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Auxiliaries to the
Priesthood
Under
priesthood direction, auxiliary organizations assist in strengthening members. Auxiliary
organizations exist at the General, Stake, and Ward Levels of the church. Auxiliary
organizations include:
·
Relief Society (Women 18+)
o " The Relief Society is
the oldest and largest women's organization in the world" (Mormon.org).
"Relief
Society prepares women for the blessings of eternal life by helping them
increase their faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes,
and help those in need. Relief Society accomplishes these purposes through
Sunday gospel instruction, other Relief Society meetings, visiting teaching,
and welfare and compassionate service" (Lds.org).
·
Young Women (age 12-18)
o Young Women Theme:
" We
are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will
‘stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places’
(Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are: Faith, Divine
Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity,
and Virtue. We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will
be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants,
receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation”
(Lds.org).
·
Young Men (age 12-18)
o Purpose: "Help
each young man to:
1. Become converted to the gospel of Jesus
Christ and live by its teachings.
2. Serve faithfully in priesthood callings
and fulfill the responsibilities of priesthood offices.
3. Give meaningful service.
4. Prepare and live worthily to receive the
Melchizedek Priesthood and temple ordinances.
5. Prepare to serve an honorable full-time
mission.
6. Obtain as much education as possible.
7. Prepare to become a worthy husband and
father.
8. Give proper respect to women, girls, and
children" (Lds.org).
·
Primary (children age 3-11)
o "The purposes of
Primary are to help children:
1. Feel Heavenly Father’s love for them.
2. Learn and understand the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
3. Feel and recognize the influence of the
Holy Ghost.
4. Prepare to make and keep sacred
covenants" (Lds.org)
·
Sunday School (all members age
12+)
Q How have you seen
the auxiliaries fulfill their purposes?
Q What role do you
have as an individual in helping priesthood quorums and auxiliaries be
successful in the Ward?
Conditional Blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ: Forgiveness, salvation, exaltation, eternal families, hope, overcome weaknesses, godly character/divine attributes, self control, guidance, comfort, joy, peace, strength, healing, etc.
To receive the conditional blessings of the atonement, we must live the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
· Faith- belief in, trust in, and commitment to obey Christ
· Repent- submit will to Christ and change behavior to follow Him; seek forgiveness and a change of heart
· Covenants- make/keep promises by priesthood authority to follow the example of Jesus Christ, such as baptism.
· Holy Ghost- receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, invite and follow His guidance
· Endure to the end- consistently grow our faith, repent, keep our covenants, and receive the Holy Ghost
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Q How does service help us to live the gospel and receive the
blessings of the atonement of Jesus Christ? What blessings have you received?
1. "And none were
received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a
determination to serve him to the end " (Moroni 6:3).
2. "When ye are in
the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God"
(Mosiah 2:17).
Church Callings
3. "Soon after
baptism new members receive from priesthood leaders the blessing of a
responsibility to help in the Church. This is referred to as a calling. All of
the work in the Church is voluntary. No one is paid for such service. When we
accept callings, we are sustained publicly in a Church meeting so that other
members can acknowledge our calling and provide support. We are also set apart
by a priesthood leader and given special blessings to help us fulfill our
callings. The Church needs the talents and abilities of every member to fill a
wide variety of callings. All callings are important and help build God’s
kingdom. We are to accept such callings and work diligently to learn and
fulfill our duties. As we do so, we grow in faith, develop new talents and a
greater ability to serve, and receive numerous other blessings" (Preach My
Gospel).
Q What are some key
lessons you have learned about the importance of performing our callings?
·
Callings
give us an opportunity to build the kingdom of God and to make a difference in
the lives of others.
·
No
calling is more important than another; we just move around and become more
polished with each calling.
·
All
positions are volunteer. No one is a professional; we are all ordinary,
everyday members trying to keep our covenants to serve others and build up
God's kingdom. The Ward is as strong as you make it. The more you invest in
strengthening the Ward the more it will lift and strengthen you.
·
We
support each other in our callings. We each have a leader that helps us be
successful in our callings.
·
We
seek to be merciful to others when they don't perform they callings as well as
we think they should.
·
The
key to being successful in each calling is seeking to serve others in a
christlike, loving way.
·
The
Holy Ghost will let us know when we need to do more or when we've done too
much.
Q Why is it important
to try to fulfill our callings in a Christlike way?
For more on callings, see:
Home
and Visiting Teaching
·
Home Teaching = assignments from
the Elder's Quorum President or High Priest's Group Leader given to Priesthood
holders to minister to individuals and families in the Ward.
·
Visiting Teaching = assignments from
the Relief Society President given to Sisters to minister to women in
the Ward.
To
minister means to seek to help and strengthen someone the way the Savior would
if He was in your shoes.
The purposes of Home and Visiting Teaching are
similar:
·
Strengthen
individuals and families
o Remind them of and
demonstrate God's love for them.
o Help each individual
make and keep covenants with God, including encouraging church attendance.
o Support parents in
their responsibilities, including encouraging them to hold family prayer,
family scripture study, and family home evening.
·
Teach
the gospel to each individual
·
Nurture
friendships
·
Make
the Bishop of Relief Society President aware of any temporal concerns of the
family, such as unemployment or a lack of food.
Home and Visiting Teachers are to
visit their assigned members at least monthly and share a gospel message with
them that meets their needs. In deciding what message to share, I prayerfully
ponder these questions:
"What
struggles or needs does this family have?" and
"What
gospel principle if better understood, would help alleviate those struggles or
meet those needs?"
Home Teachers can also share the First
Presidency message from the Ensign, and Visiting Teachers the Visiting Teaching
message from the Ensign.
Q Why should we adjust
our message to meet the needs of those we are teaching? Suggestions for how to
do this?
Activity: Share a brief message to a
partner based on the following quote from this First Presidency message:
"The Apostle Paul taught about
God’s harvest: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the
flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit
reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season
we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:7–9).
"What we sow [plant], we reap
[harvest].... Just as earthly seeds require effort and patience, so do many of
the blessings of heaven. We cannot put our religion on a shelf and expect to
harvest spiritual blessings. But if we plant and nurture gospel standards in
the daily life of our family, there is a high probability that our children
will grow up to produce spiritual fruit of great value to them and to future
generations" (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Ensign, August 2014).
How would you adjust your message if
the person you were teaching:
·
Is
experiencing a difficult trial and is feeling discouraged
·
Is
struggling with their testimony
·
Isn't
serving in the church
Q Why does God want us
to go home and visiting teaching?
“Brothers
and sisters, I believe that if we could truly understand the Atonement of the
Lord Jesus Christ…. there would never be anyone with whom we would not be
concerned…. We would strive to emulate the Savior and would never be unkind,
indifferent, disrespectful, or insensitive to others. We would help them to
know of the love Christ has for them” (M. Russell Ballard, April 2004 General
Conference).
4. "When the Son of
man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he
sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations:
and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep
from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on
the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world:
"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me
meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and
ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we
thee an hungred, and fed thee? or
thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee
in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when
saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer
and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one
of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:
31-40).
5. “God does notice us,
and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets
our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom”
(Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign December 1974).
Q What miracles and
blessings have you seen come to individuals and families as a result of Home
and Visiting Teaching?
Q What has helped you
to overcome concerns with serving in the church, such as going Home or Visiting
Teaching?
“Love
is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by
those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is
not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world,
anxious to bless the whole human race" (Joseph Smith, History of the
Church, 4:227).
6. "Charity is the
pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of
it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore, my beloved brethren,
pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with
this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son,
Jesus Christ" (Moroni 7:47-48).
Reactivation
Occasionally,
someone you serve is not regularly attending church. These individuals are not receiving
all of the blessings of the gospel because church attendance is the foundation
of faith, repentance, keeping covenants, and receiving the Holy Ghost (again, these are
the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which allow us access to the
blessings of the atonement).
From
my experience, reminding these individuals about positive experiences they have
had with the church and challenging them to read the Book of Mormon daily are
important first steps to take when seeking to help someone increase their
church activity.
For
a sample lesson plan for a reactivation visit, see http://ldsgospellessons.blogspot.com/2014/03/reactivation-visit-sample-lesson-plan.html
For
more on reactivation, see:
Strengthen Thy Brethren (Mervyn B. Arnold)
Key talks about serving in the church can be found at
Key talks about strengthening others in
the gospel can be found at
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