Free Write Post

I think it is necessary for me to voice a few of my observations concerning church callings I’ve seen given at BYU.

I was once assigned the calling of FHE “dad.” This was a slap in the face. Here I was given a calling to be a “Dad” for a Family Home Evening group in a ward in which no families exist. My calling shouldn’t even have existed! By definition you can’t have family home evenings without families. It’s impossible. It would be much better to proclaim Monday night a date night. This would do much more for the propagation of families than holding a fictional FHE. There should be a standing ward activity every Monday night for those individuals who couldn’t get a date, and everyone else should date freely. If you’re in a slump and haven’t been on a date in a while, ask someone out from your ward activity on Monday night.

There are many callings that bishops make up in order to give some sort of calling to those in attendance in their ward. They are now few. I have some real examples: the Physical Facilities Chair-Person, whose sole responsibility was to set up chairs for church, or the Public Relations Committee, which I never saw perform any act of service or duty. My roommate was a Home Teaching Supervisor for 2 years. He was very good with this calling. He collected reports from the home-teachers, and would asking meaningful questions relative to individuals being home-taught in the ward. He motivated and inspired. However, his career came to an abrupt halt when the Stake President decided that it was not part of church policy to have someone in a calling such as his. His calling was immediately abolished. Of all the callings to abolish in the church, this was one that was helpful. Apparently his past two years of service in that calling were not in accordance with church policy. I think he still has to pay back the blessings that he wrongfully received for his service.