But it sure feels like it.


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I certainly don't feel that way in my Ward, though that may be because we have two Elders in the presidency (the president and 2nd counselor).

But, I am not sure it would be a problem for me were the High Priest to take over since we are now unified as a single quorum.

Thanks, -Wade Englund-

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9 minutes ago, Vort said:

I think the elders are too busy enjoying the comfy chairs in the high council room to worry about any takeovers.

Does this mean there are so few active priesthood holders (not elsewhere during the 3rd hour) in your ward that you can fit them all into the high council room?  If so, wow.  If not, I be confusèd.

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19 hours ago, Emmanuel Goldstein said:

Does anyone else feel like that is exactly what has happened?

The only take over I have seen has been the take over of bad jokes being rattled off throughout the lesson coming from the corner of the room where all the really old people sit.

Edited by Fether
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29 minutes ago, zil said:

Does this mean there are so few active priesthood holders (not elsewhere during the 3rd hour) in your ward that you can fit them all into the high council room?  If so, wow.  If not, I be confusèd.

Our ward has in fact gotten quite small in recent years, and yesterday we all fit around the table with chairs to spare. But since the high council room comfortably seats 15, we can get a majority of active MP holders who are available third hour around the table anyway. And there's plenty of seating around the perimeter. Plus, those at the table can squish over and make room. We've had as many as 25 or 30 in the room, and it's not overly crowded, as long as everyone likes each other.

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53 minutes ago, Vort said:

Our ward has in fact gotten quite small in recent years, and yesterday we all fit around the table with chairs to spare. But since the high council room comfortably seats 15, we can get a majority of active MP holders who are available third hour around the table anyway. And there's plenty of seating around the perimeter. Plus, those at the table can squish over and make room. We've had as many as 25 or 30 in the room, and it's not overly crowded, as long as everyone likes each other.

Ditto in our Ward too.

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I have always been of the notion concerning nonpaid voluntary services – anyone that wants to take over and be in charge – ought to be.  Better them than me.  I will serve whenever I can – but if someone wants more of the service for themselves – I have never thought or felt it to be a problem.  Let whoever serve to their heart’s content.

 

The Traveler

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3 minutes ago, Traveler said:

I have always been of the notion concerning nonpaid voluntary services – anyone that wants to take over and be in charge – ought to be.  Better them than me.  I will serve whenever I can – but if someone wants more of the service for themselves – I have never thought or felt it to be a problem.  Let whoever serve to their heart’s content.

 

The Traveler

It's also important to remember that non paid, voluntary service is just that. All of us from the top down should do our best to be thankful that people show up to do work that they aren't getting paid for. From the Stake president (do they get paid or reimbursed for travel? Just asking, nothing more)  to the lowly guy who cleans the ward on Friday night. 

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8 minutes ago, mirkwood said:

No.  Our presidency is half HP and half Elder.   Our problem is trying to fit everyone into a single room.

What! You can’t fit them all in ONE room! I cannot bare it! Tell me no more! 😫

Combining the high priests and the elders has given the priesthood a much needed shot in the arm up here. Both groups look relieved and happy. With both groups together, car pooling is much easier. 

I remember looking for the church building when I moved here. I saw an exhausted man in a white shirt wrestling his son into a car. The man was trying manfully not to swear. I knew that I had found home.

Crrently my Relief Society president is recovering from transplant surgery. She has not told her doctors that she is RS president. They would kill her. Her husband serves in the bishopric. 

My bishop is a refugee from a war torn country. He can speak passable English if he really concentrates. He does not drive,

i have no idea how we survive from one year to the next. I so wish that we would decide to have Sunday School one week and Priesthood the next. But wards never seem to reduce the load in this way. My temple president drove from the states last week in search of more workers. We looked at him sadly. 

 

Edited by Sunday21
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On July 15, 2018 at 5:31 PM, Emmanuel Goldstein said:

"This is not a “takeover” of elders quorums by high priests," said Elder D. Todd Christofferson in April Conference. Does anyone else feel like that is exactly what has happened?

It feels this way at times. Our new Elders Quorum President does not call on High Priests to do much of anything. When the two groups became one, our Stake President decided to have an Elder serve as President, and first counselor, and then one High Priest as second counselor, (who is moving in two weeks) and have an Elder serve a Quorum Secretary, in every unit. I guess he did this so the Elders would not see it as a takeover, and President Nelson's remarks to the same has planted the idea in the heads of many, suggesting that we might want to take over. In fact President Nelson's "tongue in cheek" comment comment is probably what inspired my Stake President to organize the Quorums as he did. In the past of course with different groups there were many opportunities to serve, now not as many. I was a teacher in the High Priest Group for many years, but only three in my present Ward. In our "round circle" meeting last month, I asked for a talk from the April 1985 General Conference as a topic. So the Elders Quorum President assigned me the task of teaching, or leading the discussion. An "Elder", and elsewhere on a different website told me that I should not have suggested the talk I did, as each talk or lesson (I am told) is supposed to come from the most recent General Conference, (although the Gospel is the Gospel) and suggested  I took advantage of the much younger Elders Quorum President, which of course that was not my intent. In our "round circle" meeting, almost every comment that is made by.a High Priest, is very quickly followed, and at times shot down by a number of Elders. It has gotten to the point, that no High Priest ever speaks in any setting. 

Now to the "ministering part", our Elders Quorum President just used the Home Teaching assignments, so nothing has changed. If that was the goal, then why the name change. Even in my own home with Sunday dinners, my son and son-in-law, try and does tell me that, "no matter what I think, I am no better than they are". I say this without fear, I HAVE never thought I was above, or better than ANY Elder. I need other High Priests like this change, as almost everything was just an unnecessary duplication of duties. The sad things is that after a few months of these changes, and not being asked to do anything, many in our Quorum, just come to Sacrament and leave Even worse, we sit for class where the choir sits, just five rows, so our Elders Quorum President gets out a microphone, saying he is doing it for all of us old men. It is not funny, the first time he gave me the mike, I told him, "I can hear and speak loudly, and that at this distance (five rows) a dead man could hear me, or anyone else. 

 

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Sadly, the exact opposite has happened for my ward. Instead of highly involved and spiritual conversations like we used to have, we are back to the un-involved boring lectures by the new quorum presidency... no one interacts, no one participates, it's mind numbing... sigh. This is exactly why I was excited to move into HP -  to get away from the dead-pan, un-interesting lectures by someone trying to impress everyone else on their knowledge and preparation. Afraid the change has been a disaster for us, attendance continues to drop every week.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

To me it seems more like an invasion of the high priests group by the elders or a demotion for high priests. 🙂

Strangly though attendance has dropped dramatically since the groups have been combined. We meet in the high council room which seats about 30 and the first few weeks we had to bring in extra chairs but now there are several empty chairs. It seems a lot of men have decided not to come. I think they’re in the building but they don’t come to class. 

Our president is a high priest and the counselors are young elders. 

My preference would have been that rather than calling it the elders quorum it would be called the Melchizedek Priesthood quorum. 

It also seems that “home traching” has pretty much stopped at least as far as home visits are concerned. 

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18 hours ago, BJ64 said:

To me it seems more like an invasion of the high priests group by the elders or a demotion for high priests. 🙂

Strangly though attendance has dropped dramatically since the groups have been combined. We meet in the high council room which seats about 30 and the first few weeks we had to bring in extra chairs but now there are several empty chairs. It seems a lot of men have decided not to come. I think they’re in the building but they don’t come to class. 

Our president is a high priest and the counselors are young elders. 

My preference would have been that rather than calling it the elders quorum it would be called the Melchizedek Priesthood quorum. 

It also seems that “home traching” has pretty much stopped at least as far as home visits are concerned. 

Some of the best men in our ward are the Foyerites. No pretension there, they just are good solid members. I like to go to the quorum, just to watch the fireworks as the High Priests each give their speeches while the elders play on their smart phones.

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20 minutes ago, Emmanuel Goldstein said:

Some of the best men in our ward are the Foyerites. 

Being Foyerites (or playing with smartphones) when there are problems in the quorum disqualifies you from being one of the best men.  We were just talking about weak men in that other thread.  Being a foyerite in the face of problems is something a weak man would do.

Edited by anatess2
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3 hours ago, Emmanuel Goldstein said:

I like to go to the quorum, just to watch the fireworks as the High Priests each give their speeches while the elders play on their smart phones.

I go to watch the teacher give a fantastic spirit lead discussion while the high priests crack terrible jokes that destroy the atmosphere of what otherwise would have been a great lesson. The younger guys seem to be the better behaved group 😛

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46 minutes ago, Fether said:

I go to watch the teacher give a fantastic spirit lead discussion while the high priests crack terrible jokes that destroy the atmosphere of what otherwise would have been a great lesson. The younger guys seem to be the better behaved group 😛

You deal with it 2 ways -

either

1.) tell the High Priests to keep the spirit in the room.
I serve in Primary and last Sunday the Primary sang a very spirit-filled opening Song and the Primary President acknowledged the wonderful singing and how it brought the Spirit to the room and this 6 year old piped up - "There were 7 people who were not singing, there's Kylie, and Cody, and...." and the Primary President said, "We want to keep our comments positive in Primary, okay?" and she immediately sat down.  I'm sure this method works on High Priests.

or

2.) forgive them.
There are just some people who have a weird sense of humor.  If we understand them better, we can figure out why they think it's funny and then we share in the joke.

In any case, none of this or anything else can happen when you're playing on your smartphone or out in the foyer.

Edited by anatess2
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