A common conversation yesterday in Priesthood meeting: What are the roles of the Elders’ Quorum? And a common conclusion: the Elders function as the right hand of the Bishop, watching over the physical and temporal needs of the members of the ward. We, the Elders’ Quorum, need to be more vigilant in caring for the ward, do a better job of helping people when they have work that needs doing, and show more willingness to generally assist in increasing the welfare of the members.
These are noble thoughts, and ubiquitous. Also, they are wrong.
Anyone paying any attention in Sacrament meeting will notice that odd way in which matters pertaining to Elders are handled. New Elders are not submitted for the approval of the ward, but of the stake. New Elders’ Quorum Presidents are not called by the Bishop, but by the Stake President. Why is this?
Because ‘Elder’ is an office of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the Bishop is essentially an Aaronic officer, and the Stake functions as the first authority in matters of Melchizedek Priesthood. Let’s turn together to D&C 20:38-45. The duties of Elders include verbs like baptize, ordain, confirm, lead, conduct, teach, expound, exhort. Although there is some dispute about whether the Mosaic Law commands Elders to help ward members move in and out, the D&C makes no mention of that particular Melchizedek Priesthood duty.
So what happened? How did we take this very elevated, spiritually-oriented Melchizedek office and reduce it to a job for bellboys and valets? I think there are two things at work. First, there is the very beneficial, but ambiguous, practice of home teaching. Home teaching falls primarily on the heads of the High Priests and the Elders, but no one speaks of it in the rigorous terminology of the Priesthood. Yes, we are doing something vaguly Priesthood-related when we home teach, but it’s unclear whether home teaching pertains to either of the two orders of Priesthood, or to any particular office therein.
Now there is no good reason for this, but in today’s church, home teaching is a mostly temporal concern. That is, the average home teacher is much more comfortable offering to shovel the walks than to “teach, expound, and exhort.” Of course most of us will include a little First Presidency message, but a generous reading of the Doctrine and Covenants suggests a much more robust kind of exhortation– a true vigilance over the spiritual behaviors and well-being of one’s families. This rarely happens.
I surmise that we’ve transitioned home teaching from a spiritual duty to a temporal one mostly out of awkwardness. Because I’m not your bishop, and I’m not your leader, I feel sort of stupid “exhorting” you, as your peer. So . . . Is There Anything We Can Do For You Before We Go? Have you de-winterized your A/C yet? The upshot is that home teaching, which is a big part of being an Elder, has become a time to be the eyes and ears of the (Aaronic) Bishop, and give a little service now and then.
Cause number two: The Aaronic Priesthood is mostly a synonym for the boy scouts, a fraternity of kids that are being trained for meaningful service that will take place sometime in the future. Again, this misreads the original revelations. Go back to D&C 20, and you’ll find that Deacons, Teachers and Priests have some pretty important duties, and play a significant role in the function of the church. I am not arguing against our current system of teenage Aaronic ordination. I’m arguing against our unwillingness to give these boys the duties and privileges they deserve once they receive this very sacred and important Priesthood.
So, what’s the solution? First, the Aaronic Priesthood has to step up and do its job. That means that the Priests Quorum, with the Bishop at its head, needs to be the pivot point for helping Mrs. McGillicutty move her stuff into her storage unit on Saturday morning. They’re better equipped to metabolize the after-work donuts anyway. We need to stop taking it easy on our teenage boys. Sure, they’re teenagers, but they’re also Aaronic Priesthood holders, and they need to carry out the duties of their office.
Second, the Elders need to step up to an even more difficult challenge. We need to be the spiritual guardians of the ward. We need to be alert to spiritual needs, and administer in spiritual ordinances. This is immensely more difficult than our current role, and would take a lot of humble re-orienting. But it can start with a willingness to take an interest in the spiritual development of our home teaching families, and the other members of our quorums. True, this may cause awkwardness, but it’s better than letting your higher Priesthood power, the power of God on earth, lay quietly dormant. It’s time to expect our Priests to stop being ‘teenagers’, and it’s time to expect our Elders to stop being Priests.
Interesting. Let me add another responsibility to the Elders.
Elder Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, Priesthood Session of April 1970, p.54.
Only an Elder…. sigh.
Here’s one more indication that elders aren’t really being used in their priesthood capacity: we feel it is inappropriate to refer to them with the title of their office. “Elder Smith” refers to either a missionary or a general authority.
Great post and on the money. I’ve often brought up in Elder’s/HP’s meetings when temporal business of the church is discussed, why wasn’t the Aaronic Priesthood organizing this or that activity and then coming to us (Elders and HP’s) w/ a list of resources/Elders they need from us to accomplish the task. That would make sense to me since as Elder’s, we don’t give up our Aaronic Priesthood. But the organization part of the task should rest with the Aaronic Priesthood. However, we’ll reform on the WofW before we fix this problem, in other words, not in my lifetime.
Ryan, good point. I think this all goes back to the maxim that the Church is perfect but the members aren’t. So, if the members were perfect there would be 20 priests in each ward and they could tend to Mrs. McGilicutty’s yard and help people move and the elders could be a bit more like Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah (post-conversion). It will be very interesting to see how the Church really works during the Millennium.
As elders quorum president, I refuse to organise moves for individuals who are fully capable of organising them themselves. In fact the previous elders quorum president phoned me up the afternoon of his move and asked me to get some guys to help him out. I told him to do it himself and I went over and helped load his truck.
I agree with most of what you have said here. I especially agree with your sentiment that both the Aaronic youth and the Elders need to upgrade their service opportunities as you have outlined. But I felt that you somewhat misrepresented the proper line of authority for the Elders in the beginning of your post. While it is true that Elders are called, set apart, and ordained by the stake leadership rather than the Bishop; and the office of Bishop is an Aaronic priesthood office, it is also true that the Bishop is the presiding high priest of the ward, and as such, all priesthood holders in the ward, Aaronic and Melchizedek, are under his authority as well as that of the stake president. In effect, Elders and high priests are in two, parallel chains of command rather than just one. This means that part of the duties of Elders and high priests is to serve under the Bishop in the work of the ward which would include temporal matters such as fixing roofs as well as spiritual matters such as making sure that our home teaching families are making good progress in their spiritual lives.
It can be kind of confusing, but for me, this is one of the evidences that the organization of the Church is divine rather than earthly. We see a similar parallel command structure in the way the CES is run. In both the priesthood quorums and the CES the line of command ascends directly up to the same Quorum of the Twelve serving under the authority of the First Presidency.
John, I appreciate that clarification. I don’t think I knew that.
During the best PPI I ever had as a member of the Elders’ Quorum Presidency, the member of the Stake Presidency who interviewed me taught me more about the real responsibilites of a Home Teacher than I had learned to date.
To sum up his counsel, he suggested that each visit should include asking the following five questions: 1) Are they having personal prayers? 2) Are they having family prayers? 3) Are they doing individual scripture study? 4) Are they having family scripture study? 5) Are they having regular Family Home Evening?
The families did not necessarily need to give the answers to the Home Teachers, but those questions served as a regular check up on private and family spiritual behaviors. As I continue to ask these questions, the families generally respond with more positive answers. My favorite family (who have since moved) thanked me for asking the questions to prod them to do better at these basics.
One other thought- even though the D&C spells out the duties as they were revealed, this does not mean that they can’t be changed or added to or altered as the Lord, the President of the Church, or even the stake or ward leadership see fit. No matter what our calling or priesthood office, if you’ve been through the temple, you’ve covenanted to give all your time, talents, etc. to the building up of the kingdom. So what if it’s the priest’s job- that doesn’t mean the Elders can’t do it. I think as long as it gets done and as long as you are asked or are willing to do it, that’s what’s important.
Bryan, I completely agree. In fact, while Kim (#6) certainly shows chutzpah in refusing to do tasks he doesn’t think are the quorum’s duties, that’s definitely not what I”m proposing. I’m merely suggesting that at a macro level, a better understanding of our roles will lead to a system of church operation more in line with the Lord’s original prescriptions, and probably also bring about greater effectiveness. I would never refuse to do some assignment I see as Aaronic, 1) because I don’t think it’s good to refuse to render any service, especially when asked to do so by church leaders, and 2) because I am also a holder of the Aaronic Priesthood. But speaking not of individuals, but of quorums, each group needs to focus on the crux of its specific duties, and I think we’ve lost something of that by becoming LDS Moving and Storage.
As to whether things can change, yes, they absolutely can. But I don’t think they have changed, officially. I think that practice sometimes strays a bit from how we ought to be doing things, and I think this is one such case. If the structure I’ve outlined in my post has changed, however, I would think that inconsistent with a lot of the rest of current teachings and practice, such as running the Elders’ Quorum through the stake, separating Melchizedek and Aaronic function, etc.
P.S., thanks Ben and Alamojag for some very good ideas about making our practice as Elders more spiritual. And Steve, sorry, just don’t get the joke.
John (#7) “all priesthood holders in the ward, Aaronic and Melchizedek, are under his [Bishop’s] authority”
I thought it took a Stake president to disfellowship/excommunicate a Melchizedek holder? So, in that sense, Elders and HP aren’t under the bishops authority?
Somewhat related to the topic:
I found it curious that in Washington state (Kent) the EQ ONLY (no Aaronic priesthood) would bless and pass the sacrament on Fast Sundays.
When I moved to Utah I asked the bishop why we weren’t doing that here (I naively thought it was a church wide), but he said the SP ‘forbad’ it.
Daylan:
Whenever I have lived in a ward where the Elders passed the sacrament on Fast Sundays, the original purpose was to give new adult converts (“prospective” Elders) an opportunity to bless and pass the sacrament with their peers. In each case, however, after a year or so the Elders Quorum seemed to forget the original purpose and would no longer make it a point to invite the prospective elders to participate. After a while, it just became a once-a-month “break” for the Priests and Teachers.
Ryan-
You ought to publish an article about this for the ensign to serve as a reminder. We all need reminders like this every once in a while. I was glad to read this because I have been pondering the meaning and purpose of the priesthood quorum lately, particularly regarding the duties of the Aaronic Priesthood.
You’ve now put me on a great train of thought in pondering this issue, one that I am certain will bear good fruit in my personal life. Thanks!
Daylan,
For several years the branch we were in did the same thing of having the Melchezidek priesthood pass the sacrament on Fast Sundays. As I recall, it was for two reasons. The first, as Brent mentioned, was so prospective elders could pass without embarassment. The other reason was to remind the old guys that passing the sacrament was a Priesthood responsibility, not just a Deacon’s responsibility. That only changed when our small branch ran out of enough Elders and High Priests to staff the entire ceremony (mostly move-outs and inactives).
“I thought it took a Stake president to disfellowship/excommunicate a Melchizedek holder? So, in that sense, Elders and HP aren’t under the bishops authority?”
Not quite. A bishop can disfellowship a Melchizedek Priesthood member. It is only when the likely prospect is that the Melchizedek Priesthood holder will be excommunicated, that the Stake Disciplinary Council is convoked.
All members of the ward are under the bishop’s authority, as evidenced that all have to go to him for a temple recommend (first time), and for tithing settlement.
Whether it is a real elders quorum duty or not (I think it is a real nitty-gritty opportunity for priesthood service) it would be easier to accomplish ward moves quickly if the elders quorum really consisted of ninety-six elders.
I had a stake president in SC visit my quorum one Sunday and expound on what we should be doing as home teachers. He said it is perfectly appropriate to ask whether the families are paying tithing, keeping the WoW, living the law of chastity(!), holding FHE, etc. Someone objected, saying some of those things were between the individual, the Bishop, and the Lord. The SP said that it is true that the Bishop determines what action the church should take in response to, say, someone who is not living the law of chastity, but the HT has every right, indeed the duty, to find out where his families are spiritually and to report to the EQ Pres. or the Bishop what he finds out. The SP also said that the HT should develop enough of a bond of trust and fellowship that asking such questions would not be awkward and the families would not feel awkward about answering them.
Let me ask a bit more about Home Teaching here…The responsibility for coordinating and reporting of HT lies with the Elders’ Quorum (the High Priests Groups are often given home teaching assignments that the group leader will organize and report on, but it’s my understanding that they still do so under the auspices of the Elder’s Quorum…after all, the EQ president receives keys when he is set apart, but the High Priest’s group leader does not…correct me if I’m wrong!). But Aaronic Priesthood holders are also assigned to be home teachers. Hence, HT is not JUST a spiritual calling, but is the method the Lord has revealed for helping the saints perfect themselves both spiritually and temporally. Maybe in the best of wards, then, a Melchezidek Priesthood holder would always be paired with an Aaronic priesthood holder, so they could plan together how to meet all the needs of the families over which they’ve been given stewardship (although as several have pointed out, being ordained an Elder does not relieve us of our Aaronic Priesthood duties).
Another thought concerning moving…since the Aaronic Priesthood is also termed the Preparatory Priesthood, in that it helps train youth or new converts in the ordinances and responsibilities of the Priesthood, rather than an EQ presidency refusing to help someone organize a move (aside: in some cases, I agree that the people moving are just as capable to make phone calls as the EQ presidency. But sometimes they’re not), perhaps an EQ presidency could, when a move arises, work with the leaders of the Aaronic Priesthood Quorums to help them learn how to organize such an act of temporal service. That way everyone benefits.
Here’s the link to Steve Evans’s joke… I can’t tell you how many times my mission president made us read that article at Zone Conference. It ranked right up there with Spencer W. Kimball’s article about the missionary caught cutting the toenails of a partially undressed woman (I think it was called “Lock your Heart”).
A couple observations… first, this is very much what has been emphasized at the last couple YM open house seminars during conference week, that the Aaronic Priesthood could be more effectively and spiritually utilized. My husband is a Deacon’s Quorum adviser, and has been diligently putting these concepts in place. It is an eye-opener for most who hear these concepts, but the change can and does happen.
Second, in terms of putting the load of service on the YM, I caution that here where I live, the numbers of Elders compared to, say, the numbers of Priests is on a ratio of about 12:1. Not every church unit has an abundance of young men. This may be how the tradition that Elders Quorums address temporal needs began, in places/times where there are not many young Aaronic priesthood bearers.
I was just recently called to be Elders Q prez in a small branch on Vancouver Island BC. The branch has no young men, no priests, no deacons, no teachers. The elders quorum consists of older retired men, two men in their late 40’s and me the president…28 years old! So we the Elders quorum do everything. All the temporal and much of the spiritual. You just do what you have to do.
I love reading posts from people about how the Church should run its programs. I think if the brethren wanted to make changes to the programs as currently constituted, they would do so in General Priesthood meeting or in Worldwide Leadership Training.
Maybe you should visit lds.org and read up on what the Church’s official stance is on the duties of the Elder’s Quorum. As Elders, we don’t graduate from the temporal duties of the Aaronic Priesthood…..we gain additional duties. Being responsible for spiritual welfare does not excuse us from temporal service.
It is not quite accurate to say either that the Bishop has no authority over Elders, or that the Bishop and the Stake President share authority.
The Bishop has authority to disfellowship, and authority to approve or disapprove of home teaching assignments. (He has veto power. Realistically, one could ignore his veto, but then, one wouldn’t really be doing home teaching.) He does not, however, create the home teaching assignments, and he does not have authority over the exercise of the Melchizedek priesthood authority.
Home teaching is primarily an Aaronic Priesthood responsibility, and by doing our home teaching, we are performing a basically Aaronic Priesthood duty to watch over the members. (Though, the responsibility can sometimes provide opportunities to serve with the Melchizedek Priesthood.)
Since the Bishop’s authority does not cause him to preside in Melchizedek Priesthood matters, he cannot excommunicate Melchizedek Priesthood holders. He also does not “direct” the quorum in the broad sense. Realistically, his directions are just suggestions, but practically, one’s Stake President will generally want you to follow those suggestions (but not always).
No man can serve two masters. The Stake President is the EQ President’s next in the chain of command, not the Bishop. (If we were all really united, that might not be quite so important, but not every Bishop and every Stake President are on exactly the same page.)
You know, if parents made their kids work for a change, then by the time they were priests, they’d do the stuff. It’s our fault that the work ethic has gotten so bad.