New calling: Executive Secretary

I was set apart as the newest executive secretary in our ward today. I was called last Sunday, but have yet to be released as gospel doctrine instructor. Hopefully I won’t have to do both.

The previous executive secretary phoned me about a week and a half ago to ask me to pray in priesthood opening exercises, and he said we needed to get together since I was taking over from him. That was the first I had heard of this. As a result, it was hardly a surprise when the first counsellor in the stake presidency phoned asking me to meet with him

Secretly, I was hoping to be the new ward clerk, the current one was called to the high council. I had been ward clerk previously, and it was my most favourite calling. Unfortunately, I served for only 8 months.

Coincidently, I was gospel doctrine instructor for only eight months. The part I am going to miss the most is not teaching Old Testament next year. I was really looking forward to that.

I guess my reprieve from meetings was meant to be short.

If anyone is interested, here are the callings I have had since I was married in 1995:

  • elders quorum second counsellor
  • elders quorum president
  • ward mission leader
  • stake mission secretary
  • young men president
  • ward clerk
  • elders quorum president
  • Gospel Doctrine instructor
  • executive secretary

Nope. No ward bulletin editor.

10 thoughts on “New calling: Executive Secretary

  1. In PEC yesterday it became public knowledge that the 2nd counselor in the bishopric is leaving next month. His wife has my all time favorite calling from all my church experience – 17-18 yo ss teacher.

    I said I didn’t know where the applications were or when the interview would be but I am officially applying for the job.

    Knowing my luck I will get the 2nd counselor job – one of the few in the church with even more meetings than I got now. Good luck with the new calling though. It always seems to me that it would be a pretty good gig, all the knowledge without the responsibility (but I am sure that last part about responsibility will probably prove to be completely untrue).

  2. It always seems to me that it would be a pretty good gig, all the knowledge without the responsibility

    My thoughts exactly. With my luck though, my bishop will treat me like a third counsellor.

  3. So many “callings” in so few years. I cringe every so slightly when I hear Christians talk about being “called” to something. I think that God does call some people to certain, very specific things. But a lot of the time I get the feeling God has given us a world of opportunities and he would support us whichever road we took – whether as a Missionary overseas, a development worker for World Vision, a pastor, a stay-at-home dad, a teacher. I think usually there is no one specific “place” God really wants us to be. I’ve seen too many Christians move to other cities/countries to plant churches that they felt ‘called’ to plant – and then have their churches not succeed, and be unable to understand why their church had failed if God had specifically called them to plant it. More often than not I’ve seen churches fail after good Christians tried planting them, following what they felt was a specific God ‘calling’.

  4. Part one of my prediction came true yesterday. The Stake President showed up yesterday and half fired me. He fired me before church than rehired me on a temporary basis prior to Priesthood as the new EQP was not at church. He said he would be back in a few weeks to take care of it. One of the absent Elders was the executive secretary.
    I am pretty sure the new calling will be youth sunday school teacher though.

    That said, I know that this lame duck EQP will be volunteering for everything at the next PEC :-)

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