Learning Through Serving:

Training in the Church

I have had the privilege of serving in a variety of positions in the church. It has been a great blessing to me and to my family. Service in the church is critical for us – through service we assist others and we ourselves become what the Savior wants us to become. James ends his epistle with: “. . . He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” [James 5:20]

Similarly, Paul tells Timothy, a young Bishop, that his service, if he is faithful, “. . . shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.” [1 Timothy 4:16] Indeed, the Doctrine and Covenants is full of promises, such as the one in Section 4, that teaching and serving is saving service. “. . . And lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul.” [D&C 4:4]

Thus has the Lord designed his church so that we all need to serve, get to serve, ought to serve. This is more for our good than for any other reason. We need it more than the people we serve. In fact, our inefficiencies and weaknesses often present stumbling blocks for those whom we serve. This offers them an opportunity to forgive us and rise to the stature of a disciple.

Paul said we are called to these positions “ . . . for the perfecting of the saints . . . Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” [Ephesians 4:12-13] I had always assumed this meant those who were called to serve did so in a way that the members under their stewardship could be perfected. While this is undoubtedly true, there is likely a deeper meaning here. We are called that we may serve, and thus ourselves be perfected.

This is why, I believe, each calling stretches us and teaches us new things. By calling us to positions which we do not feel qualified for, the Lord is allowing us to develop what we lack. We discover this kind of growth is not always easy, but it is rewarding. Thus, each calling is a blessing.

However, we cannot find ourselves receiving a calling “ . . .with a doubtful heart and keeping it with slothfulness.” For such, there is no reward. [D&C 58:26-29] In fact we are “damned,” in that we do not progress, we do not learn and we do not develop in that calling as the Lord has designed for us. So we end up doubting the inspiration of the call, of the bishop. We blame others for the lack of success and we may, ultimately, doubt that the Lord's work is involved at all. For such, the “. . . reward lurketh from beneath and not from above.” [D&C58:33]

Training – a Priesthood Responsibility

All too often, however, the person called to serve does not get much guidance from his or her leaders. There is often a dearth of training. Sometimes the relevant handbooks are not provided. People are just supposed to know instinctively what to do. Then the leaders get to share the difficulties when the service experience does not go well. This is something that needs to be improved in almost every ward, branch and stake I have served in. However, on a church-wide basis, there is much training and follow-up going on. The entries for this blog will serve as a testament to that fact. I have been the joyful recipient of much wonderful and inspiring training. I am going to attempt to summarize and organize the notes taken over 20 years of leadership councils and training meetings in the hope they may be interesting and instructive to those who read it. Perhaps the reader will, in turn, improve on their own opportunities to train and develop workers in the Lord's vineyard!

One comment and one story.

The Comment

Leadership meetings are where much good training takes place. Unfortunately, many leaders do not make this a priority and thus lose the opportunity to be instructed in their duties. Sometimes the excuse is given that the material presented is the same old stuff we have heard before. This attitude betrays a misunderstanding of how the spirit teaches us. First, we are under obligation to go to these meetings prepared to receive “. . . the word of truth . . .by the Spirit of truth.” [D&C 50:19] If we are not so prepared, we receive in “some other way” and it is not of God. Therefore we are not edified nor rejoice together. [see verses 21-24] When we go to a leadership meeting we go as a representative for all in our stewardship. We owe them a report on what we learned and we owe them better leadership as a result of having been instructed by our leaders and by the Spirit of truth.

Our constituency may include quorum or class members, our spouse, our families, those we home teach or visiting teach and anyone else we might reach out and touch as active members of God's Kingdom. We need to be there, we need to participate, we need to go prepared to receive by the Spirit. Then even if the presentations are the “same ol' thing,” the Spirit can speak to us and tell us what the Lord wants us to do in our stewardships.

The Story

Elder Jacob de Jager was a delightful man. A Dutch convert to the church, he was full of good stories and good fellowship. In a stake presidency meeting he told us approximately this [to get the full effect, you need to hear this in a Dutch accent]:

We like to say that Joseph Smith said “I teach them true principles,
and they govern themselves.” That is not what he said. What he really said is
“We teach and teach and teach and teach and teach,
and then they govern themselves.”

That little story has stayed with me since. Do not be concerned that the same material is presented over and over. This is as it should be. When we hearken to that we have been given, then we get more. In the meantime, the Spirit will teach us and we need not be bored. We need this teaching, those in our stewardship need this teaching. Following is an attempt to summarize and highlight teaching I have received in some very special settings.

JW

Note

It might be useful to identify the types of meetings from which this material derives. Here is a general list of the meetings I have been privileged to attend.

As a stake president or a counselor in the stake presidency I attended meetings such as:

Area Stake President's Training. This meeting is no longer held. In the past, members of the 12 and the 70 would annually travel the world to hold training for stake presidents. These were normally a Friday night and Saturday affair. I attended 7 of these while stake president. Members of the 12 who conducted these included L. Tom Perry, Neal A. Maxwell, Joseph B. Wirthlin, Dallin H. Oaks, Richard G. Scott, Jeffrey R. Holland and Henry B. Eyring. These were magnificent and aimed right at us. The substance of this training was taken from the general authority training held at the previous general conference. Seventies who were part of this were F. Burton Howard, Gene R. Cook, Monte Brough, Stephen D. Nadauld, and Richard Allred.

Mission President Seminars. In addition to the MTC training, which included many general authorities, I attended 6 mission president seminars while serving in Australia. Three of these were conducted by a member of the 12, including Russell M. Nelson, L. Tom Perry, and Henry B. Eyring. One was conducted by Earl C. Tingey, Senior President of the Seventy; another by D. Todd Christofferson, also of the Presidency of the Seventy. Elder Christofferson also accompanied Elders Nelson and Eyring. The Area president conducted the remaining one. Elder Perry was accompanied by Robert C. Oaks of the Presidency of the Seventy.

Seventies in the Area Presidency who participated in these included Kenneth Johnson, John M. Madsen, Paul K. Sybrowsky, Richard D. Stone. Participating Area 70's included Dirk Smibert, John R. Gibson and Lindsay T. Dil.

These were typically 3-4 days in length and were quite refreshing and regenerative.

Regional Conferences. These are multi-stake conferences presided over by general authorities. We have attended 2 of them; one in Oklahoma and one in Jacksonville, Florida. In Oklahoma the visitors were Bruce R. McConkie and Neal A. Maxwell. Sister McConkie attended as well. Robert Hales attended, also, I believe – and was in the presiding bishopric at the time. The one in Florida was attended by Thomas S. Monson, with Dallin H. Oaks and Steven D. Nadauld in attendance.

Coordinating Councils. These are meetings with multiple Stake Presidents and the local mission president and are usually presided over by an Area Seventy. I have attended multiples of this meeting in both roles – stake president and mission president. Usually a specific Area Seventy presides over this council for several iterations. This provides continuity from one meeting to another. These began as missionary meetings occasioned by the need to increase retention. Over time they have become more of a multistake planning meeting. This is partly due to the reduction of the number of regional meetings [welfare, scouts, public affairs, etc.] and the natural order of things.

Stake Conferences. The general rule is for each stake to get a visitor at alternate stake conferences. This works about ¾ of the time. The visitors tend to be members of the Seventy or Area Seventies. In any case, they come with great instruction and often assigned material.

Whatever notes are taken, the most important instruction comes through the Spirit. Instruction comes from the leaders, specific assignments and greater insight come through the Spirit. My habit of note taking is to leave about 2/3 of a page for note-taking and about 1/3 for insights which come from the Spirit. These insights might be, for example, things to do for/with a specific person, programmatic things to do, training needed in the stake, or personal insight of doctrine or principles. So these notes are very important. I believe that all Latter-day Saints should be prepared to take notes in any meeting where they might get good instruction. This includes sacrament meeting, priesthood meeting, Relief Society, etc. If we are prepared for the Spirit to speak to us and honor that by recording it in our study journals, we are much more likely to receive more. This is on the assumption that we act on that which we receive!

Joseph Smith said the following about the importance of writing down the spiritual insights we receive:

Here is an important item. If you assemble from time to time, and proceed to discuss important questions, and pass decisions upon the same, and fail to note them down, by and by you will be driven to straits from which you will not be able to extricate yourselves, but you may be in a situation not to bring your faith to bear with sufficient perfection or power to obtain the desired information; or, perhaps, for neglecting to write these things when God had revealed them, not esteeming them of sufficient worth, the Spirit may withdraw, and God may be angry; and there is, or was, a vast knowledge, of infinite importance, which is now lost. [Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.73.]