walking out of priesthood meeting

i’m not the fondest of my elders quorum president. he cries. he recites poetry. he cries some more. then comes another poem. he tells us how spiritual he was during the week and then he sheds a few more tears. usually i just sit back, try to ignore it, and enjoy the remaining fifteen minutes after he sits down and lets the teacher speak. this week he went to far.

at first, it seemed like things might be better than usual. three or four minutes had passed and he had not yet recited a poem nor had he cried. my hopes were soon shot down. president a--- begins to discuss how elder porter of the seventy mentioned in a stake leadership meeting that many girls at byu go through their four year experience at byu. to solve this problem, the relief society president was going to ask all of the girls that were not dating if they want to be asked out. then, after making a list, the men in the ward would ask these girls out on ward sponsored dates. this whole discussion really began to bother me. first of all, it doesn’t seem to me that the priesthood should have any role in organizing and paying for pity dates (and yes, the girls would know that they were being taken on dates out of pity). second, even if the they somehow justify it, an open discussion with all of the guys in the ward about it is hardly appropriate. this should have been discussed on a one-on-one basis with the guys on the ward. so that the whole ordeal for the girls is not public knowledge.

so there i was, sitting in the front and contemplating whether or not i even wanted to be a part of this meeting. just as i decided to stay, president a--- crossed the line. after implying that nobody wants to take these girls out on dates, he says “they are cute girls… well, ok, only some of them are cute…ok, they all have sweet spirits.” that was too much for me. i got out and left.

after the meetings were over, i stopped by president a---‘s apartment and told him exactly how i felt. i let him know that the whole thing and especially his comments were inappropriate and offensive. i did not want to go to my priesthood meetings to hear crap like that. he apologized and thanked me for letting him know how i felt. i wished him a good day and left.

i later found out today, that president a--- went around to every guy’s apartment in the ward and apologized for his comments.