Callings

October 26, 2023 10:39 AM MDT
Apostle Paul reminds us to “not neglect the gift that is in thee.” If you’ve been called and set apart for work in the kingdom, even at a young age, you have the power of God behind you.
2 Min Read
September 20, 2023 04:05 PM MDT
In our busy lives, how do we make planning and participating in church activities a joy rather than a burden?
9 Min Read
August 31, 2023 07:00 AM MDT
Church callings give us ample opportunities to be engaged in good causes. If you’re like me, however, being “anxiously engaged” in your calling can also look a lot like feeling generally anxious about all the good causes.
9 Min Read
April 05, 2023 05:00 AM MDT
For my first six months as a full-time missionary, I felt like a rising star. I was entrusted with training a new missionary, serving as a district leader, and had completed all of the mission mastery goals in record time. Surely the Lord had great things in store for me as a leader in my mission.
7 Min Read
March 31, 2023 03:46 PM MDT
Despite a demanding career, Danny Ainge says he is still a believer in balance and credits church callings as being one thing that keeps his life on track.
3 Min Read
July 22, 2022 02:02 PM MDT
Instead of approaching missionary work by telling others that they need the Church, we can let them know that “the Church needs you.”
6 Min Read
February 28, 2022 01:36 PM MST
My goal in my Relief Society lesson was to answer two questions: 1. Can you be a good person and not attend Church? 2. Why the need for organized religion?
8 Min Read
February 21, 2022 05:00 AM MST
“Every missionary called in this Church … is called by revelation from the Lord God Almighty through one of these, His servants.”
5 Min Read
January 26, 2022 01:07 PM MST
Don Gardner might be older than the average deacon, but his commitment to setting up and taking down chairs is touchingly unwavering.
1 Min Read
September 30, 2021 04:00 PM MDT
Published in 1899, the first Church handbook was small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. The world has changed greatly since then, and so has the handbook.
5 Min Read
July 01, 2020 02:30 PM MDT
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may have times in their lives when they receive a calling and question whether they are capable of fulfilling the assignment from the Lord.
1 Min Read
August 15, 2019 08:51 AM MDT
The direction to magnify our callings can be an ambiguous, demanding one to follow. In a talk he gave in 2006, President Thomas S. Monson defined magnifying our callings as the following:
1 Min Read
By  LDS Living
August 14, 2019 03:36 PM MDT
There are many reasons a person may struggle with a church calling. We may feel inadequate, overwhelmed, or that our time and talents would be better utilized elsewhere. Whatever the reason, you are not alone.
1 Min Read
Fun
June 17, 2019 02:16 PM MDT
Can you believe the first Toy Story movie came out 24 years ago? Since then, we've loved, laughed, and cried with our favorite toy characters through four movies. But have you ever wondered what it might be like to serve with Buzz or Woody? Here's what we think that would look like:
1 Min Read
Fun
May 22, 2019 08:00 PM MDT
Let's make this clear: all callings are equally important. From Nursery leader to bishop to Relief Society president and everything in between, each calling is vitally important to building up our fellow brothers and sisters in the gospel.
1 Min Read
April 24, 2019 02:37 PM MDT
Not all members of the Church have extensive leadership experience. In fact, many may feel overwhelmed when they are called into a position of leadership, whether in a ward presidency or a stake presidency.
3 Min Read
January 29, 2019 10:59 PM MST
Shortly after the special announcement by President Russell M. Nelson that we would now be “ministering” instead of “home teaching” and “visiting teaching,” a concern came over me that the words “minister” and “ministering” may become commonplace, no longer representing a depth of sacred spirituality. Those terms have always brought feelings of reverence and sacredness within me. In my mind, these terms represent the greatest of all ministers—our Savior—and His miraculous work. I began to review my life for what I had learned of ministering and how these acts draw us upward toward a life in Christ.
8 Min Read
December 15, 2018 01:00 PM MST
In 2009, a then-27-year-old Golden Harper embarked on what seemed to be the impossible: He started his own running shoe company during not only a difficult economic time but in a market that, by many accounts, was already established.
3 Min Read
October 12, 2018 10:00 PM MDT
President Russell M. Nelson has said: “I never ask myself, ‘When does the prophet speak as a prophet and when does he not?’ My interest has been, ‘How can I be more like him?’"
5 Min Read
October 04, 2018 12:00 PM MDT
"Saturday of April conference of 1984 has been circled on our calendar for many years, for that date was targeted as the first time in my life that our only son would be old enough to attend general priesthood meeting with me," President Russell M. Nelson said the first time he stood at the pulpit in general conference as an apostle. "Brothers and sisters, little did we know that on that day my name would be presented as a member of the Council of the Twelve."
1 Min Read
August 09, 2018 07:39 PM MDT
“Being called as an Apostle is not an accomplishment or achievement,” explained Elder Dale G. Renlund, disproving a misconception about his role as an apostle. “It’s not a calling that is earned."
1 Min Read
July 30, 2018 06:12 PM MDT
This is not a negative article. This is not a critical article. This article reflects my attempt to grapple with the real and the ideal when it comes to callings in the Church.
3 Min Read
By  Austin Lee
July 20, 2018 12:08 PM MDT
The big question: Should I “resign” from a Church calling?
3 Min Read
July 12, 2018 03:39 PM MDT
“You may have times when you wonder if your call is beyond you,” President Henry B. Eyring told recently called mission leaders. “You may even ask, ‘Is this too much for me?’ I have had such moments often in my service in the Lord’s kingdom. And I have learned how important it is to banish those moments quickly. If you let them linger, they grow, and then your power to serve diminishes."
1 Min Read
July 02, 2018 12:13 PM MDT
My experience with ward service truly started on my mission. It was exciting because in our wards we were invited to ward council, and since there weren't as many active members, we got to participate in a lot. We were in charge of large parts of activities and would frequently be the setup crew as well as be in close communication with leaders to help include less-active members and investigators in the process. When I got home, I thought that this would be the way that every ward functioned.
2 Min Read
By  Zack Oates
June 30, 2018 02:58 PM MDT
It was my first week in a BYU singles ward and I was called as Elders Quorum President. First item of business: fill all the callings.
3 Min Read
June 15, 2018 01:48 PM MDT
"What did you do, make someone angry? That's like the worst calling."
2 Min Read
May 26, 2018 02:00 PM MDT
When I was released as a stake president, I was expecting a big thank you from the presiding authorities. I had worked diligently for years and felt I deserved such thanks. The weekend came, and the presiding authorities were focused on the call of the new stake presidency. They were not focused on thanking the outgoing stake presidency. After the stake conference, I felt disappointed.
3 Min Read
By  Yvonne Liu
May 09, 2018 09:00 AM MDT
Sunday is a day of rest and a day of worship. However, there are some misconceptions that might cause unnecessary stress and anxiety on the Sabbath. In Mosiah 4:7 it reads, “for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength.” Here are seven things that might make us run faster than we have strength and cause stress on the Sabbath.
5 Min Read
April 03, 2018 12:41 PM MDT
It's remarkable to read the humility, and sometimes the humor, with which our current Church leaders accept the calling to serve as an apostle of the Lord. When PresidentHenry B. Eyring was calledby President Gordon B. Hinckley to serve in the First Presidency, he blurted out, "President Hinckley, are you sure you’re talking to the right person? This is Hal Eyring.”
1 Min Read
March 09, 2018 07:05 PM MST
President M. Russell Ballard said, “Clearly, those of us who have been entrusted with precious children have been given a sacred, noble stewardship, for we are the ones God has appointed to encircle today’s children with love and the fire of faith and an understanding of who they are.”
1 Min Read
February 28, 2018 10:00 PM MST
Sometimes in an attempt to prove our faithfulness to the gospel, Latter-day Saints create standards that require even more than what the Lord is asking of us. So before we expend too much energy trying to live these "higher" standards, we should ask ourselves, "Are we living the cultural gospel or the Lord's gospel?"
9 Min Read
February 06, 2018 01:53 PM MST
At a recent stake conference, President Russell M. Nelson shared powerful stories with Church members, including a tribal king's touching response when he received a copy of the Book of Mormon as well as the reply President Nelson told a nurse when she asked why he was so different that led to 80 people joining the Church.
1 Min Read
Fun
By  LDS Living
February 05, 2018 10:39 PM MST
We asked our readers on Facebook, "What is the most unique calling you've ever had?" From coat-tail puller to road kill coordinator, here's a roundup of a few of our favorite responses:
3 Min Read
September 23, 2017 04:09 PM MDT
How much time should we really be spending on our Church calling?
1 Min Read
We've all been at the point in our lives where we feel like we are barely holding on, we can't possibly do one more thing, and then a Church calling or service project comes up. How can we manage it all? Sister Eubank from the Relief Society General Presidency shares some great insights.
1 Min Read
July 08, 2017 01:50 PM MDT
A recent post by Richard Ostler has been gaining traction on Facebook, receiving over 100 comments in just a matter of days. In the post, Ostler delves into how we tend to judge each other and our own worthiness based on our Church callings—a tendency that can have very harmful effects. Ostler says:
1 Min Read
By  LDS Living
July 06, 2017 10:25 PM MDT
While the Lord continues to pour blessings upon us when we choose to serve Him and follow the Spirit, there are undoubtedly sacrifices we are asked to make as members of His Church. There's no doubt that with a calling as an apostle, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has had to adjust much of his life to his Church service. Yet his perspective shows us what truly counts when it comes to serving the Lord.
1 Min Read
June 21, 2017 09:15 AM MDT
During my Young Women years, I heard many lessons on the hurtful effects of gossip. In my 14-year-old brain, I assumed we were taught those lessons because gossip was a problem only teenage girls struggled with—until one day when my bubble of naivety was suddenly burst.
3 Min Read
June 16, 2017 08:21 PM MDT
My sister practically forced me to attend the single's ward the summer after I graduated from high school. As a girl who had only recently and reluctantly left Young Womens, I wasn't ready for the what some of my friends teasingly called the "marriage market."
4 Min Read
By  LDS Living
June 13, 2017 11:59 AM MDT
Sometimes with demanding callings in the Church, we can begin focusing on how much time we spend, how much worry and planning we put in, and all the things we might be sacrificing. But recently, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who has one of the most demanding callings in the Church, reminded us of all the blessings we receive when we serve:
1 Min Read
By  LDS Living
May 30, 2017 12:51 PM MDT
We've all had those moments when we're sitting in the office of a Church leader, feeling completely overwhelmed. Why me? we can often wonder. Dozens of names run through our heads of people we may feel are more suited to a calling just extended to us than we feel at the moment.
1 Min Read
May 09, 2017 09:55 AM MDT
There is a saying that has gone around for years: “If you want something to get done, give it to a busy person.” I believe that saying to be true, but I also think that saying is cruel. It assumes that since a person is working hard, being responsible, and accomplishing many things, that they can easily handle “just one more thing.” But as the world continues to heap more and more on people's shoulders, it's going to get harder and harder for busy people to cope with the excessive demands.
6 Min Read
February 08, 2017 03:38 PM MST
Church callings. Just when we feel we are getting a handle on them, we're called to something new and we're stretched in different ways. While it can be frustrating, the humility and learning that comes from the way the Church is structured is something Liz Wiseman thinks we need more of in the business world. “I actually think if corporations out in the business world adapted this same kind of system, amazing things would happen,” said Wiseman.
1 Min Read
October 15, 2015 06:00 PM MDT
I remember the first time I felt like I was in over my head. I had just graduated high school and the bishop of our congregation, or “ward,” had invited me in to his office during Church. As we chatted about my plans for college and other things, he asked if I would accept a “calling,” or in other words, a church assignment. I was expecting him to ask if I would be the ward chorister or something. But instead, he asked me if I would accept the assignment to be the teacher of a group of teenage girls, or “Young Women,” in our congregation.
1 Min Read
By  LDS Living
September 01, 2015 09:00 AM MDT
What has been your favorite memory with Music & the Spoken Word?
2 Min Read
Fun
August 25, 2015 04:57 PM MDT
MR says: Want to know how to be miserable and to make your experience at Church the absolute worst? Then read all of these great self-hinder tips!
1 Min Read
July 24, 2015 05:20 PM MDT
MR says: The next time your alarm goes off for early morning Church meetings, remember the sacrifice is well worth it.
1 Min Read
June 19, 2015 03:59 PM MDT
I mentioned previously that ward leaders would soon be able to manage home and visiting teaching and callings on LDS.org from any internet-connected device without having to use MLS on the computer at the church. It’s now here. (At least for my ward. If you can’t get access as described in this article, don’t worry. It will be coming to your ward very soon.)
1 Min Read
Fun
June 09, 2015 01:38 PM MDT
The calling of Primary chorister might be one of those under-recognized callings. It’s not that they are unappreciated, but they often serve humbly and quietly. During my brief time in this calling, I have learned how important this service is and how much work goes into the planning. I also noticed some surprising experiences and blessings that have changed my view of this calling.
1 Min Read