Issued calling without interview

Callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints should be issued after prayerful consideration and after finding out the willingness and worthiness of the individuals

Obviously worthiness would play a role when picking a youth leader and it may not be as important when picking a technology specialist. It is true that all of us end up judging people on a daily basis and many people say we should not judge and I understand that all of us are imperfect and the purpose of Church is to help those that are not perfect become better. Leaders in the Church are involved in calling other members to serve in different capacities. Some people think that inspiration or listening to the spirit of God that prompts you to call specific people is silly or that it is all in your head. Others swear that these experiences are real.

I was conducting and presiding during a sacrament meeting and as I was in the middle of sustaining (asking for an approval vote from the congregation) a strong feeling came to me to sustain a couple as youth Sunday School Teachers. I brushed this feeling off because normal procedure is to interview them along with praying about it and so forth. The feeling came again that I could call them right then at that very moment so I ask the couple to stand up and they did. I think most likely they thought I was going to welcome them into the Branch since it was their first day. Then I asked for a sustaining vote to approve them as Youth Sunday School Teachers. They were surprised although both of them raised their hands and sustained themselves. There were not opposing votes. When moved upon by the Spirit we are instructed to follow the spirit. That is the first time that something like this has happened to me in the last 2 years of being the Branch President of the Buena Vista Branch.

Another time after much prayer a name for the Young Women's president came to me and I also consulted with my counselors and explained that this young woman's name would not leave my mind for this position. I was arguing with the spirit saying "She is too young" (18 years old ) and "She does not have a car" so I relented and listened to the Spirit. I called her mother and her in for an interview and then I issued the calling and her mother said "She is too young" and "She doesn't even have a car" I told the mother that those were the same concerns that I personally had considered but arguing with the spirit it not the best idea. The young woman accepted the calling and is doing very well with her responsibilities. She is very mature and is a natural teacher. She plans on serving a 2 year Church mission as soon as she turns 19.

When I was called to be the High Priest Group Leader in a previous ward I was told I needed to pick assistants (2) so I prayed about it and went to the Temple. I was given the list of the High Priests and none of the names felt right so I prayed some more and 2 names came to me but neither of them were High Priests but they were Elders. I was told to pray some more so I did and then I told the Stake President that these were the names and they Ordained these men as High Priests and put them into the callings. This experience obviously was a bit more detailed than this one paragraph although the point is that God can inspire us and help us decide who would be best in these positions if we just allow him to be part of the process.

My son attends an English ward and last Sunday he came to our Spanish unit and was in sunday school. A general authority was visiting and asked him if he had a calling in the church and my son said "No sir" and he said "You do now, have the Branch President set you apart as the president of this sunday school youth class" My son told me and I said, your not even in my unit so I asked Elder Don Clark and he said "I don't care that he is not in your unit, set him apart anyway and my son on his own walked to my office and I set him apart. I have a feeling he may start attending our meetings now. My son wants to go on a mission to Japan when he graduates high school.

Supplementary information about callings for those that may not be familiar with the Church procedure. The handbook two is also available online for those that are interested.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS / Mormon) there is a procedure and handbooks that we follow to keep things consistent throughout the Church. The normal procedure for issuing a calling to a member of the Church is to ponder and pray over a list of names after which we then call the member into a formal interview and find out more about their life, their time limitations and willingness to serve in the Church. At that point we issue the calling. Sometimes certain people seem to fit better into certain callings because of their experience and abilities although often we receive inspiration to call someone without the ability or experience and often they end up growing and learning because of the calling.

Presidencies in the different groups consist of a President, first and second counselor and a secretary. There can also be different committees set up as well depending on the needs of the group, quorum etc...

Some of the callings (unpaid jobs) in the Church are:Bishopric or Branch Presidency, Quorum Presidencies for Deacons (12-13 year old boys), Teachers (14-16 year old boys) Priest's Quorum (16 to 18 year old boys and Bishop or Branch President is the Priest Quorum President with 2 assistants) Young Women Presidency, Young Men Presidency , Primary Presidency (Women's callings over Children) Sunday School Presidency, Relief Society Presidency (Women's service organization), Elders Quorum Presidency (Men), High Priest Group Leader and Assistants (High Priest Group President is the Stake President who presides over a group of normally 6 or 7 Wards or Branches which each consist of about 500 to 600 members each and normally about 150 to 250 attend each week in each Branch or Ward)

Some other callings in the units (Branches or Wards) are: Sunday School Teachers, Primary Teachers, Unit Part time Missionaries, Family History Specialists, Youth Teachers, Adult Teachers, Service callings, Class Presidents, Home and Visiting Teacher leaders and coordinators, Temple callings, Technology callings and other callings.