A Great Sense Of Belonging (Part 8 of 8)

Mid way through my ninth grade year in school, I was called by the bishop of our ward to be the Teachers Quorum President. I was over the young men ages 13 and 14 years old. I went to many presidency meetings and other planning sessions with our adult advisor, Lynn Samsel. He provided the “shadow leadership” for us to shine. I also attended the bishops youth council. Vera was the Beehive Class President so we attended this together. We actually have fond memories of goofing off in this monthly meeting that was usually held on Sunday afternoon. The bishop presided at this meeting, but usually a young man, the first assistant in the Priests Quorum, conducted the meeting. One month the first assistant wasn’t there, so the bishop indicated that I was next in line to conduct. So I went to the head table and conducted the meeting. I can’t tell you how elated that made me feel to be asked to do that. The bishop had every right to step in and conduct the meeting himself, but he deferred to his youth leadership.
When I turned sixteen, I was ordained a Priest. I had the Priesthood authority to baptize somebody, though I never had that opportunity until I was a full-time missionary. But one responsibility I got to perform quite often was to bless the Sacrament. First the Priests, (three or four young men in our ward) stood up at the Sacrament Table while the congregation was singing the Sacrament Hymn. They broke the bread into bite sized pieces. Dad told me when he was sixteen and blessed the Sacrament for the first time that he was so nervous that he just fumbled around and squished the bread into balls of dough, or so it seemed to him. When the song was over, one of the Priests knelt and read the Sacrament prayer, exactly like it is in the scriptures. When it was my turn to do this, (yes, I was nervous,) I knelt and said the prayer. I have since reflected that I was using the same Priesthood authority that Jesus Christ used to bless the last supper, or in other words, the first Sacrament.
As I write this, I am a bishop. Most of the things I do as a bishop, I learned while serving in leadership capacities in the Aaronic Priesthood.

Coming Tomorrow: Youth Conference To Nauvoo