Hi I'm Julie. New here and never a Mormon. I don't plan on being but I am interested in it from an outsider’s point of view

What I was wondering was what are the types of callings a person can get in the church and what do you have to do within that calling? Like responsibilities.

I have learned a lot about the church, but have never seen a book listing these things.
I have looked at both church materials and of course other books the mormons would call anti. Why they are anti is beyond me. They just mention the church is a fraud.

This is a recovery site. So the fact that we are all here is because the exposure of the church being a fraud came at a major surprise and heart ache for many of us. At the same time because of all the rules and commandments that we were expected to live by we feel a huge liberation from all that mind control. It's not easy to leave the church as there are a lot of social consequences.

Church callings can be quite different between men and women. Common callings are in the following organizations:

Men
Bishop or bishopric (counsellor to bishop) they lead a ward (congregation)
Elders quorum (a group of priesthood holders) typically consists of men aged 18 to 40 - this group meets for an hour each Sunday which makes up one of the three hours of church
High priest group - similar to elders quorum but generally for older men over 40 or those that have held some kind of higher leadership role. This group along with elders quorum meet at the same time. Leaders in these groups typically are in charge of teaching lessons and fellowshipping members in their respective groups.
Sunday school presidency - consists of three people that oversee the Sunday school hour of church which is for all adult members. They typically assign teachers to give the lessons for Sunday school. Lessons are usually according to the Sunday school manual and not so much up to the teacher to deviate from that curriculum. Different classes are offered for different members depending on varying aspects like how knowledgeable you are of the "gospel"
Other organizations are primary, young men's, young women's. The Relief Society is for all women in the ward and the highest calling for a woman in the ward is Relief society president. All the non-priesthood organizations are called auxilliaries which can be presided over by women. Generally responsibilities include teaching lessons and fellowshipping. Auxiliaries are presided over by the bishop and he assigns members to those positions. Scouting is another area within ward jurisdiction. Each group has a budget for expenditures but is usually quite modest. Several people are needed to run each section. Priesthood groups such as elders quorum and high priest groups are overseen at a stake level which oversees typically about 5 to 8 wards. The stake will also have other leaders over auxiliary groups that include a stake relief society presidency which is about as high up the chain for a women as she can get. There are also stake level young men's, young women's, primary which are responsible for teaching and training ward level leaders. Within a ward other callings are things like greeter, ward pianist, music director, librarian, ward membership clerk, financial clerk, ward secretary. Wards are sized primarily based on the number of active priesthood holders, typically a minimum of 15 to 20 but usually more. Members are generally expected to accept whatever calling is offered them whether they like it or not as a matter of duty. They are usually moved around callings from time to time but active members typically hold at least one calling at a time, often times even 2 or 3. It can take away from your family time and personal time quite a bit but that's pretty much expected. I was most recently a scout leader which I actually enjoyed although it ate up at least one evening a week which conflicted with cheap night at the movie theaters so my brothers and dad would go to the movies without me.

Wow that does sound like a corporation with a lot of middle management....what's the next level up from the stake? Does it roll up to the profit and his posse in Salt Lake from there?

Stupid ones and......oh, wait a minute...they're ALL stupid!

My convert daughter was librarian at her ward. She had to be there to help the Sun. School teachers find materials and then put them away. It is the only calling she told me about. I know her hubby was in the scouting program because at a yard sale he sold the scout outfit. I thought that was funny.

I have taught classes for:
women
teenagers
girls'
little kids
cooking
food storage
flower arranging
gardening
home painting
cleaning
home repair
scouts
girls camp
emergency preparedness



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2012 02:17AM by Mia.

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