Called to serve


At this point I’m going to talk about my time at BYU topically instead of chronologically. I went home to Washington state for the summer of 2001 and resumed leadership responsibilities for the college/career group for Sumner Presbyterian, served another mission this time to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, then traveled back to the BYU campus in August. For the new semester I would be living in an upper-classman ward in Heritage Halls with five other women, all LDS.
I introduced myself to the bishopric as soon as I arrived and got along well with them. I explained that I was not interested in joining the church, but was all for maintaining a relationship with the ward. I was a little surprised when someone contacted me a few days later to let me know I was being offered a calling in the church, serving on the ward activity committee. “Non-members can have callings?” I asked in surprise. My new roommates assured me that they could. The callings non-members can have are rather limited, especially for a BYU on-campus student ward, but they do exist.
I had to do some thinking on whether or not holding a calling in the LDS church would be too much of a compromise. Yes, I wanted the community around me to know I was an evangelical, and I wanted them to have a relationship with me, but was becoming a functional part of the church going too far? Ultimately I thought of Paul’s words in 1 Cor. 9:19-23:
19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
I decided to go ahead with it, but I was still rather trepidatious about being set apart. I fear that this complaint will sound silly to my LDS readers, but it just seemed disingenuous to go through a ritual performed by an authority I neither acknowledged nor believed in.1 On Sunday, September 9, 2001, I wrote this in my journal:
I went to the LDS ward today because I had to be set apart. Now the whole ward knows I’m not LDS. It was weird because as I was waiting to be set apart, I wasn’t feeling sure that this was God’s will for me. I was afraid to ask God for any kind of test like I’d read about in books, but God was like, “I am willing. Try Me.” So I said, if it’s Your will, Lord, have Bro. [H.] call me to be set apart first. And he did call me first. So now I know.
Yes, I know, as signs from God go I’m very easy to please, but whenever I ask God for a really miraculous sign, He just messes with me. And I do believe that if I had not been called first, I would have called the whole thing off and left the room right there.
So it was that I was assimilated into the Mormon practice of boring Sunday meetings. I attended the activity committee meetings pretty faithfully and came to the activities we planned every month. One of our activities was a talent show, and for my “talent” I took my guitar and made the ward learn and sing Protestant worship songs (yes, I do that a lot). I won’t lie: occasionally other committee members treated me like the dumb non-member who just did not “get it” on how these activities were planned, and that was discouraging, but I did my best. The ward knew me pretty well and most people came to respect the fact that I believed what I believed and that was not changing.
Initially I came to FHE and let the home teachers and visiting teachers see me, but I soon dropped those practices. My own evangelical activities included regularly attending Rock Canyon Assembly of God in Provo or Christian Life Assembly of God in Payson, a Monday night small group run by Orem Evangelical Free, a Tuesday afternoon Bible study on campus with other evangelical students, a Friday night meeting for BYU and UVSC students hosted by Orem Evangelical Free for which I sometimes helped lead worship, and a one-on-one mentorship meeting with my pastor on campus once a week. I never took less than 16 credits per semester either, so my plate was always brimming.
The following year I made the mistake of returning to the same apartment in Heritage Halls to live for the year. I liked the returning roommates just fine, but our upper-classman ward had been unexpectedly converted to a partial freshman ward. I did not get along well with the new bishopric and I had been elected president of the evangelical Christian club anyways, so I decided not to accept any callings, though I did continue to come to ward activities.
I can’t say I’ve been terribly involved with the local LDS ward since I married my husband. I feel like that part of my life is over and focusing on my own church activities is the way to go, though I do always visit his ward once a month.
1 In case you are wondering, I don’t ask my husband for priesthood blessings either.


Comments

Called to serve — 13 Comments


  2. Bishopric = The bishop of a local LDS ward plus his two counselors. Functionally the bishop is the closest thing to the pastor.
    Ward = Mormon equivalent of local congregation.
    FHE = Family Home Evening. Activity held weekly by families, usually on Monday nights, where you usually sing a hymn or two, play a game, have a snack and have a scripture lesson. At BYU on-campus housing they assign you a FHE group by grouping your apartment with other apartments in the ward.
  4. Careful Jack.
    You might end up called to handle the Cub Scouts.
    Scouts are a classic non-member/inactive member dumping ground – right along with Activities Committee.
  6. I got the calling shortly after my Elders Quorum president had a little chat with me about making unduly controversial comments in Gospel Doctrine and Elders Quorum classes.
    I’m active. A bit more active than is good for me possibly.
  8. You making unduly controversial comments in church meetings? I just don’t see it. /sarc
    Interesting article. I know some people who would probably do better in the LDS church if they had callings, and decent ones at that. I knew that the activity committee calling was rather rinky-dink, but I’m not sure what other callings can be offered a non-member in a student ward. I think that’s also one of the reasons I’m not interested in callings from the LDS church anymore; non-member callings don’t really make good use of my potential.
    As far as my own religion goes, what I’d really love to do is teach Sunday school classes. Probably won’t happen in the near future, but I think next time I move to a new area and have to find a church I’ll look for a church family where that’s possible.
  9. Oh, I’d have a lot of fun with Gospel Doctrine teacher.
    Which is probably exactly why I should not be called to that position.
  11. “So it was that I was assimilated into the Mormon practice of boring Sunday meetings.”
    That sentence alone is worth the read 
    I’ve attended several other churches, but to be called to serve in them and actually do it? You are one brave kid.
  12. I’m new to your blog but find it very good reading. I’m curious about your daughter. You mention you don’t ask your husband for priesthood blessings, but are you okay with him giving her such blessings? Or for that matter was she given a LDS baby blessing?
  13. Nice to meet you, Scott (I’m up late tonight).
    Our daughter was dedicated at Rock Canyon Assembly Worship Center in Provo, Utah and then blessed and named at our married student ward later that day. We basically just did both ceremonies. I’ve written a bit more about how we’re raising her in both faiths here.
    I don’t have a problem with my husband giving Harley blessings, and when she gets older that will be for her to decide. As I see it she’s his daughter, too, and I don’t have the right to prohibit that any more than he has the right to tell me we can’t lay hands on her and pray for her at my church. He never has given her one though (except for maybe the baby blessing? I can’t remember if that was him or his bishop).
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