17 Wherefore I, Jacob, gave unto them these words as I taught them in the temple, having first obtained mine errand from the Lord.
18 For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had been consecrated priests and teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi.
19 And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day. (Jacob 1 in the Book of Mormon)
In these verses, the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob is talking about the importance of serving well when chosen by God to do a specific purpose. He notes that when God gives us responsibility over an aspect of His church, or over some of His people, He holds us accountable for how well we serve them. Today, we call these assignments callings.
Callings are a unique and powerful aspect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While most religions rely on volunteers to do a variety of things, the Church of Jesus Christ relies on volunteers to do everything. We are what is called a lay church, meaning we don’t have a paid clergy. We don’t pay our organists or teachers or other leaders. Everyone is a volunteer, but with a twist.
In general, for most positions, members of the Church don’t walk into the bishop (their congregational leader similar to a pastor) and ask for a specific job. Instead, the bishop and his counselors (the two men who serve under him and assist in leading the congregation) decide who might be good for the job and then pray until they know who God wants for the position. It takes so many people to run a typical congregation that everyone who wants a job to do can have one, and some people have more than one.
The person who receives the job is not necessarily the most qualified to do the job. In fact, people are often called to positions for which they’re entirely unqualified. We have a saying that whom God calls, God qualifies. In other words, you may not be called because you’re qualified or even skilled at the task. Instead, God sometimes chooses people who, if they choose to do so, can rise to the task and develop new skills and talents they didn’t know they had.
This is one of the signs to me that this is the true church. I felt, from the moment I first learned about callings, that this is just how God would do things. He wants us to find out who He knows we can be, and callings are one way to do that. Early in my church membership, I was told by someone speaking through inspiration that God saw in me a leader. I suspected God had made His first mistake. I was very, very shy, and no one had ever chosen me to lead anything. I was a skilled follower. However, in short time, I began to receive leadership positions. Who but God would see a leader in a painfully shy young woman?
Now, I wasn’t a great leader the very first day. I spent lots of time in prayer and study. I made mistakes. Over time, however, I really did learn how to lead and this helped me become someone I would never have become had I not joined the church.
Church members learn to be patient with people in callings, knowing they have to grow into them. People “born into” the church however—those who were born to active LDS families—tend to have a wider range of experience early on, since they receive leadership callings beginning when they’re only twelve years old. A preteen might find herself responsible for the well-being of a group of her own peers, planning their activities, planning to meet the needs of girls in her youth class who have special needs, and conducting meetings. She does all this with the help of two other young girls, called counselors, and under the shadow leadership of her adult advisors.
Shadow leadership means the leaders are there, quietly guiding and advising, but in general, letting the youth do their own work. The adults make sure guidelines are met, attend all meetings and activities, and use questions to guide the youth into making the proper decisions. They also provide leadership training.
Each position in the church comes with authority over that position. However, no position is more important than another and a person doesn’t work her way up the ladder of a congregation. A man might be a bishop one day and the assistant teacher in the toddler nursery the next. People are moved around in order to broaden their skills. I have been in the leadership over the Primary, the children’s auxiliary, many times, but I still find myself teaching instead of leading quite often. When this happens, and I face a challenge with my class, I go to my leaders for advice. Even though I am nearly fifty with extensive experience, and my leader might be only 23 years old with little experience, it is she who currently holds the authority to lead and so she is the one to whom God gives the wisdom for that job. I don’t find this demeaning at all. In fact, I have learned a great deal from these younger leaders who come in with fresh ideas.
God’s plans are always designed to help us grow to be everything He planned for us to be, and callings are one way He does this.
To learn more about callings, read, “Boyd K. Packer, “The Weak and the Simple of the Church,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 6–9
The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.
