Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

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lajackson
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Re: Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

#11

Post by lajackson »

Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles used to say that you cannot preside from the congregation.
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Re: Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

#12

Post by scgallafent »

One important item in this discussion is the instruction about the sacrament in 18.9.4:
After the prayer, priesthood holders reverently pass the bread to the members. The presiding leader receives it first, after which there is no set order.
If the stake president opts not to sit on the stand, he is still presiding. Some deacon is going to have to find him in the congregation to receive the sacrament first.
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Re: Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

#13

Post by nathangg »

Two things:

1. This thread, from over 10 years ago, is back from the dead! (I know we believe in resurrection, however, I didn't know it applied to this topic ;-) ). Thank you to those who started replying again. It has been fun to read through the new comments and ponder the ministering and administering responsibilities of various calling-holders in the Church and how to better be a servant leader.

2. Is there a reference for the below quote somewhere? I've started searching the internet for a proper attribution but I haven't found anything yet.
lajackson wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 5:36 pm Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles used to say that you cannot preside from the congregation.
~Thank you,
Nathan
lajackson
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Re: Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

#14

Post by lajackson »

nathangg wrote: Is there a reference for the below quote somewhere?
lajackson wrote: Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles used to say that you cannot preside from the congregation.
Elder Boyd K. Packer, BYU Devotional, October 15, 1996. The exact quote (I wrote the previous from memory) is
The one who presides in a meeting should sit on the stand and sit close to the one conducting. It is a bit difficult to preside over a meeting from the congregation.
The talk was also covered in an article in the Deseret News the next day.
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Re: Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

#15

Post by sbradshaw »

Another reason why the person presiding might want to sit on the stand is mentioned in General Handbook, 29.1:
General Handbook 29.1 wrote: Occasionally something happens during a meeting that the presiding officer feels a need to clarify. For example, someone might teach incorrect doctrine. If that happens, the presiding officer should make a clarification without embarrassing anyone.
It would be easier for them to go to the pulpit to make a clarification if they're already on the stand. But again, it's not clearly stated that the person presiding must sit on the stand.
Samuel Bradshaw • If you desire to serve God, you are called to the work.
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Cmanrogers
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Re: Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

#16

Post by Cmanrogers »

From what I’ve seen in my ward, if neither counselors are there than sometimes the ward clerk or executive Secretary is asked to sit up there with the bishop. Nothing in the handbook for or against that though.
Christian Rogers
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Re: Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

#17

Post by fhoggie »

Elders Quorum President
lajackson
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Re: Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

#18

Post by lajackson »

There is nothing that says anyone has to sit on the stand with the bishop when his counselors are gone. He is perfectly free to sit alone if he wishes to do so. The same is true when the entire bishopric is gone and someone else is assigned by the stake president to conduct, such as the elders quorum president.
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Re: Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

#19

Post by CWatsonJr »

Boyd K. Packer addresses where the presiding officer sits in his talk “The Unwritten Order of Things.” He doesn’t say “in his opinion” during this talk. I won’t spoil it, because this is a talk worth digesting.
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Re: Handbook Reference for who should sit with the bishop during sacrament meeting...

#20

Post by BrianEdwards »

That's the same talk that lajackson referenced earlier in the thread. Although this 1996 talk is informative and definitely contains helpful principles, it was not given in an official setting (General Conference, church training, Handbook), and I would not give the same weight to what an Apostle says in a BYU Devotional (I'm sure there's lots of interesting quotes from Apostles at BYU Devotionals!). And there's a lot of old statements regarding church policy and management from Apostles in official settings, which are based on sound principles, but the application of those principles may be different in our day. The unwritten order of things nowadays compared to how the Church operated when I was young, is definitely not the same!
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