Priests in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Young men who reach the age of 16 are integrated into the Priests. This is also open to worthy male converts 16 and over, within a few weeks of baptism. Those who are deemed worthy and interviewed by the bishop are ordained to the office of a Priest by another Priest or a holder of the Melchizedek Priesthood. A Priests Quorum can have a maximum of 48 members, so Priests Quorums are rarely split, even in the largest wards.
The president of the Priests Quorum is the Bishop, who holds the keys of the priesthood for this quorum. The Bishop typically calls a first assistant and a second assistant and a secretary from among the members of the quorum. The Bishop's assistants in the Priests Quorum are not the first and second counselors that serve in the bishopric. Generally, the first assistant acts as a de facto president of the quorum, but seeks approval from the Bishop in everything he does.
According to scripture, the duty of a Priest is to "preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and administer the sacrament". Accordingly, Priests bless the sacrament and are permitted to perform the ordinance of baptism. They also are able to ordain Deacons, Teachers, and Priests and confer the Aaronic Priesthood upon others. However, a Priest must receive the approval of his Bishop prior to performing the ordinance of baptism or ordaining other Deacons, Teachers, or Priests. Usually, a Priest will be paired with an adult male (often their father) as a Home Teacher. They perform all of these functions under the direction of the Bishop, who holds the "priesthood keys" of this office. Priests also have all the duties and authority of a Teacher and a Deacon.
The adult president of the local Young Men Organization advises the Priests Quorum. Sometimes an assistant advisor is also called.
As the Church in the United States and Canada sponsors troops of the Boy Scouts of America and Scouts Canada programs, many Priests participate in these Scouting programs as well. The adult ward leaders of the Young Men Organization are frequently also leaders in the Scout troop, but the priesthood quorums and the Scouts are not otherwise connected.
When a Priest turns 18 years old, or graduates from high school, depending on the situation, he is integrated into the Elders Quorum. Those that are 18 years old and deemed worthy by the Bishop and Stake President will receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and become an Elder.
Priests generally spend a great amount of time preparing for their future service as a missionary. All worthy and able young men in the Church are asked to serve missions at the age of 18.
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Famous quotes containing the words priests in the, priests in, priests, church, jesus, christ and/or saints:
“Yes, I am a Jew, and when the ancestors of the right honourable gentleman were brutal
savages in an unknown island, mine were priests in the temple of Solomon.”
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)
“Along the avenue of cypresses,
All in their scarlet cloaks and surplices
Of linen, go the chanting choristers,
The priests in gold and black, the villagers. . . .”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tomb-stones where flowers should be;
And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars my joys and desires.”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“The hippopotamus’s day
Is passed in sleep; at night he hunts;
God works in a mysterious way—
The Church can sleep and feed at once.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“I fear it is the effect of this ordinance to clothe Jesus with an authority which he never claimed and which distracts the mind of the worshipper.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Thus your fathers were made
Fellow citizens of the saints, of the household of GOD, being built upon the foundation
Of apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself the chief cornerstone.
But you, have you built well, that you now sit helpless in a ruined house?”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“I know we’re not saints or virgins or lunatics; we know all the lust and lavatory jokes, and most of the dirty people; we can catch buses and count our change and cross the roads and talk real sentences. But our innocence goes awfully deep, and our discreditable secret is that we don’t know anything at all, and our horrid inner secret is that we don’t care that we don’t.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)