Guest Author - Shannon Swanson

I have had the opportunity to serve in several auxiliaries in the Church within the past few years, including the Young Women, Relief Society and Sunday School to name a few. Each time I experienced what I think we all experience when serving in an auxiliary. If you are a teacher, you prepare your lesson during the week, you show up on Sunday and you teach. The end.

However, if you are in the presidency of an auxiliary, your story may be a little different. You have meetings, and maybe more meetings and you are serving this person and serving that person and organizing and calling, etc.

What is important is to remember that each person serving in an auxiliary is a team, working together for the same cause and, therefore, must act together and have the same goals and desires for those they serve.

This means that there should be, ideally, a sense of unity, oneness, and constant support between the members of those serving in the auxiliary. It means that each member is aware of these goals and desires as well as the specific needs and characteristics of their auxiliary. It also means that they are aware of each other and supporting each other.

For example, if you are serving in the Primary, do you share ideas amongst each other on how to wrestle the unruly child or how to engage each of your students? Do the teachers feel the constant support of the presidency and vice versa?

If you are serving in the Young Women’s group, are the teachers kept up-to-date with what is required for Personal Progress so that they can incorporate this into their lessons and/or provide encouragement for their Young Women?

Again, the purpose here is to provide each member serving within the auxiliary with a sense of unity because when there is a sense of unity, there is a greater sense of purpose, a greater sense of importance in the calling.

Although an ideal idea to obtain this would be to meet with everyone serving within the auxiliary, this is not always possible. Yet, meeting once a month or even once every three months may be entirely doable. And it should always be enjoyable.

Even if you decide to get together and talk about each other’s and your auxiliary’s needs for five minutes, share teaching ideas, delegate one or two acts of service, etc. and then watch a movie together, it would be successful if you come away feeling closer together, like you can trust each other and ask one another if you need help (even if there are some who don’t particularly get along, it may help).