The Queries

Yearly Meeting… Quarterly Meeting… Monthly Meeting. Once a year, once a quarter, once a month. Meetings for Worship to Conduct Business, held in Friends Meetings all around the world. In 1682, just a short time after the quarterly and monthly meeting system of organization was completed, London Yearly Meeting asked each Quarterly Meeting to respond orally to three questions, or queries. These questions were intended to produce factual information from Friends with local knowledge, with the answers used to chart the progress of the Society throughout the country and give help in areas of need.

Query 1. What Friends in the ministry, in their respective counties, departed this life since the last yearly meeting?

Query 2. What Friends, imprisoned for their testimony, have died in prison since the last yearly meeting?

Query 3. How has the Truth prospered amongst you since the last yearly meeting, and are Friends in peace and unity?

Friends have assessed the state of this religious society through the use of queries since the time of George Fox. Rooted in the history of Friends, the queries reflect the Quaker way of life, reminding Friends of the ideals we seek to attain. We seek God's truth and its expression through our lives today. Friends today, approach queries as a guide to self-examination, using them not as an outward set of rules, but as a framework within which we assess our convictions and examine, clarify, and consider prayerfully the direction of our lives and the life of the community.

Over the years, the content of the General Queries has changed, as each generation finds its own voice. The earliest General Queries of London Yearly Meeting asked for specific facts and figures. Who had died? Who had been imprisoned, and lost their lives there for their beliefs? How vital were the Meetings? By 1700, oral replies gave way to less cumbersome, written ones. Within a generation of that time, Friends ceased to believe that the whole nation would accept the truth that they had been preaching, and became more concerned in preserving the Society as a ‘precious remnant’ devoted to the truth. The queries became a way to ensure consistent conduct among Friends, as well as continuing to give a sense of the state of the Society.  Eventually, the Queries were used primarily for discipline, by the elders and overseers of the meetings. 

During the next 100 years, the Queries continued to be revised and more Queries were added. The value of the Queries for self-examination became increasingly more important than their use for discipline, and this led to revisions in 1860 and 1875. By the 1920’s Friends wanted a much greater emphasis on social responsibility, and the queries of the London Yearly Meeting were again revised. 

The queries have been marked by consistency of convictions and concerns within Friends testimonies - simplicity, peace, integrity, stewardship, equality and community, as well as by strength derived from worship, ministry, and social conscience.  Each Yearly Meeting writes their own queries.  Baltimore Yearly Meeting has twelve.  Northwest Yearly Meeting has twenty.  Iowa Yearly Meeting has ten.  It is these ten queries that are listed below for your consideration. 

Queries for Monthly Meetings
Iowa Yearly Meeting of Friends

1. Do you strive for the constant realization of God’s presence in your life? Are you sensitive and obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit? Do you endeavor to advance your spiritual growth by the prayerful study of the Bible and other devotional literature?

2. Are all meetings for worship and business duly held, and are you regular and punctual in attending them? Do you come with heart and mind prepared for communion with God and fellowship with one another? Do you individually assume your rightful share in the responsibility of the work and worship of the Meeting?

3. Do you love one another as becomes the followers of Christ? Are you careful of the reputation of others? When differences arise, do you make earnest effort to end them speedily?

4. Do you practice the daily reading of the Scriptures in your families, giving time for reverent meditation? Do you make your home a place of hospitality, friendliness, peace, and Christian fellowship? Do you promote; the moral and spiritual life of your children through careful supervision of their education, recreation, and friendships?

5. Do you seek the conversion and spiritual development of your young people? Do you endeavor to instruct them in the principles and practices of Friends? Do you strive to create a community life that will promote their spiritual, mental, and physical well-being?

6. Do you observe simplicity and moderation in your manner of living? Do you give proper attention to the rules of health? Are you careful to avoid all places of amusement that are inconsistent with Christian character? Do you practice total abstinence from tobacco, narcotics, and alcoholic beverages?

7. Do you avoid such undue expansion of your business as to endanger your personal integrity? Are you truthful and honest in your business transactions, punctual in fulfilling your promises, and prompt in the payment of your debts?

8. Do you make diligent effort to acquaint yourselves and those under your care with the spiritual needs of the world? Do you support by prayer and systematic giving those who are laboring to extend Christ’s kingdom? Do you use your spiritual gifts in serving humanity as God grants you light to see such service?

9. Do you consistently practice the Christian principles of love and goodwill toward all people? Do you work actively for peace and for the removal of the causes of war? Do you endeavor to make it clear to all whom you can influence that war is inconsistent with the spirit and teaching of Jesus?

10. Does your attitude toward people of other races indicate your belief in the rights of other races? Do you believe in the spiritual capacity of people of all races, and do you recognize their equality in the sight of God? Are you aware of your responsiblity as a Christian to help in the elimination of racial discrimination and prejudice?