Mormon Church

The Duty to God program assists Mormon boys in learning to serve God and to live their religion. The program is currently undergoing a makeover that makes it more focused on achieving because the young man wants to rise to his full potential to serve God, and less on wanting to win awards. The program allows boys to fulfill goals that help him become a better priesthood holder and to prepare for fatherhood in the future.

Mormons do not have a professional clergy. Instead, all worthy males over the age of twelve may receive the priesthood. Each level of priesthood comes with increasing responsibility. Initially, boys age twelve or older, and men who join the church as adults, serve in the Aaronic Priesthood. This is the priesthood referred to in the Old Testament.

Twelve and thirteen year old boys are deacons. They are responsible for setting a good example to the church of worthy behavior. They also collect fast offerings. Each month, members of the Church are asked to go without food and liquids for twenty-four hours and to donate the money saved to care for the poor. Although members can give these funds directly, the deacons are charged with the responsibility of visiting the homes of members to collect the funds if desired.

During Sunday services, Mormons take the Sacrament, similar to Communion. The Deacons are responsible for taking the blessed bread and water and serving it to members of the congregation, who remain in their seats for this.

The deacons are also assigned to care for the poor. This often means they are called on to do service projects for members of the congregation, as well as for their communities.

Deacons serve as messengers and assist their leaders in any way necessary. When attending an LDS service, you’ll often notice a young boy seated with the leaders. Should the leaders need to send a message to someone during the service, the deacon delivers it, allowing the leaders to remain available on the stand (a platform at the front of the chapel for leaders, speakers, the choir, and the music people).

Deacons also serve in leadership positions with their peers, assist in teaching their peers, help to maintain the meetinghouse and grounds, and do limited volunteer service in Mormon temples. They have a responsibility to make sure their peers attend church and have friends while they do so.

At age fourteen, a boy can become a Teacher. Teachers have all the responsibilities of deacons, but have additional responsibilities as well. One special responsibility is to become a Home Teacher. Paired with an adult, they are assigned several families to have special concern for. Each month, they visit the families with their adult companion and deliver a spiritual message. They spend time getting to know the people in the family so the family will feel safe turning to them in an emergency. If the family needs help, they first call on their home teachers.

Sixteen year old boys become Priests. They have all the responsibilities of the two other priesthood positions, but again, new responsibilities are added. Two special responsibilities are baptism and blessing the sacrament. A priest can baptize people who are joining the church, or children who are baptized at age eight, the minimum age for baptism in the Church. The sacrament, mentioned earlier as being similar to Communion, is prepared by the Teachers prior to the beginning of the meeting. The priests bless it, which means to pray over it. The sacrament is blessed to represent Jesus’ body and blood.

Giving so many sacred and challenging responsibilities to young men might seem odd, but it helps the young men to grow up to be responsible, caring men. They are trained from a young age to watch for those who have needs and then to meet those needs. Having responsibilities in services teaches them to show respect for God and to develop a life-long habit of Godly service.

The Duty to God program helps boys to improve in their ability to serve in the church. Learning to work hard and to serve unselfishly also prepares them to be good husbands and fathers when the time comes. Their exposure to other families for whom they have responsibilities allows them to meet other male role-models, to watch good marriages in action, and to see the challenges that come when marriages aren’t taken seriously. They learn to watch closely to recognize needs and to create a plan to resolve the problems, all of which serve them well in becoming adults who can contribute to society in meaningful ways.

Some of the requirements for the program will be carried out through Church activities or family activities. However, the boys are also responsible for working on parts of the program alone. Although the boys are mentored in this program, they are considered responsible for their own growth and progress and are not to depend on the adults in their world to see to it they finish the program in a timely way..They learn to set goals and then to make plans to carry them out. Because there is little emphasis on awards for each step, the boys come to realize that personal growth is the most important reward.

Tags: Duty to God, Mormon priesthood, Mormon teens, Mormons, religious youth

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