Posted by:
elderolddog
(
)
Date: April 17, 2024 11:08PM
What little I know, based on me being me and what happened when I went out, it was entirely up to the bishop.
I think I'd kind of half-way assumed that David O. McKay would walk into his office some random morning and tell his secretary that he'd just received a revelation that the Brown kid in Las Vegas 2nd Ward should be called to the Mexican mission, ASAP, and I would then, in the fullness of office procedure, receive my CALLING.
But what actually happened was that Bishop Worthen asked me to drop by his home office during the week, and when I got there, he said that he thought I ought to go on a mission. I said, "Well, I'm engaged, you know..." and he rolled his eyes and said he'd gotten earfuls about that and then went on about how wonderful it would be for me to go, including the draft deferment that came with The Call. Of course, he stressed that "she" would wait for me ... if it was meant to be.
Then he whipped out a paperwork packet, and he and I proceeded to go through the APPLICATION to go on a mission. So, yeah, the mission is a calling, but only after you apply. It's the only calling in the church, as far as I'm aware, that requires the 'callee' to apply to the 'caller' and hope to be found worthy.
In the paperwork, you fill out lots of information about your family background and your schooling, obviously including languages you've studied. I know it was fairly lengthy, like applying for a job or for college. At the end, you get to 'suggest' your ideal call. It caught me by surprise but I had no problem saying that I thought Scotland would be nice. Probably because of too many Samuel Shellabarger and Thomas B. Costain novels...
When I took the engagement ring back to Zales, I was told, "...too bad, so sad, we don't do refunds on engagement rings." I hung my head in shame, but did mention it to the bishop. He called me the next day and told me to go back to Zales, that it had been straightened out.
The same person who'd told me "no refunds!" was the one who processed my refund. It's good when powerful people are looking out for you. (Have I ever told the story about how the church helped me avoid my two draft notices, until ghawd could bless me with the second to the last birth date pulled in the first draft lottery? Oh, never mind; way too boring...)
Based on my experience, the bishop was in charge of initiating the process, and the only obstacle he mentioned was the syphilis test, which if I didn't pass the test...!!
But I squeaked out a 71 out of 100 and passed the test!
Oh, yeah... Because I was a confessed un-virgin, I had to be interviewed by a GA and then wait six months... But then it came in the mail and off I went, with a stopover at the temple that cured me of belief in religious mormonism, so I had a totally 'no pressure' mission. I've remained a cultural mormon my entire life. (I've told more women I'd marry them than probably anyone else because I had this "reflex": if you have sex you have to get married, or else it's just having 'fun' and that's not what sex is for! (even though it is...)
My only grandson to get "called" confessed while at the MTC and was put through a real grind: sent home for a probation period, which included calling his bishop every day for like six months. (Stupid mfmc...)