The Young Men (often referred to as Young Men's) is a

youth organization The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

and official program of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). Its purpose is to assist the church's Aaronic priesthood-aged young men in their growth and development. The organization serves young men from the year they turn 12 until they are 18.

History

The first official youth association of the church—the Young Gentlemen's and Young Ladies’ Relief Society—was formally organized by youth in

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its historic importance and it ...

, on the advice of church founder,

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...

, in March 1843. The group had held several informal meetings since late January of that year under the supervision of apostle Heber C. Kimball. In 1854, apostle Lorenzo Snow organized the Polysophical Society and encouraged young Latter-day Saints to join. In 1875, LDS Church

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as chu ...

organized the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA) and intended that it act as a male equivalent of the Young Ladies' Cooperative Retrenchment Association, which was renamed the Young Ladies' National Mutual Improvement Association in 1877. The purpose was to "help young men develop their gifts, to stand up and speak, and to bear testimony". A central committee of the YMMIA, led by Junius F. Wells, was formed in 1876 to oversee the organization, conduct missionary work, and issue general instructions. A YMMIA general superintendency (later renamed "general presidency") was formed by church John Taylor in 1880. In 1901, the YMMIA was divided into junior and senior classes. In 1911, the church followed the pattern developed by the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded in ...

(BSA) and created the YMMIA Scouts. The organization was officially integrated into the BSA on May 21, 1913. In the 1970s, the YMMIA was briefly merged with the church's Aaronic priesthood and young women's organizations and officially renamed the Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Women. In June 1974, this consolidation was reversed: an independent

Young Women organization The Young Women (often referred to as Young Women's or Young Woman's) is a youth organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The purpose of the Young Women organization is to help each young woman "be worthy to ma ...

was established and the name of the Young Men organization was changed to Aaronic Priesthood. Also in 1974, the church eliminated the YMMIA General Presidency, placing the organization under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric. The organization's name was changed to Young Men in May 1977 and a general presidency was reinstated. Aaronic Priesthood MIA Young Women was the name of the LDS Church's official young men organization between 1972 and 1974. It was formed by consolidating the YMMIA and the YWMIA into one organization. Leadership of the auxiliary was shared between the presiding bishopric and the Young Men General Presidency. The combined organization was short-lived, and in 1974 the organization was again divided into the renamed Young Men and the Young Women. Between 1979 and 2004, the Young Men General Presidency had been composed of

seventies File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War ...

, who were church general authorities. In the church's April 2004 general conference,

Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the rel ...

, a counselor in the First Presidency, announced that "a recent decision as been madethat members of the Quorums of the Seventy

ill ILL may refer to: * ''I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom * Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland * Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility * Interlibrar ...

not serve in the general presidencies of the Sunday School and Young Men." The Young Men organization was involved in

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...

from 1911 with the formation of their MIA Scouts until the end of 2019. The YMMIA Scouts merged with

(BSA) on May 21, 1913, with the church becoming the first chartering organization, with John H. Taylor as the first LDS Scout Commissioner. In 1928, the Boy Scouts was named the church's official youth program for boys ages 12 to 16. Young Men organizations in other countries were not involved in Scouting. In the

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and in other

Commonwealth countries The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 sovereign states. Most of them were British colonies or dependencies of those colonies. No one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as is the case in a p ...

, some local groups participated in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme or its equivalent. As of January 1, 2018, the church withdrew from Varsity and Venturing scouting programs, with boys ages 8 to 13 still enrolled in the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. In May 2018, the church announced that they would completely withdrawal from all BSA programs at the end of 2019. In October 2019, the church announced that ward Young Men presidencies would be discontinued, and implemented the church's newly created "Children and Youth Program" at the beginning of 2020.

Today's organization

In each of the church's local

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

, males turning ages 12 to 18 are assigned to the Aaronic priesthood and the Young Men organization. The Aaronic priesthood is led by a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

or branch president and his counselors (known as the

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

or branch presidency). In the Aaronic priesthood, the young men are sub-divided into three aged-based priesthood offices, which also serve as classes on Sunday: *

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

(turning ages 12 or 13) *

Teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

(turning ages 14 or 15) *

Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

(turning ages 16 to 18) When a young man reaches the age of 18, he is normally encouraged to begin attending the elders

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to '' Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

. In certain instances, such as when a young man turns 18 but is still in secondary school, he will be encouraged to continue to attend the priests quorum. Generally, each age group will hold a separate class for instruction during Sunday meetings. The teachers and deacons classes have a quorum president drawn from the members of the class, who in turn may choose two counselors and a secretary to assist him. The bishop or branch president is the president of the priests quorum and may choose two young men to assist him in this role, along with another young man to serve as secretary. The Aaronic priesthood is supervised by the presiding bishopric, and the church has Young Men presidencies at the general and stake levels. In addition to Sunday meetings, the members of the Young Men meet on a weekday for youth activities, an hour to ninety minute activity. Once per month, a combined activity is held with the members of the Young Women organization. Most congregations or stakes also organize annual or biannual youth camps, and beginning in 2020 eligible young men may attend regional ''For the Strength of Youth'' conferences every other year.

Chronology of the general superintendencies and presidencies of the Young Men

References

* . * .

Notes

External links