A Letter to the quorum

Belmont 2nd Ward Elder’s Quorum,

As a quorum presidency we believe there is no greater joy in life than the joy that can be found as we come unto Christ and walk in his footsteps. The scriptures describe those footsteps: "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan." (Matthew 4:23-25)

Of course what followed was the Sermon on the Mount. The Savior’s life was spent teaching and strengthening those around him, inviting those not of the fold to come unto him, and healing and blessing those in need. He is the model for how we should engage in our own personal ministries as we teach and strengthen our families and each other, share the gospel with those around us, and seek to bless the lives of those in need. Though much of this work is carried out on an individual level, President Henry B. Eyring has said, “A quorum can give greater service than the members could give alone”. It is our sincere desire that we realize our potential both as a quorum and as individuals. To this end, we will be introducing an initiative (see blog post below) designed to engage every member of the quorum in developing ideas for how the quorum can achieve its potential in three major areas:

1) Strengthening our families and each other,
2) Sharing the gospel, and
3) Serving members of our community

J. Reuben Clark, a former member of the first presidency, once said, "When the Savior came upon the earth he had two great missions; one was to work out the messiahship, the atonement for the fall, and the fulfillment of the law; the other was the work which he did among his brethren and sisters in the flesh by way of relieving their sufferings...He left as a hertiage to those who should come after him in his Church the carrying on of those two great things; work for the relief of the ills and the sufferings of humanity, and the teaching of the spiritual truths which should bring us back into the presence of our Heavanly Father". Though the three areas outlined above are certianly not mutually exclusive, the first two are aimed at the latter, while the third is aimed at the former. We invite each of you to prayerfully consider how we as a quorum can more fully walk in the footsteps of Christ through our activities in these three areas. We know that as we do so that the Lord will bless us in our efforts and that we will experience a unity and brotherhood that is only possible through him.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Clark
David Sundahl
Stephen Harris