Elder D. Todd Christofferson (Apr. 18): "The Elders Quorum"

This talk, given immediately after Pres. Nelson's historic announcement regarding the combining of ward-level Melchizedek Priesthood quorums, is designed to address questions which may arise in regards to this announcement and to provide a vision for this change.  In that spirit, this is an activity that is focused on a "let's roll up our sleeves and get to work" attitude that may not be appropriate for every situation (some units where church membership is smaller have been operating with this type of organization for a while).  Also, this is an activity that is imagined for a priesthood quorum to use as they make the transition.  A word of caution:  I have spent time thinking about it, and I am not sure how I would approach this talk in a Relief Society.  I do not want to leave out the sisters, but this is an activity that is focused on the logistical changes recently made (not any doctrinal points) and as such it seems to be a male-centered lesson, although sisters could benefit from similar conversations around similar or other goals their presidencies identify.  Finally, this is an activity that I feel falls under the new first Sunday lesson approach of counseling together. 

The Activity:

1.  Read the first paragraph in the section entitled "The Purposes of These Changes"
2. Note the three purposes of this change as set forth in this paragraph:
1. Unify priesthood holders in all aspects of the work of salvation
2. Position priesthood holders to learn from one another across age groups
3. Provide opportunities for experience priesthood holders to mentor others.
3. Also, note that these purposes have always existed in the church and these changes are more about increasing our potential to achieve these goals.
4. Divide the class into groups of 5-6 class members.  Each group should have some paper and something to write with.
5. Ask the groups to brainstorm how the new quorum in your unit might achieve goal one.  One member of the group should jot down the ideas given.
6. After a few minutes, ask the groups to do the same for goal two and then goal three. 
7. Come back together and discuss some of the ideas that were talked about in the groups.  During this discussion, see what ideas were had by more than one group.
8. At the end, collect all of the papers for the new presidency to consult as they plan.

Using the Activity:

As I said in the intro, this activity is probably not suitable for every unit.  On the flip side, I do feel like this is a valuable activity for a first Sunday (counsel together) kind of lesson.  I think, in this setting, it is valuable because it makes room for more voices to be heard.  Sometimes, people don't speak up because one or two members of the class dominate the discussion (I fear that I can be one of these people at times).  At other times, people don't speak up because they are intimidated to speak in front of a whole class/quorum.  Finally, time constraints are simply against hearing from everyone, especially in larger units.  So, the use of groups here can fight against each of these reasons for a class member to not speak up.  And I am a firm believer that the more voices present, the better the decisions, especially in cases like this one. 

Also, I think it is important that the presidency have access to all of the notes made in the groups for similar reasons as discussed above about using groups.  I have been in classes, where we were in small groups to discuss a gospel principle and our group had a powerful discussion, then when it came time to share with the whole class, we didn't get to the what we were saying.  That is okay sometimes, but again where this discussion has more to do with practical, logistical things, the more input the presidency has, the better.  So, asking for a written record and then collecting those notes is an important part of this activity.

Thank you and I hope this helps.  God bless you in your work as a teacher.