A Latter-day Saint family travelling 6-hour round trips to church
ELDERS QUORUM PRESIDENT DUTIES
After serving as the Elders Quorum President in my branch for over a year, I learned of many duties attached to this calling.
Of course, the Elders Quorum President is responsible for the physical and spiritual wellbeing of all elders in the ward/branch. Essentially, he is responsible for the men aged 18 and over in the ward or branch where he serves. That is accomplished in a number of ways:
1. Preparing and initiating the ward/branch ministering list is a duty of the Elders Quorum President, for which he can also seek assistance from his two counselors. The ministering list includes all elders and young men who are able, to serve as ministers to a group of members in the ward/branch.
This list is accessible on the church website under Leader & Clerk Resources. The Elders Quorum President prayerfully reviews the current ministering list and makes whatever adjustments he feels necessary. This includes deciding whether a minister works alone or in a companionship; who to pair together as a ministering companionship; how many members should be assigned to each ministering companionship; and who should be assigned to each ministering companionship.
In a small branch like mine, I typically had between 3 - 6 members per ministering companionship.
The ministering list was something that I tried to keep constant so that people could get used to ministering to those they were assigned to, but also was tweaked regularly as occasion necessitated.
It is the duty of the Elders Quorum President to assign his two counselors and himself to watch over small groups of ministers. Each Presidency member would be responsible for ensuring the ministers in their group were doing their ministering, and providing encouragement and help where needed. Each Presidency member should also have a discussion with each ministering companionship in their group once a quarter, where a ministering report is given.
Information gleaned from these reports can then be passed on to the Branch President so he can coordinate with the Branch Council on which members need assistance either temporally or spiritually.
2. On the topic of assistance, another duty of the Elders Quorum President, is to help provide welfare assistance to members who request it. Providing welfare assistance is probably the single most important duty of an Elders Quorum President. It can also be the most stressful yet the most rewarding when done properly.
In an effort to reduce the load off a Branch President’s shoulders, welfare assistance has been placed on the backs of Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidents. Any member who requires food or financial help now contacts either the Elders Quorum or Relief Society President. The Elders Quorum President should discuss and council with a welfare recipient, aid them in forming a welfare plan, and then collect all necessary information including name, address, bank account information, landlord details, rental agreement, etc, so the church can smoothly deposit money where it is needed.
Of course, the Elders Quorum President discusses welfare assistance with his Branch President to determine if the candidate meets the requirements to receive church aid.
The Elders Quorum President can submit food orders online through the church website, and also submit welfare assistance forms for other needs such as rental payment. The Branch President signs off on all assistance requests.
This can be a tedious and stressful part of being an Elders Quorum President. I discovered that love, patience, and calmly speaking the truth is needed to fulfil these duties. It can be both heartbreaking and highly rewarding.
3. The Elders Quorum President is responsible for helping prospective elders be prepared to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. He should design a course of materials to teach prospective elders, helping them understand the obligations and responsibilities of holding the Melchizedek Priesthood. When the Elders Quorum President feels a person is ready to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, he notifies the Branch President who can arrange interviews for the prospective elder.
The Elders Quorum President has a Stake/District High Councillor assigned to assist him. With the High Councillor, an Elders Quorum President can discuss names of prospective elders to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and get help preparing them where needed.
4. The Elders Quorum President ensures quorum classes on 2nd and 4th Sundays run smoothly. He and his two counselors are the principal teachers and may also invite other members of the quorum to teach from time to time. The Elders Quorum President conducts elders quorum meetings, or assigns a counselor to do so if he is not present.
5. The Elders Quorum President is responsible for overseeing the missionary effort and the temple and family history effort of the ward/branch. He assigns one of his counselors to participate in weekly missionary correlation meetings, and assigns the other counselor to participate in weekly temple and family history coordination meetings. The Elders Quorum President may sit in on these meetings if he so desires.
6. The Elders Quorum President holds Presidency meetings with his counselors, weekly if needed, but at the bare minimum, once a month. They discuss, among other things, the ministering, missionary work, and temple and family history effort of the ward/branch. He should then have regular communication with the Branch President to inform him of this work.
7. The Elders Quorum President should aim to have a one-on-one interview with every member of his elders quorum once a year.
8. The Elders Quorum President, together with the Relief Society President, is responsible for planning and teaching Sunday School on 5th Sundays.
9. The Elders Quorum President is a member of the ward/branch council. As such, he attends and represents the Elders Quorum in Ward/Branch Council meetings. If he is unable to attend, he assigns one of his counselors to be in the meeting in his place.
This is all based on my experience as an Elders Quorum President in the Kuala Lumpur Branch, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia District. Elders Quorum Presidents should refer to the General Handbook of Instructions to learn their duties.
