We Stick Together

By Don Searle

Church Magazines

Brothers can be a pain sometimes. They tease you—good-naturedly, usually. But they can also be there just when you need them, ready to back you up or tell the world how great you are.

Those would be the brothers in your priests quorum, if they’re like the priests in the Leon Valley Ward, San Antonio Texas West Stake. If being in a quorum is supposed to be about brotherhood, they’ve got that part down.

Quorum Friendship

What happened to Ronny Rodriguez is an example. The other four active priests in this quorum more or less grew up together; they first met in elementary school. When Ronny came to the United States from his native Chile in 2000, his quorum welcomed him. His place in the group is solid.

Ronny says one of the strongest characteristics of this group is friendship: “When I see someone from this quorum, I know I have a friend.”

“We stick together,” Brent Davis says. Unity is one of the quorum’s strengths. Do they ever have disagreements? Yes, but when that happens, Brent says, they talk it out or laugh it off, forget it, and get on with their activity. Marcus Lunt says they’ve learned through the years that it is not useful to pick on each other’s weaknesses but much better to support each other in their strengths.

And they know how to offer support when it is needed. Sometimes, says Stephen Weatherholtz, people at school don’t accept others who don’t conform to some of their standards or ideas. But members of this quorum accept each other for what they are.

Bishop Curtis Brown knows what they are. They are good examples for others among the 28 youth in their ward. “These young men have an incredible faith,” says Bishop Brown. And they are reliable. When they tell him they will do something, the bishop knows it will be done.

Doing Their Duty to God

Family support and the work of quorum advisers help these young men be strong. The lessons their advisers teach “apply to our lives. We can reflect on what we need to do to be more Christlike,” Chad Warner says. “Also, they’re like our brothers. They like to do things with us.”

Their advisers also like to do things for the young men in the ward. These five priests have received the Duty to God award or are well on their way to completing the requirements. They work individually with their leaders to set and fulfill goals. Leaders track their progress using a detailed chart developed on the computer. The young men also help plan youth activities.

Chad says he appreciates the way ward leaders have helped them grow. “We’ve had a lot of spiritual experiences. They’ve helped us realize we need to get closer to the Lord.”

As much as these young men like sports, they may only play basketball a couple of times a year for a Mutual activity. Instead, they do a variety of other things that help fulfill requirements for their Duty to God award, including service activities.

Do they enjoy clearing the limbs and debris from a drainage ditch so that water won’t flood over a low-lying road? Is this a trick question? No, but they will sweat to do it in the heat of a San Antonio summer morning because their service is needed.

Brennan Ray is an assistant adviser in the Leon Valley Ward priests quorum. He says the value of the Young Men program is “like a fire. It catches.”

Jobs, Sports, Music

These priests have learned to handle responsibility. Quorum member Chad Warner works at a San Antonio theme park as chief of a crew of young people who run some of the games. It is Chad’s responsibility to collect all the money his crew takes in and deliver it to the park offices. Stephen Weatherholtz is a lifeguard at the swimming pool in the park, and sometimes he has to help handle emergencies when people are injured.

Ward Young Men president Ned Lunt says these priests have a lot of influence among their peers at school because of how they live and what they accomplish. They lead the way in their chosen activities, and that makes other students in their school want to know how they came to be the people they are. While one of the members of the quorum is his son, he is quick to praise the accomplishments of all these young men.

These are not guys who brag about themselves. But someone else in the quorum will tell you that when Marcus Lunt won the Texas state high school tennis championship in 2004, “He went 16-0. Undefeated.” Others will tell you that Chad Warner played a big part in winning some games for the high school basketball team last year. They will tell you that Brent Davis looks like a standout at catcher for the high school baseball team. Ronny Rodriguez, who enjoys soccer and rugby, is focusing on debate and the Spanish honor society in school this year. Stephen Weatherholtz, an accomplished musician, stands out in the high school choir.

Stephen’s focus on music was a deliberate choice when he began high school, even though as a lifeguard he is athletic and enjoys some sports. “Music to me is everything about feeling,” Stephen says. Ask him what kind of music he listens to, and he will name tunes by performers from almost every category. But, “On Sunday I listen to completely different music than I do on a weekday.” It is sacred or classical. “It gives me more of a feeling that Sunday is sacred.”

“The priest’s duty is to preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and administer the sacrament,

“And visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties.

“And he may also ordain other priests, teachers, and deacons.”
—D&C 20:46–48.

Photography by Don Searle, except as noted

Left: A quorum cleanup project.

Below, left to right: The Leon Valley priests quorum: Chad Warner, Stephen Weatherholtz, Brent Davis, Ronny Rodriguez, and Marcus Lunt.

Photograph of tray by Welden C. Andersen

These priests are on fire with enthusiasm for the Young Men program. Far right, left to right: Stephen, Ronny, Chad, and Brent, with adviser Ned Lunt, Bishop Curtis Brown, and assistant adviser Brennan Ray. Marcus restrings a tennis racket at the club where he works.