Serving as Young Men president at 80 years old
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Brother John Cutt is the new Young Men president of the Concord 1st Ward in the Concord California Stake. He is a mere 80 years old.
It came as sort of a shock when his bishop issued this calling, but Brother Cutt optimistically accepted it. He feels it's important to remain active in his ward, even as he gets older. Brother Cutt remembers President Dieter F. Uchtdorf saying in his October general conference talk that members shouldn't stop serving in callings as they get older.
"President Uchtdorf made a comment that you don't just retire from the Church," Brother Cutt said. "So I met with my bishop a couple days later and said, 'I'm ready for another assignment.'"
Before he and his wife, Thalia Cutt, moved to California from New York in 1959, the couple visited the Hill Cumorah out of curiosity and when they moved to California, they met some people who were really interested them in the Church.
The sister missionaries came to call and, shortly afterward, the Cutts were baptized. They moved to northern California, became active in the missionary program and, since then, both have served the Church in many capacities.
For Brother Cutt, this included callings as bishop, stake president, ward elders quorum president, ward high priest group leader, Sunday School teacher and, now, ward Young Men president.
Larry Phillips, second counselor to Brother Cutt while he was stake president, got to know him well as they worked together for more than a decade.
"[Brother Cutt] is unusually skilled at dealing with people," Brother Phillips said. "He was really good at making everybody feel like they were part of [the stake]."
Brother Cutt's kindness, friendliness and consideration toward people made him an effective leader, Brother Phillips said.
Brother Cutt's desire to serve comes from a deep-rooted testimony built through his experiences with the Church. As stake president, he met with many of the leaders of the Church and believes they give good counsel.
"When my leadership gives me a suggestion, I need to move on that," he said.
Brother Cutt knows that older people generally start to slow down, but staying active in his ward and community keeps him going, he said. Working with more than a dozen teenage boys is definitely helping him learn patience and, although it's different than what he expected, he enjoys it, especially because two of his grandsons are in the group.
Sister Cutt has also held callings and provided an enormous amount of support to her husband in his callings over the years. She is currently a Relief Society teacher.
"I think there's a tendency with older people, they believe they've served long and well and are entitled to a rest," Brother Cutt said. "I think [serving] keeps you alert and active, it reinforces your testimony and it prepares you to help others that are in need."
