Meet a Real Mormon!

I got a new calling this week. A calling is a volunteer job at church...sort of. Volunteer in that I don't get paid. Volunteer in that I can say no. But... not volunteer in that I didn't ask for the job (well, not directly.)

Here's how callings work. We're a lay church--no one gets paid. However, it takes a huge number of people to do all the things that need doing in a church like ours. They could pass around sign up sheets, and do for some things. Most jobs, though, are assigned, sort of.

When a job needs doing, whoever is in charge of that organization studies the options and selects who they'd like. Then they pray to find out if their choice is correct. When their choice is in line with God's, the name is submitted to the bishopric. The bishopric is the bishop (similar to a pastor) and his two counselors (assistants.) They also pray about it. When God is clearly in agreement with whatever name is up for discussion, that person is pulled aside privately and invited to do the job.

You get moved around a lot. People do tend to have one place they end up in more often than others. For instance, I most often find myself teaching children. I've done lots of other things, too, though. Teaching children is a comfort zone for me. Not all my callings are in my comfort zone, however.

For instance, besides my new calling teaching five-year-olds, I am also the literacy leader. As part of that, I teach a free ESL class and oversee the other two ESL classes. Am I qualified to do that? Well, I'd never done it before. I don't know any of the languages the students speak. I had no education in the job. But, we have a saying that whom God calls, God qualifies.

This means that although I am not qualified by the standards of the world, God wants me to do the job. He has faith I can do it and no one knows me the way God does. He knows everything. If He says I can learn to do it, I can.

That doesn't mean I'll be perfect the first day. My first lessons were a mess. But I'm learning. I go on the Internet and study how to do this. I pray. I talk to people. And I'm improving and my student is learning.

That's how callings work. God chooses where He wants you to be. He helps you learn if you are willing to work at it. You gain new skills you never imagined you had. I never thought I could do this job, but now I love it so much I intend to go to school and learn to do it professionally when I can. I didn't know I could do it, but God did.

That's the most wonderful part of callings--finding out how God sees you.