I was having a discussion with my mom about my cousin and some of the things that she's done to kids who wouldn't sit down and listen in primary. I brought up the fact that if she had just read her primary manual, it would have told her what to do with him. I then brought up that sometimes these callings should not be given out to people who are not trained properly. (These kinds of things are especially unsettling to me because I have been a trained teacher for eleven years). While my mom didn't agree with me on the fact that people aren't properly trained for some of these callings, she did agree that my cousin should have studied her manual.

After our discussion, my mom related a story to me about a time I was in primary. She said she noticed that every time she took me to primary, I would scream and cry and not want to go. So, one day my mom hung around to see what would happen. She said I started crying for her and the primary lady picked me up and shook me really hard. My mom instantly took me out of this woman's arms, scolded her, and then told the bishop that she would not be bringing me back unless I was assigned another primary teacher. The bishop assigned me to another primary teacher, but he did not release the other woman from her calling or discipline her.

As I was listening to this story, I suddenly remembered this woman's face and how much I have never liked her. I could never understand why until my mom told me the story--and then I had an instant flashback of being in this woman's arms and being shaken.

I think it's ironic how after her own experience with a woman who wasn't trained properly to do her calling, my mom can sit there and say that she believes that people ARE trained enough in their callings.

People believe what they want to believe even when it flies in the face of evidence. Or they insist any given instance was a rare aberration where someone was not following the manual or spirit or whatever. Remember the church is perfect but the people are not!

I liked Primary callings and teaching callings, but could not handle callings where I had to make up or organise fun or interesting activities. I simply have zero creativity skills! Being the counsellor in RS who is supposed to plan and run activities was the worst calling I ever had. I simply did not know what to do. That rubbish about how The Lord qualifies those he calls, or you are entitled to inspiration for your calling, simply did not work. Now I know why!

Main objective of the corporation is to generate money.

Most callings are intended to (1) keep people busy and engaged in (2) "really important" work so these (3) don't have time to learn to think critically for themselves and so may receive "eternal blessings."

A few more critical callings are just management - keep the drones in line - so these may receive "eternal blessings" and earthly social status.

Pure Genius.

Seen from this larger perspective, competence - or even if those called injure their charges - is entirely irrelevant.
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Edit: one notable exception to the rule, corporation did produce a janitorial training video. Don't want damage, porcelain thrones are costly.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2014 08:55AM by zenjamin.

The the jobs on "The Island," perhaps? Jobs generated to make people believe they were learning and practicing a real skill?

The bottom rung of the ladder is left to fight it out for themselves. The top rung of the ladder has done very well for themselves over the years not investing in the people. Lets face it the model on all levels is obsolete and people tend to make better informed decisions now. It must be hard for the ones who have controlled this Mormonism thing to see power slowly slipping from them no matter how much they try and use old style control methods.Can you imagine having a business as large as TSCC and not train your employees? What a mess they have created for anyone who has half a brain and has passed through the doors of Mormonism

Were I a greedy LDS Top-15er I'd be against training anybody with a calling. A greater possible exposure to liability claims for one thing. And less profit, as training can cost money.

That nomorefencesitting's mother ever allowed NMFS back into Primary without the banishment of the abusive woman is both horrific and sadly telling. Who knows what other crap she pulled?

That the poor abused now-grown child victim nomorefencesitting didn't go ballistic on Mother upon recalling the event is also telling. Maybe she did. I hope so. That Mother told this tale without apparent fear of NMFS going off on her - "You let me go back in there with that bitch after you saw her shake me? Why in the hell would any "mother" allow that?" That NMFS's mother allowed Shake-a-Baby to stay so as to shake other whiny infant criers ... "Really Mom, didn't you give a damn about the other kids?"

That would be a normal response. Very non-Mormon though.

What an effing cult.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2014 08:51AM by tenaciousd.

What bugged me as much as no training was BAD "training."

I can't count the number of times I went to some stake training meeting in any number of callings to be greeted with one-off opinionated ideas of how to do things with little basis in fact or science. (Our stake leaders were, after all, entitled to inspiration on our behalf.)

TSCC boasts it has no paid clergy (we all know that's false, but that's another story). But that cuts both ways. In their case "unpaid" in far too many cases means amateur.

I agree that the lack of formal training, especially for bishops and other priesthood authorities, is especially unnerving, at least to me. Some bishops and other leaders (including females) have natural wisdom and compassion. I've known people like this and I admire them greatly. They are priceless assets to their wards. I've also known and heard of bishops, YW leaders, etc. that had the inspiration and insight of a flea.

Other religions may not be any more valid than Mormonism, but at least they require their clergy to attend a theological seminary and obtain a divinity degree (I believe that's the protocol--could be wrong). This training includes counseling, which still doesn't guarantee good leadership skills, but at least these people aren't just "winging it" with nothing more than a manual and handbook of instructions.

Plus, they WANT to teach children.

2. These primary teachers might read a manual and sometimes sit through little lessons to help them learn the material. Most of them would rather not be saddled with the calling.

Which option sounds better for children?

Besides that, primary teachers have NO background or health checks.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2014 09:44AM by Cheryl.

Training was one of my biggest pet peeves.

<rant>

For almost every calling that is handed out, there is an expectation that "the spirit" will inspire the people to do what they should do and learn how to do the calling.

Seriously. I know of bishops/SPs who advise people to read the BoM, claiming THAT'S the instructions they should be following.

The little training they DO offer (usually for sunday school teachers) is mostly just more church. No training on how to give a proper lesson, no training on good teaching practices, nothing. Whenever I went to those "trainings," it was another hour and a half of sacrament meeting with no substance. (I'm also a teacher by profession)

And here's the one that drives me nuts the most: the Boy Scouts of America has training (online and in person) for every single position which they offer for new leaders. On top of that, there's a monthly meeting called Roundtable where BSA leaders are supposed to get information, announcements, and a monthly training. But the bishoppricks never let their new scout leaders know about the training, so we have untrained scout leaders even though training is available!

And those special "stake leadership trainings?" Whether they be at 7 AM on a Sunday or 8 PM on a weekday, it's just more church and testimonkey bearing.

I have only EVER been to one thing where actual instruction was given. It was during a ward conference and the high councilor was giving training on some of the particulars of how to administer priesthood ordinances and advice on what to do in certain situations. (It's all BS, but at least it was actual information)

</rant>

+1000

Agree with everything you've said here.

In more than two decades of church callings, I was in only one ward where the bishopric was big on providing training, and that was in a BYU singles ward. They held monthly meetings for each group (Sunday School teachers, auxiliary leaders, etc.) and had teaching experts and experienced leaders provide substantive training. There was also time for Q&A and role playing.

This bishopric was also characterized by the fact that they would listen sympathetically to ward members, but were adamant that they were not mental health experts and couldn't provide good counseling. They worked with people (including one of my roommates who had an ED and other issues) to find them good therapists in the area outside of LDS social services.

They were a really good bishopric. I don't know what happened to the counselors, but the bishop has been extremely financially and professionally successful. He and his family still live in Utah County...I wonder if he's still a TBM.

One of the things that really bothered me as I was leaving is my friend whose daughter was in another ward and the only girl her age. She was put in YW with the older girls, who routinely bullied her, and each week she begged her mom not to have to go to church. Each week my friend MADE her go. She told me she was really glad after about 7 months when another girl turned 12 and was moved into Young Women's so at least there would be the two of them against the rest.

My friend is a lovely, intelligent woman who let her daughter be victimized and bullied, thinking she was being a faithful Mormon and teacher her daughter good principles. And now her daughter knows her mom won't be there for her, but will inadvertently side with the bullies. And whomever the untrained YW leader who allowed this to go on under her nose also has responsibility for this unconscionable incident. They need training AND a dose of common sense. But both go against their ruling virtue of obedience, so it won't happen.

Everyone else moved on to mutual and they didn't want to have a teacher just for me. The solution was to say I could "help" with the six year olds. That meant I had to sit in a little chair, do the finger plays with them, and listen to their primary lessons.

When I finally graduated to mutual, the other girls had dozens of doo-dads and awards for their bandalows. Mine was fresh out of a box with nothing on it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2014 02:22PM by Cheryl.

What about Mormon bishops? They are expected to provide counseling to individuals, couples and families just because of their calling. These are part-time jobs and many are not even college graduates.

No offense to tradesmen, but how can a plumber, banker or grocer be expected to understand mental illness and family conflicts with no proper training? Professional clergy have degrees that include hours and hours of training in counseling. Mormon bishops just rely on "inspiration" and their own gut. Mormon married couples have the same divorce rate as everyone else, so the marital counseling is no better than none at all.

Just think how many gay Mormons have been scarred by bigoted bishops doling out ignorant advice on how to live their lives in such a religion hostile to their sexuality. It's no wonder the suicide rate is so high among gay Mormons.

The ONLY time I ever received any training for a calling was when I was a financial clerk. Not when I was a teacher's quorum president. Not when I was a primary teacher. The only time they found it important to train me was when I had to count their money. I think that's pretty telling...

When I heard you could exed for stealing money, I knew what things the church valued. Steal from a bank or your boss and you have to repent. Steal from the church and they ex you.

Sex and money: the two things dearest to JS's heart.

In my 15 years of serving in callings for TSCC, I went to exactly one training meeting. I was the Primary Music Chair and there was a stake-level training meeting for all music department callings. The stake contacted our Primary president to let her know her music chair should go.

It was three hours of listening to a lecture about what is and isn't approved music for special numbers sacrament meeting, and then I was given a binder that contained a schedule of when I was supposed to teach what songs to the the kids to prepare for the next year's primary program. Biggest waste of time.