A Rational Theology, as Taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

by John Andreas Widtsoe

CHAPTER 19.

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.