What is the purpose of PEC?

I don't know the answer to this question. Any ideas? Given the instruction below, I really don't know what the point of PEC is.

Admittedly, part of my confusion is that every unit I've ever been in has treated PEC, welfare, and ward council meetings like the same meeting, but with different participants.

I'd really like to figure this out before my next bishopric meeting so that I can give some feedback on meeting schedule. What are the feelings and experiences among the participants here?

4.3 Priesthood Executive Committee

The ward priesthood executive committee (PEC) includes the bishopric, ward clerk, ward executive secretary, high priests group leader, elders quorum president, ward mission leader, and Young Men president.


The PEC meets regularly to consider priesthood matters. Generally, the PEC need not consider matters that will be discussed by the ward council. However, it may be beneficial for the PEC to preview some matters that will be on the ward council’s agenda. For convenience, the PEC could meet just before the ward council meeting.


As needed, the bishop may invite the Relief Society president to attend some ward PEC meetings to discuss confidential welfare matters and to coordinate home teaching and visiting teaching assignments.

In discussions in our Ward Council on Sunday Home Teaching was talked about as one item that would/could be a PEC only discussion - no need to have the whole Ward Council in the meeting to talk about Home Teaching statistics, areas for improvement, assignments, etc... Beyond that there may be a small smattering of Welfare Confidential matters for the PEC only, but not much after that. It appears that we will be holding a short PEC after our now twice a month Ward Council meeting to discuss any items that weren't necessary to discuss in Ward Council - we'll see how many of those kind of items there are and how often we actually hold that follow-on PEC meeting.

Section 4.3 basically says what I have heard for the last few years, that Ward Council is the main administrative meeting in the ward. I think they were leaning towards what you see in the handbook for some time.

PEC will still be very much needed, its function will not change that much, but will become more focused on certain things. I've been in all three councils, bishopric, PEC, and ward council, and they all serve different purposes so this handbook is clarifying those focal points somewhat. That sharpening of focus will enhance all three meetings, and bring about much good as it pertains to the work each of those councils does, and enhance the mission and purpose of the Church significantly.

I have to say, it's been pretty hard to effectively distinguish between PEC and Ward Council for me. After viewing the training and reading the handbooks, things have been clarified to a degree - although I still think the majority of potential PEC items can be dealt with outside of a specific meeting.

I can see a time when PEC no longer exists as a separate entity.

We've used PEC as an opportunity to discuss / coordinate the following, as seen in a sample agenda that I've stripped of most details and uploaded. We've held it on the third Sunday to allow the collection of last months home teaching statistics, and since this is just after the quorums turn in their home teaching reports to the bishopric and stake, it is when these are reviewed.

Because of the attendance of YM, HP and Elders, it is a great time to coordinate not only home teaching, but Service Assignments and Priesthood advancements (YM and Prospective) which often involve coordination between the quorums and HP group, without the whole Council's time in Ward council to be taken discussing them.

1) Report of any assignments from Previous meeting:
2) Planning and reporting on ward service assignments or projects
3) Home teaching report from each quorum or group, including the Young men, from last months stats.
a) any unassigned potential Young men as Jr. companions
b) any "unassigned to be home taught" members, including new move-ins, and leaders who have visited them, why they remain unassigned, and which quorum or group will assign home teachers to visit them
c) Companions and or Jr. Companions assigned as home teachers, but not making it out to do their home teaching
4) Priesthood advancement goals and plans for YM and Prospective Elders under the care of HP or Elders.

I'm not sure how much this will change now...

kisac this is a great agenda. thanks for sharing. i took it and manipulated it to our needs. we will use it tomorrow.

1, ok given
2, - a WARD service assignment or project report belongs in WARD council
3. HT Report - OK, though what happens when discussing a family without the RS President, seems like information that will be repeated or half-baked if the RS isn't included.
3a - ok
3b - Any assigning of HT or discussion with new members is likely a better discussion with at least the RS President involved
3c - Seems like a role for the YM Quorum leader to be assigned to follow up with the young man and if the AP quorum leader isn't there why bother talking about without the person who SHOULD have all the information necessary
4 - good

Again, It seems like there is SO VERY LITTLE to do with a PEC anymore the above agenda is pretty good but seems to stretch a reason to HOLD the meeting rather than the other way around...

After the new handbook came out that clearly de-emphasized the role of PEC - and a follow-up in the WWT events, this was a follow-up discussion addresses by E. Cook (IIRC) - he mentioned that the question came up that others were struggling with what PEC was for, his acknowledgement that little, if anything, needs to happen in PEC that can't happen with the whole Ward Council. He didn't come right out and say not to hold it, but as for me, it's MAYBE a 15 minutes a month thing, where Ward Council is a regular meeting.

This is an interesting discussion. My ward is in a habit of holding ward council meeting the first and third Sundays and PEC the second and fourth Sundays. Sometimes as a ward council member I feel out of the loop because ward council-like items were discussed during PEC as if it were a ward council meeting, but without half of the ward council. I don't think we've stopped to think about the difference and purpose of each, but it would be helpful. I'm not in a direct position to change it, but I'll see if I can bring it up as a suggestion one of these days.

No idea. Ours is basically treated as a bishopric meeting except for no discussion of callings. Usually only about half the priesthood leaders show so it would not be effective any way.

Our ward council meets 1st and 3rd Sun with a 30 minute bishopric meeting before it.. PEC meets 2nd Sun with a slightly longer bishopric meeting before it and 4th and 5th Sundays are hour long bishopric meetings. Occassional Wed bishopric meetings as needed for the rest.

What an interesting discussion. I noticed that in our stake when the new 2010 instructions came out that nobody really paid much attention, they kept just meeting the same way they always did.

It took a SP training with Bishoprics and specific direction to elevate the Ward Council. It was as if somebody was waiting to be told what to do.

There is too much of this needing to be told what to do. What we really know is that very little other than Ward Callings and disciplinary actions require a separate discussion from Ward Council. Everything else should be Ward Council. And men should just get used to getting kids ready for church.

I have been in several units where you could not tell one meeting from the next apart from who was in the room. This year we made a change and have Ward Council on the first and third Sunday and have PEC right after Ward council on the third Sunday. This PEC meeting is no more than 20-30 minutes and is entirely focused on priesthood topics such as:

- Home Teaching (not the families they serve, but the home teachers and their assignments)
- Priesthood Ordinances like sacrament and others and how we are doing
- Priesthood advancement including prospective Elders
- Aaronic Priesthood members and their duties and progression
- Any other Priesthood related concerns.

So far it has worked out well and I think fulfills the purpose of the meeting. This change was brought about after listening to several of the Worldwide Leadership broadcasts from 2008 forward and the manuals. So far so good!

I think the following agenda items should justify the need for a monthly PEC meeting. However, Handbook 2 leaves out everything except home teaching, which is not very helpful.

1) Home teaching reports from elders quorum and high priests. This should also include any relevant issues arising out of PPI.

2) Review of home teaching assignments by EQP & HPGL. The bishop should also regularly meet up with the Relief Society President in order to ensure that both home teaching and visiting teachings assignments are properly balanced and coordinated.

3) Report by Young Mens President on Aaronic priesthood holders' duties and progression, as outlined in the Duty to God handbook and Doctrine & Covenants.

4) Ensure sacrament ordinance is being adequately covered and training provided. Young Mens President should occasionally invite new converts into Young Mens for sacrament training. This training should be led by the Young Men, but supervised by the Young Mens President.

5) Coordinate priesthood training, every three months for all other ordinances, on the the first Sunday of the month.

6) Ward Mission Leader leads discussion on prospective Elders

7) Bishop announces upcoming Aaronic priesthood advancements.

jasonhowardsmith wrote:I think the following agenda items should justify the need for a monthly PEC meeting. However, Handbook 2 leaves out everything except home teaching, which is not very helpful.

1) Home teaching reports from elders quorum and high priests. This should also include any relevant issues arising out of PPI.

I don't know any value this has to be reported without the entire Ward Council being involved - Certainly Visiting Teaching should be considered ALONG-SIDE and not independent of Home Teaching.

2) Review of home teaching assignments by EQP & HPGL. The bishop should also regularly meet up with the Relief Society President in order to ensure that both home teaching and visiting teachings assignments are properly balanced and coordinated.

I don't see value in considering Home Teaching Assignments without also including Visiting Teaching Assignments and reviews again, jointly, together in council, not independent of each other- Ward Council material.

3) Report by Young Mens President on Aaronic priesthood holders' duties and progression, as outlined in the Duty to God handbook and Doctrine & Covenants.

Ya maybe, but why wouldn't a Young Women's President provide a similar report on Personal Progress. If we do one, we should do the others - Ward Council again.

4) Ensure sacrament ordinance is being adequately covered and training provided. Young Mens President should occasionally invite new converts into Young Mens for sacrament training. This training should be led by the Young Men, but supervised by the Young Mens President.

Not sure how this one applies, it sounds like a task assigned to the Young Men's President that would be reported on through his PPI with the Bishop.

5) Coordinate priesthood training, every three months for all other ordinances, on the the first Sunday of the month.

Again assignments given and reported on seem to be PPI areas

6) Ward Mission Leader leads discussion on prospective Elders

This doesn't seem very valuable to me without the input of Relief Society, Primary, or Young Womens Presidents also sitting in council as we've been asked by our leaders.

7) Bishop announces upcoming Aaronic priesthood advancements.

I have no idea why this is necessary in a meeting. The Young Men's president has these lists and really only needs to know when an advancement isn't going to happen.

Look, I don't think that what I've said above is explicit for each scenario. I believe that there is always room for an ad-hoc meeting to discussion certain items related to Priesthood assignments and/or issues with men/boys in a ward. I just don't understand, in light of what we're being asked to explicitly concentrate on as Wards and Stakes, not including the Women Presidencies in the items above. The Training we receive from the Q15 and Q70s is to include their voices, not only on matters related to their auxiliary orgs, but as a council, taking their counsel seriously.

The priesthood need a separate meeting, otherwise you end up just saturating ward council with the minutiae of priesthood matters, which is both inappropriate and disrespectful towards the sisters, who can have no input into these matters. It also serves to strengthen the priesthood brethren in developing a deeper testimony of the gospel and in building up Zion through the proper lines of authority. Nothing you have said and suggested detracts from that necessity or justifies funnelling all these priesthood matters through ward council.