called priests, and their office is called the priesthood.” (New Jerusalem and its
Heavenly Doctrine 314)
As a natural structure to support church uses he proposed a council of
the clergy and a council of the laity. Both would have freedom in their own
realms, or over the areas appropriate to each. Thus the clergy would lead in
governance, worship and instruction; and the laity would lead in supportive or
civil uses, such as financial and legal. Also proposed was a Joint Council that
would provide for discussion by both councils together.
The uses of clergy and laity continue as the Council of the Clergy and
the General Church Board of Directors. However, the Joint Council, while
undoubtedly useful for nearly a century, fell into disuse in the 1990s. Two
factors were probably major contributors to this:
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