The Priesthood Reform Movement, 1908–1922

Most Latter-day Saints know a good deal about the duties and functions of the various priesthood quorums, but few appreciate the great effort required of past Church leaders to produce the well-ordered priesthood programs which characterize the Church today. Since the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood, the various quorums have been alive and functioning to a greater or lesser degree. But organized and systematic priesthood work as we know it today actually dates from the period of 1908–1922, when a specially called General Priesthood Committee instituted a Churchwide priesthood reform and reorganization movement under the direction of president Joseph F. Smith.