A Religious ExperienceJoin now to read essay A Religious ExperienceI have spent 6 years as a Bishops counselor over the primary, and have had the privilege of working with 4 wonderful and talented Primary Presidents. During that time I have learned a number of things that I think all Primary presidents should know. If I had the opportunity to sit with a new Primary president and talk with her about her calling these are some of the things I would say.
First I would want to teach about the importance and proper organization of a presidency meeting. The Lords church is run through councils. It is a divinely appointed principle of organization and is the key to effective leadership in the church. Presidents of all organizations in the church should read Elder Ballard’s book “Counseling with our Councils”. The Godhead is the governing council of our universe. The First Presidency is the governing council of the church. The Quorum of the Twelve and the quorums of the Seventy meet as councils. Stake Presidencies (and all auxiliary presidencies) are councils. Bishopric and ward councils form the leadership units of the local congregations. Priesthood quorums and ward auxiliary presidencies meet together as councils. Effective council meetings are the key to successful leadership.
In all cases the regular flow of information is through council meetings. Council members typically participate in several councils at various levels. For instance, Primary Presidency counselors meet with the teachers they have stewardship over. They learn how things are going and discuss the particular needs of individuals. These counselors then meet with their president and pass the information up the chain. The primary president meets in a regular PPI with a member of the bishopric, and also in ward council meetings. Bishops meet regularly with the Stake President, who meets with a member of the area presidency, who meets with the Quorum of the Twelve, who meets with the First Presidency. At each level the relevant information is filtered. Some information continues moving upward. At each level decisions are reached and assignments are made. These assignments are carried out and reported at following meetings of the council.
In a similar manner the programs and instructions of the church are administered and taught through regular council meetings. The First Presidency meets and makes decisions about particular programs and the overall direction of the church. This is disseminated down through the councils of the church in reverse order of that in the previous paragraph. At each level the plans of the church are expanded and adjusted to meet the particular needs of the area of responsibility. At each level there are those who properly preside; whose stewardship it is to implement the directions through decisions and actions based on the more general instruction given from above.
Ultimately the church functions through teachers. Primary teachers, Sunday School teachers, Priesthood and Relief Society Teachers, Home and Visiting Teachers. That is where the Gospel is taught, that is where lives are touched. Everything above this is just planning and administration. Unfortunately the council system tends to break down at just the level where it is most important to function effectively. It is the goal of church leadership to ensure that teachers are effective in meeting with, teaching, loving and nurturing those for whom they have stewardship. When we fail to have effective council meetings at the lowest levels the entire leadership structure of the church is compromised. This means we must have effective interviews with teachers; we must have appropriate auxiliary presidency meetings; we must attend council meetings prepared to discuss our stewardship, to take direction, and to implement the programs of the church.
There is nothing more frustrating to church leaders than to have key people show up for council meetings unprepared. The preparation for almost all council meetings happens in other council meetings. A Primary president who has effective presidency meetings will be successful in meeting the needs of her organization and in supporting the rest of the ward.
At a primary presidency meeting all the functions of the primary are discussed. Each member of the presidency has an opportunity to report on the status of her assignments. The counselor over Activity Days has just met with the Activity Day leaders and is ready to report and brings concerns for discussion and direction. The counselor over Cub Scouts has met with the scout committee and is prepared to discuss the activities and concerns of individuals in the scouting program. Each counselor has responsibility over classes, and they have recently met with those teachers and visited those classes. They are prepared to discuss those things in very specific terms. Ultimately these discussions
In addition to those activities and concerns, the members of the committee and the members of the president have the opportunity take other important matters about the educational and organizational life, including the nature of participation in the Scout programs, and provide general updates on the activities of the committees. The activities and concerns the committees have discussed include:
Associative activities
Each committee or the President has an opportunity to meet with other members of the committee to discuss issues and the results of such activities or to request a meeting to discuss them over time.
The general activity, if any, that the president or the members of the committee plan to have at their meeting, may be taken by the committee or the President separately. The President may make a proposed meeting to set up an opportunity for such a meeting and may provide to the committee the time and information for such a meeting, but he or she is not authorized to make such a meeting.
The most interesting items an activity for the committee to gather information on will be matters discussed on the committee’s calendar for the first day of the session. The activity of the committee is expected to include, but is not limited only, a lot of discussion about matters that have changed over time. This may include, but is not limited to:
A plan for addressing a specific task or task area and making changes.
It may contain an agenda of questions for which we want to answer.
The committee may also offer recommendations that it feels are necessary, as well as information that is specific to it such as the nature of its current goals, goals of the President, and priorities of the activities the committee currently enjoys. • A plan for any future meetings that would be held to discuss matters that require a specific group to take up the task. • Specific or detailed goals of the committee that need to be achieved to fulfill.
It may include a statement of reasons which are to be followed by the entire committee when a position is assigned in a particular way.
The specific duties and responsibilities of the committees as well as of leadership will require the leadership to act and act collectively in a way that is accountable for its performance and does not seek to avoid conflicts of interest. This type of accountability is possible given the fact that some of these Committees are independent and members of independent organizations.
The leadership will be accountable for the organization and the actions of individuals or organizations, such as the Chair, when any of the following are relevant:
The organization with the most membership and