Sorry Bishop, I Don’t Want That Calling.

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As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we are called to different positions of service ranging from simpler, only-a-few-minutes-each-Sunday roles, to high intensity callings that seem to occupy a good portion of every day... or even callings that do occupy every minute of every day (missionary service).  Callings are opportunities to serve God by serving his children.

It always surprises me when people say things like, “I’m ok to not have a calling right now”, or “Sorry Bishop, I don’t want that calling.” When members with firm testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ turn down opportunities to show love and devotion to our Redeemer, it just makes me wonder.

One of the greatest gifts that God has given to all of us is agency. Agency to choose right or wrong, to serve a little, a lot, not at all, or to fight against the will of God. We get to choose the action but we don’t get to choose the consequence. There are a lot of good consequences that we receive from serving in God’s church. God wants to bless us and he does that, when we serve him.

When Mikayla and I were engaged we met with my single’s ward bishop, Mikayla’s single’s ward bishop and even Mikayla’s home ward bishop. They all had lots of great advice and counsel to give, but something their counsel had in common was the triangle example. It’s a simple diagram of an equilateral or isosceles triangle with God at the top angle, and the husband and wife at the respective bottom angles. Usually the bottom line is erased so it looks more like an upside down V.  The whole point of the triangle is to show that if husband and wife want to grow closer to one another then they both need to grow closer to God.

As we serve God we grow closer to him and become more like him, the same goes for our spouse. Who wouldn’t want to be married to a spouse that has qualities of God? I love Mikayla and I love that she puts serving in God’s kingdom as a priority. She never shies away from giving service or fulfilling a calling. Now, she isn’t perfect, and neither am I. However, we both strive to be obedient to God. This in turn brings us closer together.

So the moral of this blog post is, if you want to grow closer to your spouse, then say YES to that hard calling, say YES to ministering to that person you don’t know or even don’t like, say YES to supporting the way your bishop runs your local ward, and say YES to serving God by serving your spouse. God will see your good works and bless you for them.


image from: https://godlymarriagesarebeautiful.wordpress.com/2017/11/13/love-triangle/


-Kevin

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