Gospel Doctrine: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. Smith

by Joseph F. Smith

PURPOSE AND DUTIES OF SEVENTIES. The seventies are called to be assistants to the twelve apostles; indeed they are apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, subject to the direction of the Twelve, and it is their duty to respond to the call of the Twelve, under the direction of the First Presidency of the Church, to preach the gospel to every creature, to every tongue and people under the heavens, to whom they may be sent. Hence they should understand the gospel, and they should not be wholly dependent upon our auxiliary organizations for instruction, neither should they be wholly dependent upon the missionary classes in our Church schools for their knowledge of the gospel, and for their qualifications to preach that gospel to the world. They should take up the study of the gospel, the study of the scriptures and the history of the dealings of God with the people of the earth, in their own quorums, and make those quorums schools of learning and instruction, wherein they may qualify themselves for every labor and duty that may be required at their hands.—Apr. C. R., 1907, pp. 5, 6.

DUTY OF SEVENTIES. The seventies have no responsibility of presiding. It is not the calling or duty of their office to preside. They are traveling elders, and they are to preach the gospel to the world, under the direction of the twelve apostles, who constitute the traveling high council of the Church, and who are special witnesses of Jesus Christ to all the world.—Oct. C. R., 1901, p. 72.

DUTIES OF SEVENTIES. We have also in the Church, today, I am informed, 146 quorums of seventy. These constitute a body of elders of somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 men, whose special duty it is to respond to the call of the apostles to preach the gospel, without purse or scrip, to all the nations of the earth. They are minute men. It is expected that they will be ready, whenever they are called, to go out in the world, or to go out to the various organizations of the Church to fulfil missions and to perform such duties as shall be required of them, in order that the work of the Lord and the work of the ministry may be upheld and sustained and carried on in the Church and throughout the world.—Oct. C. R., 1904, p. 3.

SEVENTIES QUORUMS TO BE REPLENISHED FROM ELDERS' QUORUMS. Gather in from the elders' quorums those who have proved themselves worthy, and who have gained experience, and make seventies of them, so that the quorum of the seventies may be replenished; and the aged ones, whose physical condition will not permit them any longer to do missionary duty in the world, let them be ordained high priests and patriarchs, to bless the people and to minister at home. Gather in the strong, the vigorous, the young, the able-bodied, who have the spirit of the gospel in their hearts, to fill up the ranks of the seventies, that we may have ministers to preach the gospel to the world. They are needed. We cannot now meet the demand.—Oct. C. R., 1905, p. 96.

ELDERS TO PROCLAIM GOSPEL. I believe that the elders of Israel, and the officers of the Church, should devote themselves to the proclamation of the gospel of life everlasting, and that they should not dwell or seek to dwell upon trivial and nonsensical things, or upon personal conduct or extraneous affairs. I think they should be dignified and sincere in their spirit and utterances. I think they should be moved by the spirit of truth and of the inspiration of the gospel, and consider that it is their mission to bear record of Jesus Christ, of Joseph Smith, and of the divinity of the great latter-day work, the foundations of which Joseph Smith was instrumental in the hands of God in establishing in the latter days. I believe if our brethren will devote their thought, their minds and efforts in this direction, that they will please the Lord, they will satisfy the Saints, and they will fulfil the object of their mission better than they can possibly do by criticizing themselves or others, or dwelling on the faults and failings of men.—Oct. C. R., 1909, p. 124.

DUTIES OF ELDERS. I am not prepared to state how many elders we have in the Church; but they are very numerous. It is the duty of this body of men to be standing ministers at home; to be ready at the call of the presiding officers of the Church and the stakes, to labor in the ministry at home, and to officiate in any calling that may be required of them, whether it be to work in the temples, or to labor in the ministry at home, or whether it be to go out into the world, along with the seventies, to preach the gospel to the world.—Oct. C. R., 1904, p. 4.

AUTHORITY OF THE BISHOPS AND OTHER PRESIDING OFFICERS. A bishop is the presiding officer of his ward, and where the bishop is in the ward, his counselors and those who are members of his ward are subject to his presidency. He cannot yield it up. He cannot give it to another; or, if he does, he violates one of the sacred principles of the government of the priesthood. He may direct his counselors, the first or the second, to do his will, to carry out his wishes, to execute his desires, or his commands; but in so doing the counselor does not act as the bishop, but he acts under the direction of the presiding authority. He does not act independently of the bishop, but subordinate to the bishop, and is subject entirely to the bishop's direction. This principle prevails, or should prevail, in the Sunday school organization of the Church. We can commission and appoint; that is, those who preside can call upon their aids for assistance, they can direct them to accomplish labors, but in every instance when they do, it is by and with and under the consent of the presiding authority, and by his advice, but not independently. Our missions have not always been organized strictly according to the pattern that the Lord has given. In a great many instances the presiding elder has been the presiding officer of the mission.

But in recent years, in many instances, it has been deemed wise, not only to have a presiding elder in the mission, but also assistants to the president, or counselors, that they may render him such assistance and counsel as he may need. In all these things the presiding officer is the head, should be regarded in his place, and his place should be held sacred in the minds of his associates. And no man possessing a correct understanding of the spirit of the gospel and of the authority and law of the Holy Priesthood will attempt for a moment to run before his file leader or to do anything that is not strictly in harmony with his wish and the authority that belongs to him. The moment a man in a subordinate position begins to usurp the authority of his leader, that moment he is out of his place, and proves by his conduct that he does not comprehend his duty, that he is not acting in the line of his calling, and is a dangerous character. He will set bad examples, he will mislead, he will lead others into error, having fallen into error himself; indeed, he is in error the moment he acts contrary to and independent of the direction of his presiding officer; and if he continues in that course he will go astray entirely, and those who follow him will follow him astray. We all understand that principle, I think, and I would like to see my brethren and sisters who are connected with the Sunday school work observe it strictly, but in the true spirit; not with any kind of stiff formality or set ways, but in the true spirit of presidency, lovingly subject to divine authority, the authority that God has instituted that we may emulate, the example of the Son himself, who came to earth, and while he possessed majestic power to heal the sick, to restore sight to the blind, bearing to the deaf, and bring the dead to life, and to accomplish wonderful things, walking upon the waves, stilling the storms, casting out devils, and multiplying the loaves and fishes, by which he fed the multitudes of people, yet in accomplishing all this he declared, over and over again, this great principle, that he came not to do his own will, but the will of him that sent him, recognizing in every feature of his message and ministry in the world that God was at the head, and that he did nothing of himself, but only that which the Father sent him to do. Thus he was acting under the authority of his president or file leader—of him who sent him and commissioned him to accomplish the work he was sent to do. Let us follow that spirit and example and adopt that principle in our lives, then we shall never have presiding elders and officers in the Church at logger-heads with each other, contending with each other, and at cross purposes. They will always be one. They will see eye to eye, they will understand better the principles of divine government, the principles of the gospel and the promptings of the Holy Spirit.—Oct. C. R., 1905 (Sunday School), pp. 109, 110.

DUTIES OF BISHOPS. It is expected that the bishop of a ward with his counselors will understand the necessities of every member of his ward. Then they have as assistants and helpers a large corps of elders, and priests, teachers and deacons of the lesser Priesthood, who render assistance to them in the temporal as well as the spiritual affairs of the Church. It devolves upon the bishopric of the ward to look after the poor, to minister unto the sick and the afflicted, and to see that there is no want nor suffering among the people in these organized divisions of the Church. It is also the duty of these presiding officers in the Church to look after the spiritual welfare of the people, to see that they are living moral, pure and upright lives, that they are faithful in the discharge of their duties as Latter-day Saints, that they are honest in their dealings with one another, and with all the world. It is their business to see that spiritual light exists in their hearts, and that the people under their presidency and direction are living the lives of Saints, as far as it is possible for men and women, in the mortal body, beset by the weaknesses and imperfections of mankind, to be Saints.—Oct. C. R., 1904, pp. 2, 3.

BISHOPS AND LESSER PRIESTHOOD SHOULD BE ACTIVE. The bishops and the lesser priesthood should be very active and energetic. We should look after the boys who have been ordained deacons, teachers, and priests in the Church. We should find something for them to do in their calling. Let them be appointed to active labors in their several spheres. Put forward those who have not had experience to accompany those who have, and give them something to do. Let the deacons not only assist to keep the meeting houses in repair and their grounds in proper condition, but let them be set to work to look after the welfare of the widows and fatherless, the aged and the poor. Many of our young men who are idle, languishing for the want of something to do, could be made more useful in helping the poor to clean up about their homes and make them comfortable, and helping them to live in such a way that life would be pleasant to them. There is no reason why the members of the lesser priesthood should not be engaged in missions and labors of this kind.—Apr. C. R., 1908, p. 6.