; rather, it stepped forward and requested that its bishops and its stake presidency give it something con- structive to do. It went even further than this: It came forward with the declara- tion that it was organized and ready to render service, that it was already in ac- tion, so far as concerned its internal affairs, and that it was eagerly seeking other tasks to which it might apply itself. These requests, naturally enough, met with willing response. That the response was not so ready as we might have wished it to be is pardonable, in view of the fact that bishops and stake presidents are not accustomed to having priesthood quorums coming to them in quest of work. It took a little time for our brethren to sense our earnestness, and to recover from the severity of the first shock of our requests. But a favorable response was forthcoming, and the quorum now is rapidly finding its place in ward and stake affairs and there is a growing readiness on the part of presid- ing officers to assign to the quorum tasks which demand attention and close appli- cation. Since the present activities of the 64th Quorum of Seventy really had their be- ginning in the Logan Ninth ward, it is

PRIESTHOOD QUORUMS 615 well that the Ninth ward unit be used to illustrate the plan of quorum organization and to show how it functions. It will be easier then to see how this plan is carried over into the quorum as a whole, and to appreciate its potential value. First of all, it was decided that the Ninth ward seventies should adopt the project plan of work; that is, the work should be organized on a project basis and different members of the quorum assigned the responsibility of advancing the purpose of each project. With this plan in mind, these seventies looked about them for duties that might be taken up on the project basis. What were some of the things bothering the bishop which might just as well be taken over by the seventies? Well, for one thing, there was the matter of handling missionary farewell parties; and the parties given to returning missionaries. Then there was the ever recurring problem of keeping up the membership of the ward choir; surely the bishop would gladly be relieved of this duty. And what of en- couraging the lesser priesthood in more regular attendance at priesthood meetings? It was perfectly obvious that there were many tasks awaiting the applica- tion of sincere effort. So, without further ado, the seventies approached their bishop and requested that he turn over to them all missionary parties, the problem of mem- bership in the ward choir, and other mat- ters as they might arise. You may imagine how their bishop felt toward these eager seventies. It would not have been surprising had he embraced them! Certainly, he and his counselors were not disposed to withhold the as- signments; and ever since that time the seventies have conducted every missionary party in the Ninth ward and have main- tained a good membership in the choir. Acting under instructions issued subse- quently, they have also lent consistent encouragement to the lesser priesthood in increasing attendance at regular meetings. In a number of other ways, equally effec- tive service has been rendered; and, what is of perhaps greatest importance, the members of the quorum have found life and purpose in their calling. That these seventies possess under- standing of human reactions is shown by the fact that they early appreciated the need of social activities in quorum affairs. Occasional relaxation, induced by some social event, affords necessary relief from constant application to duty. Hence, pro- vision has been made whereby the Ninth ward seventies, at times, may assemble, with their wives and sweethearts, for eve- nings given to pleasure. And the social activities thus engendered are projected on exactly the same basis as the other projects outlined. Just as a committee has been assigned to look after missionary parties; just as another committee has been as- signed the task of maintaining the choir membership, and just as another has been given the responsibility of attendance at lesser priesthood meetings, so a fourth committee is detailed to provide social needs. In this manner, the entire program of the ward seventies is so distributed as to give every member an opportunity to keep active, and, thereby, interested in his calling. With the recent complete reorganization of the 64th Quorum, it was natural and logical that Brother Everton should be set apart as senior president; and it was cer- tain, also, that, once he had been given this larger task to perform, he would set himself to expanding on a quorum basis the plan which has proved so successful in the Ninth ward. Consequently, re- organization had scarcely been effected before the presidents of the quorum were called together to consider ways and means of making the 64th Quorum function as it was agreed it should function in the affairs of its four wards, the 9th, 4th and 3rd wards of Logan and the Benson ward. Frank discussion led to the decision that, so far as concerned the quorum itself, all activities should be grouped under at least four main heads, as Membership, Finance, Social and Music. It was further decided that, in each of the four wards represented, ward activities should be undertaken in much the same way as they had been as- sumed in the 9th ward. And, in order to unify the organization of the quo- rum, it was agreed that each ward should appoint a membership committee, a fi-

616 IMPROVEMENT ERA nance committee, a social committee and a music committee, the chairman of each of these committees to be dealt with directly by that president of the quorum who had been appointed chairman of the corres- ponding quorum committee. Thus, there was set up an organization which permits of ready and free action in all matters the quorum undertakes. In the matter of membership, for ex- ample, the quorum chairman on member- ship, deals directly with each ward chair- man on membership; and he is able promptly to get action when it comes to insuring attendance at quorum meetings, representation in temple work, and so on. In the same manner, it is possible for the quorum chairman of finance, to get action through the respective ward chairmen; and for the quorum chairman of social ac- tivities, to stimulate action in either ward or quorum affairs. Likewise, the quo- rum chairman of music, through the various ward chairmen, has been able to assemble our male chorus, of more than twenty voices, which has so well enter- tained on many occasions. In addition to maintaining this more or less fixed form of organization, each pres- ident is expected to encourage, in his ward, as many additional activities as possible, so that there shall always be enough work in prospect to keep every member of the quorum active. The purpose of the membership, social and music committees has already been in- dicated; but the major purpose of the finance committee probably should be clarified. It is well understood that one of the primary duties of a seventy is to preach the gospel. It is equally well un- derstood by most seventies that this duty is extremely difficult of performance. Comparatively, few seventies have been able to discharge this responsibility as they would like to do. Seventies, as a rule, are young men with families, and with in- comes usually little more than adequate for their family needs. It is seldom that a seventy finds himself in a position that would warrant his serving in the capacity of a missionary. This being true, the next best thing is for him to help another person to preach the gospel. In other words, if the seventy himself is unable to preach, let him preach by proxy. Not wishing to evade the responsibility of their calling, but being unable, in most cases, Ito serve as preachers of the gospel, the seventies of the 64th Quorum have decided that they will maintain a mission- ary fund to be used, as wisdom dictates, in support of missionary work. To this end, they ^re pledging themselves to contribute regularly to this fund, in amounts propor- tionate to their ability to pay. And it is the duty of our quorum chairman of finance to see that these contributions arc forthcoming and that the missionary fund is properly administered. Another provision of the quorum is that a specified amount; namely $2.00 a year for each member, be used to defray current expenses which, plainly, are in- evitable if the desired social and fraternal functions and obligations of the quorum are discharged. The ease with which the 64th Quorum can fit into the proposed plan of priest- hood, activity is apparent. We have our quorum organized for just the kind of service that, henceforth, shall be expected of every branch of the priesthood. Our membership committee, functioning through the senior president of the quo- rum, is already in a position to stimulate attendance at auxiliary and at weekly and monthly quorum meetings. Our finance committee already is laying a foundation for even greater activity; and our social and music committees are prepared to sug- gest and help promote ways of providing for the social and musical requirements. Moreover, in the various wards, the quo- rum is already organized to receive in- structions and assignments from the bishops, and to carry these assignments to completion. While, doubtless, there are other and better ways to organize a quorum of the priesthood for service, the plan upon which the 64th Quorum of Seventy is organized is proving successful; and this plan may serve to indicate how other quorums may be brought up to that stage of efficiency wherein they may be most valuable in furthering the great work of the Church. — P. V. Cordon. Logan, Utah.

PRIESTHOOD QUORUMS 617 Aaronic Priesthood Day On May 15, this year, it will be 99 years since John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. For many years, the First Presidency of the Church have requested ward and stake officials to observe the Sab- bath nearest this day as a time for special consideration of Aaronic priesthood activ- ities. This year, on May 13, it is desired that the sacramental meeting be given to the consideration of Aaronic Priesthood work, and that the meeting be conducted and the program given, as far as possible, by young men holding this Priesthood. The program for this meeting should be carefully worked out, and assignment of subjects made to priests, teachers and deacons in ample time for them to prepare properly. In the past, singing has been done largely by these young men, who have been carefully trained before hand. The subjects assigned have had a bearing on the history, authority and possibilities of the Aaronic Priesthood, each ward being left to work out its program in a manner best suited to the local conditions. A spe- cial effort should be made to have 'every individual in each ward who holds the Aaronic Priesthood present at this meeting. To accomplish this, active quorum mem- bers should be assigned to do missionary work with inactive members between now and that date. Acting teachers may lend encouragement in the home during their regular monthly visit. Special seats should be reserved for all members of the Aaronic priesthood quorums. One of our educators has said. "One of the great Jpurposes of Priesthood study is to increase the faith in the divine mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. But just what does that phrase 'increase our faith' mean to each of us.'* Does it mean a deeper, wider, more sympathetic comprehension of the plan of salvation? Does it mean a warmer, less selfish love toward God and toward our fellow-men? Does it signify a more ener- getic doing, as well as a more ardent feel- ing? Surely, true faith can mean nothing short of all these things. Grounded in the deep soil of intellect, it grows luxuriant in the foliage and effervescence of the emo- tions, only to culminate in the ripened seed, represented by the activity of the will." In the young men of the Church beginning their career, this thought should be firmly implanted. Hurrah for the Deacons! As evidence of the practical service ren- dered by the deacons in many wards and stakes throughout the Church, and as an example for others to emulate, we pub- lish a letter received by H. Eugene Hughes, leader of the deacons in the Spanish Fork Second ward. It was written by a local widow whom the deacons had assisted. "Hurrah for the boys they call deacons and scouts. Bless them for the good they do. When our task seems hardest and weeds thick in the row, the dear boys come and make it easy to hoe. When we get sick, they tome with a helping hand. So, dear Lord, bless the boys, that women may be proud they are the mothers of such good, charitable men." Field Notes Ward Teaching. Fremont Stake — To secure more effective ward teaching, a stake com- mittee, of seven men, has been appointed to supervise generally the work of ward teaching in the fourteen wards. This committee pre- pares the monthly messages and makes pro- vision for anything the bishopric of any ward may wish to present. The second Wednesday of each month is set apart for ward teaching. Each pair of teachers is assigned from three to six families. The members of the various wards are re- quested to reserve this evening for ward teach- ing. In the more compact wards the bishopric and the ward teachers meet at the chapel in the evening for prayer and instructions. In the scattered wards two places are designated for this preliminary meeting. If. for any reason, they are unable to do all of the ward teaching that evening, the remainder of the teaching is done immediately following the monthly teachers' report meeting. The committee is in touch with all the various wards each month, and assists the bishoprics in promoting promptness and thor- oughness in ward teaching.