Not a Grimm Tale

Once upon a time there were three very wise and religious men who lived in a large, thriving community.  Members of their church, organized into small groups called “wards” looked to these three men for direction and leadership.  The men loved and cherished the faithful members of their church, but alas, they could not always personally attend to the matters of their congregants – about 5,000 strong, all told.  So the three men set about finding other men to act as caretakers over each ward.  Watch over them, they said.  Let us know what they need, they directed.  Carry to them our message of love, they asked.

And so one day, the phone rang at the humble home of one such man.  Could you please come visit with us for a while?, the leader of the three men asked.  We’d like to talk to you about an important assignment.  The humble man was very surprised to get this call, but eager to do what might be asked of him.

With just one short conversation, the humble man became a new ambassador for the three wise, religious men.  He received new responsibilities to shepherd over a large number of people, to serve them, know them, and of course love them.  With great changes come great strength given to those open to receive it, and this humble man received all of it with a willing heart.

How do you explain Mormon church organization to people who aren’t members of the church?  How do you explain what it’s all about when you get a calling – or assignment – in the Mormon church?  This has always baffled me, and I wasn’t sure how else to try to ease into an explanation of some big changes that just happened in our house overnight.

My husband has been teaching church Seminary this year – an early morning religion class that the high school youth in our church attend before going to their regular school day, Monday thru Friday.  He has also been serving on Sundays in our ward’s (ie:  congregation’s) Nursery with the 18 month – 3 year olds.  All this is volunteer service – everything in the Mormon church is.  We do not have a paid ministry or a paid anything, for that matter.  When you receive a calling (ie:  assignment), it is because those in leadership positions have prayed about it and have been guided to ask you to fulfill those responsibilities.  And when you work to fulfill a calling, it’s amazing how your talents and abilities expand to fit into what is necessary of you.

Anyway…the Mormon church in our area has been growing exponentially.  We’ve had some major changes in our local leadership to accomodate the growth and membership.  On Saturday, the Stake Presidency (Stake=collection of wards, or congregations; Presidency=three leaders called to be in charge of an organization within the church) called my husband and asked to meet him ASAP.  The heart of the matter is this:  they called him to what is known as the Stake High Council.  Those on the High Council look after a particular ward and act as a liason between the ward members and the Stake leadership.  It’s a way to make sure everyone and everything is taken care of.

The calling is a very large responsibility – it will require a lot of time, and a lot of learning.  It’s also – without being vain about it – a huge honor.  This is sometimes the tricky part of talking about callings, because truly, they’re all important.  My husband will really miss working in the Nursery – it’s an integral part of Sunday services for many parents (and the kids!).  You can’t really function without a Nursery, the same way you can’t function without a High Council.  It’s just that this calling is different, and will require different kinds of abilities and associations.

I’m still not sure I’ve accurately communicated the magnitude of what has happened for us this past weekend, but it’s ultimately just one more adventure for our busy, active, adventurous family!