Leadership for Saints: Part 37

Clarifying Linkages, Passing the Baton

by Rodger Dean Duncan and Ed J. Pinegar

Do you recall our earlier discussion about “linkages?”

A critical element in any call to serve interview is a dialogue on the linkage between the calling and inviting people to come unto Christ.

Inviting people to embrace and love and obey the Savior is not some incidental appendage to a call to serve in the Lord’s Church. It is the primary purpose of all service in the Church. At every opportunity, leaders should underscore our covenant duty to encourage one another to devoted worship of Jesus the Christ. What better venue than during an interview in which we extend, on behalf of the Lord, a call to serve?

We have wonderful examples of this. When the angel Moroni appeared to young Joseph Smith he clearly outlined Joseph’s responsibility and set forth the great purpose of the work. Joseph later wrote of the interview: “I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about some of his purposes in this glorious dispensation.”

The interview to call a new Sunday School teacher is not as dramatic as a visit from a heavenly messenger, but it is nonetheless a part of God’s plan to bring his children home. Leaders would do well to follow Moroni’s example in presenting the “Big Picture” of God’s work and then specifying the person’s role in helping to accomplish God’s purposes thus instilling vision and testimony in the new appointee.

Pass the baton.

In many instances, as noted earlier, the interviewing officer is not the one who will directly oversee the work of the person being called.

For example, a councilor in the bishopric may be asked to call a person to serve as a stake missionary. The actual line authority for that calling falls on the ward mission leader. At the conclusion of the interview, the councilor in the bishopric should make arrangements for the person to visit with the ward mission leader.

Ideally, such a visit should immediately follow the call to serve interview. When a bishop’s counselor calls a new Sunday School teacher, the interview should be immediately followed by a visit with the Sunday School president who provides appropriate teaching materials, a class roster, and other details pertaining to the calling. Nothing should be left to chance.

Sustain and set apart.

Part of the call to service interview is an indication of when the person will be sustained and set apart.

Most callings in the Church are subject to the law of common consent. This is a wonderful part of Church government in which members have the opportunity–publicly—to pledge their support for fellow members who accept calls to service.

click here for more information

Every person called to service should be sustained as soon as possible in the appropriate meeting. For most callings this is the weekly sacrament meeting.

The conducting officer should say something like “It is proposed that we sustain Sister Jennifer Rodriquez as a teacher in the Primary organization. Those in favor, please indicate by the uplifted hand.” The language used is important. We have heard conducting officers say things like, “We have called Sister Rodriquez to the Primary. Those who can sustain the bishopric in this action, please raise your hand.” This is improper because the bishopric has already been sustained. On this occasion, it is Sister Rodriquez who is being sustained. The language should be precise. A proper model is the language used by the First Presidency at general conference.

Shortly after the person is sustained in the new calling, he or she should be set apart. This, again, is a wonderful element of Church government. It’s the priesthood ordinance in which the person is “set apart” from the distractions of the world to serve in a way that blesses all involved. The setting apart should be done with appropriate dignity and caring, calling down the powers of heaven to assist in the service to be rendered.

The Release from Service Interview

At the appropriate time, every person who is called to service should receive a release from service interview. This interview deserves the same dignity and caring as the call to serve interview.

President Hinckley said that every member of the Church—each a child of God—has an invisible badge that says “Fragile! Handle with Care.”

We must remember that all workers are volunteers. When workers are released from duty, it should be done in a quiet, generous, appreciative way. Where possible, before releasing a person it is a good idea to determine the possibility of another assignment. That way, the release from service interview can transition into another call to service interview. Then, when the person is publicly released “with a vote of thanks,” the saints have an opportunity to sustain the person in yet another calling. This underscores the doctrine that all of us should be anxiously—and continuously—engaged in the work of the Lord.  

Quotes Worth Remembering

The bishop is the judge and the shepherd who has the power of discernment and the right to revelation and inspiration for the guidance of the flock. He is responsible for holding worthiness interviews in order to authorize attendance at the temple, callings to ward positions, ordinations to priesthood offices, and the callings of missionaries.

– Dallin H. Oaks 

That is the impression I desire to impart to you good people, especially those who hold the holy priesthood, and I think it is high time that every man who is so honored of God should understand his office and calling. – J. Golden Kimball

If we will sustain those who are called to lead us, if we will pray for and uphold those who preside in the various stakes and wards of this Church, nothing can stop our progress. – George Albert Smith

… the person to be released should be notified some time in advance, and, at the moment of release, he should be given a public vote of thanks and a statement of appreciation made for the service rendered. – John A. Widtsoe  

Note: The excerpts of Leadership for Saints posted on Meridian are only a fraction of the contents of this 349-page book. To learn more about this ground-breaking book and to order copies, click here.

© by Rodger Dean Duncan & Ed J. Pinegar, All Rights Reserved

Click here to sign up for Meridian's FREE email updates.