Introducing a Quorum Initiative

It is our hope that the initiative introduced in the letter above will operate on two levels.

(1) Individual level: We ask that each of us prayerfully consider how we can individually improve our activities in the three areas described in the letter above. We specifically encourage you to stretch your capacities in these areas. Everyone's capacities are different, and we will know we are stretching them when we start to feel at least a little outside of our comfort zones. We know that as we do so and thereby exercise faith in the Lord that He will guide and bless us.

(2) Quorum level: As President Eyring has said, “A quorum can give greater service than the members could give alone”. To that end, we would like to organize the quorum into three groups, each assigned one of the three areas described in the letter. Each group is assigned a leader whose responsibility is to facilitate participation, discussion and learning within the group. Group leaders and their assigned areas are listed below along with a description of the collective charge given to each. Group membership will be assigned in the coming weeks.

In order to facilitate integrating our individual and group efforts across the entire quorum we will begin holding semi-annual quorum meetings at general conference time. These meetings will provide an opportunity for the groups and individuals to report on their progress and engage the entire quorum with their ideas. These meetings will also provide us an opportunity to gather the entire quorum together in a spiritual setting and provide a forum within which we can develop brotherhood and support each other in our efforts to walk in the footsteps of the Lord.

Groups

Strengthening our families and each other
Ryan Murphy, Group Leader

Sharing the Gospel
David Boyce, Group Leader

Serving members of our community
Jim Kelly, Group Leader

The charge of each group is to re-frame the work we do (or don't do) now in these three areas. Your re-framing might be simply a different (perhaps more inspiring) way of thinking about our activities in these areas. It may be a new idea or suggestion for how we inidivdually approach a task or it might be a proposed way for the quorum to collectively engage in activities in these areas. The purpose is to generate participation and dialog within the group and to come up with ways to stretch our individual and quorum capacities and performance in the assigned area. There are a couple of guidelines, though.

First, rather than planning or thinking of lots of different ideas or changes, focus on one at a time before (1) making it a standard, (2) abandoning it or (3) adding another idea or change. So, for example, if your group comes up with three great ideas for strengthening the quorum, push forward with the first one and evaluate before moving forward with another. We envision that this approach will allow for a learning and improvement process that will not overwhelm us in our existing efforts and responsibilities.

Second, act now. If you've got an idea worth testing, don't wait. If the idea will require a lot of coordination, think of a smaller-scale way to test sooner (perhaps even on your own or within your group). Our intention here is to encourage you to not allow yourselves to be paralyzed by uncertainty. We believe that as we move forward the Lord will bless us.

Finally, beyond the two guidelines above the only guideline is that we allow the Lord to guide us. Elder Clayton Christensen challenged us in a September sacrament meeting address to "re-frame" our responsibilities in the church. We think that is a directive to be innovative. But it is primarily a call to re-focus our efforts on the Savior and frame what we do within the bounds of His work and not simply the programs or activities we currently engage in. Accordingly, your efforts and ideas may be as simple or as radical as you see fit. Let the Lord be your guide.