PRIESTHOOD AND AUXILIARY LEADERS’ GUIDEBOOK PRIESTHOOD AND AUXILIARY LEADERS’ GUIDEBOOK Published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salt Lake City, Utah Contents Introduction 1 Priesthood 4 Auxiliaries 11 Curriculum and Teacher Improvement 15 Leadership 17 Obtaining Church Materials and Locating Information on Family History 22 Distribution The Priesthood and Auxiliary Leaders’ Guidebook is for priesthood and auxiliary leaders who are new to the Church and have limited Church experience. It will also be useful for leaders in more established areas. It explains principles and practices to help priesthood and auxiliary leaders fulfill their callings. © 1992, 2001 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America English approval: 3/01 Introduction The Church prepared this guidebook Share the Gospel to help priesthood and auxiliary lead- ers learn the responsibilities of their callings and how to fulfill them. All leaders and other Church members are to help accomplish the mission of the Church, which is to invite all people to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him” (Moroni 10:32). To accomplish this mission, leaders help members: •Proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Share the gospel by bearing testimony as prompted by The Lord asks Church members to the Spirit. share the gospel. Leaders are to do so themselves and should encourage and •Perfect the Saints. Help new con- inspire other members to do so. Some verts progress in the Church by ways to share the gospel include: ensuring that they have a friend and an assignment and are nour- • Setting a good example of living by ished by the word of God. Receive gospel principles. the ordinances and make the •Telling friends and family members covenants of the gospel, strive to about the gospel and the blessings keep the commandments as they it brings into their lives. have promised, serve their fellow- men, care for the poor and needy, • Assisting district or full-time and fellowship one another to build missionaries. the community of Saints. •Planning activities and programs •Redeem the dead. Identify deceased to introduce the gospel to others. ancestors and perform temple ordi- Another way to share the gospel nances for them as far as reasonably is to help members prepare to serve possible to prepare for family full-time missions. Leaders can help exaltation. youth prepare to serve, encourage 1 parents to prepare their children the gospel and urging them to live it. for missions, and encourage retired They should encourage members to couples to serve missions. Further, draw close to the Lord by praying, they can counsel members to fasting, partaking of the sacrament, save money to pay for their own and studying the scriptures and the missions and to support missionaries teachings of latter-day prophets. financially. They should provide opportunities to serve, ensure that Church meetings Under the direction of the branch are spiritually edifying, and show president, the branch mission leader love by ministering to members (when called) coordinates missionary individually. work in the branch. Efforts to perfect the Saints should focus on individuals and families. Perfect the Saints The Church strengthens and supports Perfecting the Saints includes encour- families and homes. The home is the aging and helping each member live most important place for gospel the gospel each day to prepare for teaching and leadership. Leaders exaltation. Perfecting the Saints has are to encourage family members to love and serve each other and are both a spiritual dimension and a tem- to emphasize that parents have a poral dimension. responsibility to teach the gospel to Spiritual Preparation their children and to hold family home evenings regularly. All members of the Church should prepare to receive the blessings of the temple. Members’ responsibilities for doing this are outlined in the Family Guidebook (31180). Leaders can help members prepare to receive temple blessings by teaching them about the temple. Leaders are to encourage members to live worthily to obtain and always have a valid temple rec- Leaders should pray continually for ommend and to receive their temple inspiration to know how to help endowments and temple sealing ordi- members increase their spiritual nances where reasonable. A worthy strength. Leaders can help members person is one who has entered into prepare spiritually by teaching them covenants with the Lord, such as the 2 baptismal covenant, and is striving Temple Ordinances and diligently to keep these covenants. Family History Physical and Temporal Preparation Leaders can help members prepare to meet physical and temporal needs by teaching them to be self-reliant and to prepare for unexpected events. Leaders can teach members to live the law of tithing and the law of the fast, encourage them to live within their means, and assign home and visiting teachers to watch over and help them. Leaders should seek out and help In addition to receiving their own care for the poor and the needy in the temple ordinances, members help branch and teach branch members to redeem the dead by identifying their do likewise. ancestors and performing temple ordinances for them. They should For more information about how concentrate initially on the first four members can meet their physical generations of their ancestors. needs, see the Family Guidebook. Leaders can help members by teach- ing them the doctrines relating to the redemption of the dead, encouraging them to submit names for temple work, and encouraging them to perform temple ordinances, where possible, for their ancestors and for others who have died. 3 Priesthood The priesthood is the power and sengers restored priesthood authority authority of God. Through it, He to the earth through the Prophet accomplishes His work and glory, Joseph Smith. which is “to bring to pass the immor- tality and eternal life of man” (Moses Melchizedek Priesthood 1:39). Jesus Christ permits worthy The Melchizedek Priesthood is the male members of the Church to greater priesthood. Its name comes hold His priesthood. When they are from the name of a great high priest ordained to the priesthood, they can who lived during the time of Abraham be authorized to do the Lord’s work, (see D&C 107:2–5). Brethren who hold such as preach the gospel, perform this priesthood have the power and priesthood ordinances, and minister, authority to hold positions of leader- as called, in the kingdom of God on ship in the Church and to direct the earth. preaching of the gospel. They may “There are, in the church, two priest- preside, as called, over missions, hoods, namely, the Melchizedek and districts, branches, and quorums. Aaronic” (D&C 107:1). Heavenly mes- 4 Before a man can be ordained to an mission or district presidency, as office in the Melchizedek Priesthood, guided by the Spirit, may organize an he must first have the Melchizedek elders quorum in the branch, calling Priesthood conferred upon him. Then and setting apart a quorum president he is ordained to an office in that from among quorum members. As priesthood. These offices are elder, the number of elders in the branch high priest, patriarch, seventy, and increases, the mission presidency may apostle. Mission or district priesthood call and set apart two counselors to leaders organize brethren who hold the elders quorum president. Each the Melchizedek Priesthood into quo- elders quorum may consist of up to rums of elders in the mission or dis- 96 members. The quorum provides trict. A president presides over each example, help, and direction to elders quorum. He teaches quorum fathers and other quorum members. members their duties and encourages The elders quorum president serves brotherhood among quorum mem- under the direction of the district or bers. All brethren in the branch who mission president and is accountable hold the Melchizedek Priesthood are to him. The quorum president works members of the elders quorum. also under the direction of the branch Elder and Elders Quorum Presidency president as a member of the branch priesthood executive committee and Elders are to teach, expound, baptize, as a member of the branch council. and watch over the Church. In addi- The quorum president presides over tion to having the authority and re- quorum members in the branch and sponsibilities of Aaronic Priesthood sets an example for them. He works offices, elders may bestow the gift with the branch president to organize of the Holy Ghost, administer to the and administer home teaching to en- sick, and perform other ordinances sure that the Church remains in active (see “Priesthood Ordinances and contact with all branch members. Blessings” in the Family Guidebook). When authorized by their priesthood The quorum president teaches quo- leaders, elders may preside over rum members the gospel and their Church meetings when no authorized Melchizedek Priesthood duties (see high priest is present. (See D&C D&C 107:89). He encourages them to 20:42–45; 107:11.) serve with joy and humility, especially in their responsibilities as husbands When a branch has worthy men who and fathers. He teaches them how to bear the Melchizedek Priesthood, the perform priesthood ordinances, and 5 plans service projects and activities The quorum president encourages that assist members and build quo- quorum members to participate in rum brotherhood. He is responsible Church meetings and activities and for the spiritual and temporal well- to give service. He helps unordained being of quorum members. men and those over 18 years of age who hold the Aaronic Priesthood The elders quorum president prepare to receive the Melchizedek assigns home teachers who hold Priesthood and temple ordinances. the Melchizedek Priesthood and Home teachers help with these efforts, adults (19 and older) who hold the but often the president needs to Aaronic Priesthood, and with the minister personally to his quorum approval of the branch president, he members.