Elders Quorum Thoughts

This is an email that I sent to my elders quorum president in Georgia in the middle of 2016. For context this ward was very recently reorganized and consisted of sections of three or four wards previous to the boundary change and leadership reorganization. I had just been called as the secretary:

Hello [EQP],

After last night’s meeting I have had several thoughts I want to share with you. One is about home teaching assignments and the other I’ll call cleansing the inner vessel.

I remember once while I was on my mission we went to the mission office and while there we were given a tour or a walk around the office. In the mission president’s office, I remember seeing a board with pictures of all the missionaries in their location assignments and in companionships. This is the one thing I still remember, the mission president explained the process he went through to assign companions and locations. He said each transfer period he would go through all the missionaries, each missionary individually, and pray about them to know where they needed to be and who their companion should be and he wouldn't make any changes until he had an answer from God. This has always stuck out to me and I was reminded of it last night. I think it is perfectly appropriate to ask individuals who they have home taught, who their companions were, what they know about certain less actives or even active member families, who they would like as companions, home teaching families and home teachers; and perhaps, for the first month or two, it doesn’t matter much if we grant everybody what they ask for. But I think over time, a fairly short time, every individual needs to be prayed over for their personal and family needs, who their companion should be, who should home teach them, and who they should home teach, with prayers for inspiration and prayers for confirmation with a listening ear to hear the whisperings of the Spirit.

Ever since I was in an elder’s quorum presidency in Texas, I’ve thought about the concept of cleansing the inner vessel with regards to home teaching. In my mind the most important people to strengthen are those who are active. This comes first and foremost above all others. We cannot work on less actives or investigators if the core is weak. We need to make sure those who look strong are strong. Those who are active look strong but only because we see them and know they come to church. I think the most important thing is to make sure those who do their home teaching regularly and consistently are home taught regularly and consistently. I also think they can be strengthened in more ways than just being home taught.

One idea which has been on my mind is the idea of mini service days. Originally, I just thought of home teaching companions serving each other, but it could go slightly further than this with certain active individuals singled out and arrange to have their home teaching companion and home teachers find a day in a given month to serve them for an hour or two. I’m thinking of simple things like deep cleaning sections of their house together, doing needed yard work, etc. I think several things would come out of this. One is the comradery between companions and the individual with their home teachers. A level of trust will grow just from working and serving together. Another is hidden needs will come to light. Just spending time together will do this but serving each other would encourage it. Having personal priesthood interviews (PPIs) with those previously involved in a mini service day will help you know more about the family served and their needs. When the needs of the active members are being met and comradery and trust is established, I think home teaching numbers will grow naturally. I think it will extend naturally to the less active members and friends.

As an example, one way to implement this is to start by having a PPI with a hand full of active elders who do their home teaching regularly, but perhaps are not getting home taught as regularly. As well as asking about their home teaching families, invite them to have a family council to discuss and create a mini service project at their own home involving their whole family and to do it when at least their home teaching companion and home teachers can be present and assist. Then have a follow up PPI with each one after the assignment is complete. Also, have a PPI with one or both of the home teachers involved to inquire of any needs brought to light in the process. This process may bring to light possible service projects for the whole elder’s quorum to be involved in as well as what needs exist among our members, temporal and spiritual. As this process is repeated with other active members, spirituality in the quorum will strengthen, and home teaching numbers and effectiveness will increase, less actives will feel the increased love and spiritual strength and become active and be included in the process, non-members will feel the increased love and spiritual strength among the members and will be drawn in. I think we need to instill the idea that getting home taught and being humble enough to be served is just as important, if not more important, than home teaching and serving others. As we strengthen the core everything else strengthens; in other words cleanse the inner vessel.

I think both of these ideas can help drive the effectiveness of PPIs, so you can know who to interview and what their needs are as well as give assignments for people to report back about. Then the three fold mission of the elder’s quorum will be fulfilled more fully.

Vince