THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH.
To carry on the diversified work of the Church requires a close
organization. An organization, in turn, requires officers. All the
officers of the Church hold the Priesthood, but the Priesthood is held
also by many who do not hold official positions. Therefore, while the
authority to act in all the offices of the Church is held by
practically every man in the Church, that authority, in the
administration of the affairs of the Church, becomes effective only
when the man is called to exercise the authority. The chief officers
of the Church are herewith briefly enumerated.
**The General Authorities.** The First Presidency consists of three
presiding high priests, a President and two counselors, whose duty it
is to supervise the work of the whole Church, in all matters of
policy, organization and execution. No part of the work of the Church
is beyond their authority. With the death of the President, the First
Presidency becomes disorganized.
Associated with the First Presidency is the quorum of Twelve Apostles.
The Twelve are special witnesses for Christ, and it is their duty to
carry the Gospel to all the world. In addition, they give direct
assistance to the First Presidency. When the quorum of the First
Presidency is disorganized, the quorum of apostles becomes the
presiding quorum until the First Presidency is reorganized. The quorum
of the Twelve has one president, who is always the senior apostle.
The Patriarchs of the Church possess the sealing and blessing powers
and receive instructions from the Presiding Patriarch.
The quorums of Seventy, the missionary quorums of the Church, are
presided over by the Seven Presidents of the first quorum. This
Council labors under the direction of the apostles. If the First
Presidency and the quorum of the Twelve were disorganized,
simultaneously, the first quorum of Seventy would become the presiding
quorum until full reorganization were effected.
The temporal affairs of the Church are largely cared for by the
Presiding Bishopric, consisting of the presiding bishop and two
counselors. The Presiding Bishopric also has general supervision of
the bishops of the wards, of the Church.
The General Authorities are the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles,
the Presiding Patriarch, the Presidents of the first quorum of
Seventy, and the Presiding Bishopric--making in all twenty-six men.
These general presiding authorities, representing all the great
divisions of the Priesthood, deal with all the general affairs of the
Church.
**The Stakes of Zion.** For convenience of administration, the Church
is divided into stakes containing usually from one thousand to ten
thousand members. The stakes are presided over by a Stake Presidency,
three high priests denominated president and two counselors, which
have the same relation to the stake that the First Presidency has to
the whole Church. The Stake Presidency are assisted by the high
council, consisting of twelve regular and six alternate counselors who
are high priests. To this body is assigned much of the work for the
welfare of the members of the stake. Such other officers as may be
needed are moreover secured in each stake.
**The Wards of the Stakes.** The stakes are, in turn, divided into
wards containing usually from one hundred to two thousand members.
They are presided over by a Bishop and two counselors, who are
assisted in various capacities by the local ward Priesthood.
**The Priesthood in Stakes and Wards.** In every ward, if there be
enough members, are organized quorums of deacons, teachers, priests,
elders and seventies. If there are not enough in one ward to form a
quorum, then a quorum is organized from two or more wards. The high
priests in a stake are usually assembled into one quorum for the
stake. All of the Priesthood meets regularly in the ward to which they
belong, for the discussion of their duties and for studying the
outlines and books provided by the general Church authorities.
**Auxiliary Organizations.** In addition to the regular Priesthood,
there are helps in government known as auxiliary organizations. These
are the Relief Society, for women, the Deseret Sunday School Union,
the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, the Young Ladies'
Mutual Improvement Association, the Primary Association, the Religion
Class, the Boards of Education, and others that may be organized from
time to time. Each of these is represented by a general board, under
the direction of the First Presidency. In each stake there are also
stake boards of these auxiliary organizations, under the direction of
the stake presidency. Moreover, in each ward of the Church, if large
enough, is an organization of each of the auxiliary activities of the
Church.
**All Must Work.** So complete an organization, ramifying throughout
the Church, shows that all members of the Church should or may be at
work. There is no place for the idler. Every man or woman, who is not
averse to working in behalf of the Church, will find some duty that
will fill his life.
**The Tenure of Office.** The officers of the Priesthood have no
definite tenure of office. Since all hold the Priesthood, there is
always a supply of ready material to fill any vacancies that may
occur. The general authorities in the Church have generally held life
positions, but a number of these, for various reasons, chiefly
insubordination or error of doctrine, have been released before death.
According to doctrine, no office in the Priesthood, is absolutely
certain of life tenure. Failure to perform properly the work of the
office constitutes full cause for removal.
**An Unpaid Ministry.** The rewards of life should be and are only in
part material. To assist, officially, in carrying out the Great Plan,
brings its own distinct reward. The Priesthood of the Church,
therefore, is largely unpaid. A man's duty in the Priesthood seldom
takes all of his time, thus leaving him partly free to earn a
livelihood by the use of his profession. When a man's whole time is
taken by the Church, he gets his support from the Church. There is no
Priesthood class, especially trained for the work, and striving for
positions carrying with them high material remuneration. All should
know the Gospel and be prepared to carry on the work.
**Appointments in the Priesthood.** The power to nominate men to fill
the official positions in the Priesthood belongs to the Priesthood of
the Church. Men are chosen from any walk in life, without previous
warning, and the acceptance of the office often means the sacrifice of
business, profession, or ease of life. Under this system there can be
no talk of men seeking offices in the Church. Preparation to do the
work of the Church can be the only form of self-seeking, and that may
or may not lead to any particular position in the Church. Meanwhile,
the vast organization of the Church is such as to find work for every
man; and in fact, every worthy worker should be kept busily engaged in
the work of the Great Plan.
**Common Consent.** Every officer of the Priesthood, though properly
nominated, holds his position in the Church only with the consent of
the people. Officers may be nominated by the presidency of the Church,
but unless the people accept them as their officials, they can not
exercise the authority of the offices to which they have been called.
All things in the Church must be done by common consent. This makes
the people, men and women, under God, the rulers of the Church. Even
the President of the Church, before he can fully enter upon his
duties, must be sustained by the people. It is the common custom in
the Church to vote on the officers in the general, stake and ward
conferences. This gives every member an opportunity to vote for or
against the officers. Meanwhile, the judiciary system of the Church is
such that there is ample provision whereby any officer of the Church,
if found in error, may be brought to justice and if found guilty be
removed from his position.
The doctrine of common consent is fundamental in the Church; and is
coincident with the fact that the Church belongs to all the people.
Since the authority of the Priesthood is vested in all the people, it
follows that the officials of the Priesthood must be responsible to
the people. The responsibility and work of the Church are not only for
but by the people as a whole.
**Bestowal of the Priesthood.** On the earth the Priesthood was first
conferred on Adam and was handed down directly from Adam through his
descendants to Noah. Every link in this progression of the Priesthood
has been preserved. Similarly, after Noah, it was continued for many
generations. Moreover, Jesus conferred the Priesthood directly upon
his disciples. At various times in the history of the world, the
Priesthood has been given by God to man and continued for various
lengths of time. In these latter days of the restored Church, John the
Baptist appeared in person and conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Later, Peter, James and John, who had
received the Priesthood from Jesus Christ, and who represented the
Presidency of the Priesthood in those days, appeared to Joseph Smith
and Oliver Cowdery and conferred upon them the Holy Priesthood and the
apostleship which carried with it authority in the lower divisions of
the Priesthood. In the Church of Christ the authority of the
Priesthood may always be traced back directly to God, from whom it
radiates and whom it represents.