The Jupiter Hills Elders Quorum Skeet Shooting Activity

The elders quorum of the Jupiter Hills LDS ward in Syracuse, Utah, recently held its annual skeet shoot activity.

It was a blast, literally (sorry, sad attempt at humor).

This is how it works – we pick date, buy clay pigeons, shells, hot dogs, buns, condiments, chips and Oreos; then grab a cooler of water, sticks for the roast, wood for a fire, ask the brethren to bring their shotguns and meet at the designated location. And in case your wondering, yes, our annual budget is exhausted with one activity. But it’s worth it, keep reading.

Me holding a shotgun at our Elders Quorum skeet shoot. I actually hit a few this year.

On the night of this year’s activity, we had a good turnout of about 15-20 guys. With the sunlight fading, we loaded the guns and started blowing up the spinning orange discs. Occasionally a flock of geese would fly over and someone would make a joke about taking a shot, sparking light laughter (just to be clear, no geese were harmed).

My buddy Fabian prepares to shoot while Chris gets ready to throw the clay pigeon.

What was awesome for me is I actually hit a few of the little discs, thanks to a few friendly tips from a fellow elder on how to aim. I knew I hit a those precious few because no one else was shooting at the time. That made me feel extra manly! It made the bicep bruise and sore shooting shoulder totally worth it.

When the ammo and clay pigeons were gone (it was too dark to shoot anyway), we moved to the fire and began roasting hot dogs. As we sat around the fire chewing and crunching, it was fun to follow the different conversations. There were jokes about the substances within hot dogs, speculation about who would be called as the new stake president, recent events in the local news, and how home building ideas posted on Pinterest were causing one the elder’s quorum president (a general contractor) headaches. Everybody thinks they can just show you photos of things they like and you can do it within budget, he said. There was also a discussion about superhero movies and funny stories from scout camp. It was fairly entertaining to sit back and listen.

Members of the quorum roast hot dogs in the fire.

After a couple of hours, which passed rapidly, we all knew it was time to get back to our families.

Why do I share this? As I left I couldn’t deny how good it felt to be a member of our quorum, our brotherhood in the gospel. I enjoyed visiting and hanging out with every guy there that night. We come from different backgrounds, yet we share a great common bond as holders of the Lord’s priesthood, and it’s awesome.

It was fun to follow the conversations going on around the fire at our Elders quorum activity.

I like what Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve once said:

“One of the greatest blessings one can receive from being a bearer of the priesthood … is belonging to a priesthood quorum. … We have a special brotherhood. We are there to lift, inspire, and bless each other with the spirit of our calling.”

In the same talk, Elder Perry went on to quote Elder John A. Widtsoe:

“The Priesthood is a great brotherhood, held together by the eternal and immutable laws that constitute the framework of the Gospel. The feeling of brotherhood should permeate the quorum. It should be the first concern of a quorum to help all members who may be in need temporally, mentally, or spiritually. The spirit of brotherhood should be the directing force in all the plans and operations of the quorum. If this spirit be cultivated, wisely and persistently, no other organization will become more attractive to the man who holds the Priesthood.”

I’m grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where I feel a part of the brotherhood in our quorum.

Now, when is the next skeet shoot activity?