After discussion, the minute is either modified, or approved. If there is no consensus, the decision may be postponed. Sometimes decisions have been postponed for only a few minutes during which the members reflect in a silent, worshipful manner, or at other times the decision may be postponed to the next month's meeting, or at times a decision has been postponed for years. Mostly, there is no need for postponing a decision, for consensus has been reached on the wording of a minute. In these situations, consensus is reached largely because of attitudes of reverence and respect.
Members approach the monthly Meeting for Business in a worshipful attitude.
Many Friends describe this attitude of reverence as seeking God's will for the meeting. The other important attitude is one of respect, especially for those who hold a different opinion, and respect for those contrary opinions. There must prevail an attitude of trust, confidence that if another member holds a different opinion, there must be some good aspect which I have overlooked. The Friends' method of conducting business is a difficult process, and it calls for dedication to the process. Mostly, it has stood the test of three and a half centuries of application.