Some thoughts on priesthood quorums

"What I have said here is quite simple: Men thrive on relationships that are all male and are voluntary, where the men share beliefs and values, and where they like each other. There is in all men a desire to be better men, and men know instinctively that this kind of relationship provides a great environment for growth as men. Iron does sharpen iron, and healthy, growing men do challenge each other to be better men."
Alan Medinger, Growth into Manhood, pp. 112-113


I sat in a conference several months ago, listening to Alan Medinger speak about his experiences as executive director of Exodus--North America, and heard him describe how much men need to associate with other healthy men. As I sat there I had a moment of insight. Here was Medinger describing how men need to be together with other men, to work with them, to play softball together, to work and lift and haul and get dirty together in a productive exercise -- and describing what a healing influence it was for men who struggled with SSA. As he talked, I thought of an elders quorum taking a roof off a widow's house and reroofing it, of moving projects (of which there seem to be many in every ward), of church sports (sigh...I suppose I have to concede that there is actually divine purpose in church sports programs), of gritty, grimy work projects. And as I thought of all those things, I realized that the tools of healing that Medinger was describing are all around us. Every man who belongs to a priesthood quorum has a support network built into his life. The very things that Medinger described were the things that quorums do (or at least ought to do).

My friend Blaine often said, "The best kept secrets in the Church are hidden in the handbook."

My big moment of insight is really a duh -- men are placed in priesthood quorums for a reason. If a man will use the quorum as the Lord intended, he will likely discover what the Lord already knew.

How does one get more out of his priesthood quorum? Perhaps it is as simple as:

1. Sitting next to someone, starting a conversation, learning his name.
2. Volunteering for the next work project.
3. Learning the names of the people at the work project; calling people by name.
4. Having a private, serious discussion with the quorum president.

These things seem simple. But I suspect that they do more for us than we realize. Since my moment of insight, I have realized that I feel part of the quorum when I do them, and feel isolated and alone when I don't.