Duncan Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 Do you think the Lord would reveal in some capacity to men who would be called as Apostles of their future calling? I read once of Pres. McKay say that he has extended the call to many, many men to serve as Mission Presidents but has surprised very few. I just wonder if that would apply to Apostles.
jkwilliams Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Duncan said: Do you think the Lord would reveal in some capacity to men who would be called as Apostles of their future calling? I read once of Pres. McKay say that he has extended the call to many, many men to serve as Mission Presidents but has surprised very few. I just wonder if that would apply to Apostles. I recall reading the biography of Spencer W. Kimball, which recounts that he was completely blindsided by the calling as an apostle and requested several days to think about it while on a previously scheduled vacation. Sometimes a calling comes out of the blue. Most people who have served in church leadership have experienced it at least once. I have, anyway. Edited May 23, 2016 by jkwilliams 1
Kenngo1969 Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 Since I've never known any apostles personally and will never be one , I can't speak specifically to the apostleship, but the Spirit revealed to the man whom I served as his executive secretary that he would be called as a bishop several months before the call came. If it happens with other callings, I don't see any reason why it couldn't happen with the apostleship. That said, one of the newly-called members of the Twelve (Elder Stevenson, maybe?) spoke about how he gasped in surprise on learning of his call. 2
hope_for_things Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 Might be interesting to find out how many people thought they received spiritual confirmation that they would be an apostle and didn't get the call. Or to read the # of patriarchal blessings that talk about future callings in leadership positions that aren't realized.
Tacenda Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 A previous Relief Society president, whom I served with, said she knew she was going to be called. No one told her, but the spirit did. I wonder how often that happens.
Popular Post ERMD Posted May 23, 2016 Popular Post Posted May 23, 2016 I like President Uchtdorf's take on this related subject: "When traveling to the stakes of Zion for the purpose of reorganizing a stake presidency, I have sometimes been surprised when, during an interview, a brother would tell me that he had received an impression that he would be in the next presidency. When I first heard this, I wasn’t sure how to react. It took some time before the Holy Spirit gave me understanding. I believe that the Lord has a certain calling for every man. Sometimes He grants spiritual promptings telling us that we are worthy to receive certain callings. This is a spiritual blessing, a tender mercy from God. But sometimes we do not hear the rest of what the Lord is telling us. 'Although you are worthy to serve in this position,' He may say, 'this is not my calling for you. It is my desire instead that you lift where you stand.' God knows what is best for us." 5
Jeanne Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 53 minutes ago, Duncan said: Do you think the Lord would reveal in some capacity to men who would be called as Apostles of their future calling? I read once of Pres. McKay say that he has extended the call to many, many men to serve as Mission Presidents but has surprised very few. I just wonder if that would apply to Apostles. One would have to wonder how many have had patriarchal blessings that have said they would receive this kind of calling.
jkwilliams Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 23 minutes ago, Jeanne said: One would have to wonder how many have had patriarchal blessings that have said they would receive this kind of calling. Mine said I would be called to the highest quorums of the church to devise ways and means to spread the gospel throughout all the world I guess I blew that, huh?
Jeanne Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 8 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: Mine said I would be called to the highest quorums of the church to devise ways and means to spread the gospel throughout all the world I guess I blew that, huh? Maybe not..the gospel, some principles, have changed at least in my view. My PB was identical to half of my girlfriends..so ..go figure.
jkwilliams Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 2 minutes ago, Jeanne said: Maybe not..the gospel, some principles, have changed at least in my view. My PB was identical to half of my girlfriends..so ..go figure. So was mine, actually. My stake president's son recently compared his to mine: almost entirely identical. Go figure, indeed. 1
Jeanne Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 3 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: So was mine, actually. My stake president's son recently compared his to mine: almost entirely identical. Go figure, indeed. Mine was different in that I was told that I would know the man I was to marry the instant that I saw him. Please note that I went to my patriarch with my fiance..who stepped out on me...and then I looked at every man so very closely to see if the spirit would talk to me. Finally..I followed my heart.
jkwilliams Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 4 minutes ago, Jeanne said: Mine was different in that I was told that I would know the man I was to marry the instant that I saw him. Please note that I went to my patriarch with my fiance..who stepped out on me...and then I looked at every man so very closely to see if the spirit would talk to me. Finally..I followed my heart. Interesting how such a seemingly innocuous statement could so significantly alter the way you approached life. Glad you went with your heart. Finding out that my patriarchal blessing was pretty much identical to most of the others given to young men in my stake was very much a let-down, even though I was an unbeliever when I found out. I guess I had always assumed that people at least tried to find out what God had in store for us. Oh, well, I was naive enough as a young man to believe it really was personal revelation for me.
Jeanne Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 1 minute ago, jkwilliams said: Interesting how such a seemingly innocuous statement could so significantly alter the way you approached life. Glad you went with your heart. Finding out that my patriarchal blessing was pretty much identical to most of the others given to young men in my stake was very much a let-down, even though I was an unbeliever when I found out. I guess I had always assumed that people at least tried to find out what God had in store for us. Oh, well, I was naive enough as a young man to believe it really was personal revelation for me. I really thought that God was speaking to me personally. I was devastated to find out that these blessings are basically a memorized script. At the time, I was engaged to be married in the Temple. Ouch..though the man hurt me deeply, I am forever grateful for the man I married 5 years later. He gave me two beautiful children and a wonderful stepson. 1
Jeanne Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 I just wanted to mention..that I had a girlfriend who was 17 who died one week before her PB. Her parents went ahead and talked to the Patriarch as to get an idea of why she was taken so young. He told them it was to bring the youth of our ward back into the church. Do they not realize the burden that put on the kids that were her ward friends? That is when I had a youth testimony meeting and we were a devastated bunch that thought we were doomed to fail her and her family.
bluebell Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 9 minutes ago, Jeanne said: I just wanted to mention..that I had a girlfriend who was 17 who died one week before her PB. Her parents went ahead and talked to the Patriarch as to get an idea of why she was taken so young. He told them it was to bring the youth of our ward back into the church. Do they not realize the burden that put on the kids that were her ward friends? That is when I had a youth testimony meeting and we were a devastated bunch that thought we were doomed to fail her and her family. Why did you all feel doomed to failure? 1
bluebell Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 18 minutes ago, Jeanne said: I really thought that God was speaking to me personally. I was devastated to find out that these blessings are basically a memorized script. At the time, I was engaged to be married in the Temple. Ouch..though the man hurt me deeply, I am forever grateful for the man I married 5 years later. He gave me two beautiful children and a wonderful stepson. I haven't read that many PB's but of the 6 or 7 that i've read (some contemporary to me by the same patriarch and some not) none of them have even been close to the same. I know that some Patriarchs are fond of using the same language but that doesn't mean they are from a memorized script. 4
jkwilliams Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 (edited) 4 minutes ago, bluebell said: I haven't read that many PB's but of the 6 or 7 that i've read (some contemporary to me by the same patriarch and some not) none of them have even been close to the same. I know that some Patriarchs are fond of using the same language but that doesn't mean they are from a memorized script. I am not saying our stake patriarch used a memorized script. I just found it disappointing that my friends and I all pretty much got the same blessing. I never expected that. Edited May 23, 2016 by jkwilliams 2
Jeanne Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 7 minutes ago, bluebell said: Why did you all feel doomed to failure? Because if we didn't live up to church standards or not make any mistakes..her death would be in vain. That is how we all felt and if you could have seen the tears and heartfelt words of those young testimonies...your heart would have broke. Those that were having trouble with the gospel and their lives at home, struggled so hard and those that were very valiant in the ward couldn't do enough. Perhaps, it would have been better if her parents had not mentioned this.
Popular Post bluebell Posted May 23, 2016 Popular Post Posted May 23, 2016 4 minutes ago, Jeanne said: Because if we didn't live up to church standards or not make any mistakes..her death would be in vain. That is how we all felt and if you could have seen the tears and heartfelt words of those young testimonies...your heart would have broke. Those that were having trouble with the gospel and their lives at home, struggled so hard and those that were very valiant in the ward couldn't do enough. Perhaps, it would have been better if her parents had not mentioned this. Maybe it would have been. I think it's much sadder that the youth in your ward seemed to believe they were incapable of being converted to the gospel. That's a problem that goes much deeper and would have had significant impact even if the parents had not mentioned it. 5
Jeanne Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 5 minutes ago, bluebell said: Maybe it would have been. I think it's much sadder that the youth in your ward seemed to believe they were incapable of being converted to the gospel. That's a problem that goes much deeper and would have had significant impact even if the parents had not mentioned it. Many of those who were already very much converted and stalwart were in a position to judge the others. Ugh..this made life a very hard time for the youth in that tiny ward. The young girl who had died had called her parents from a truck stop to see if she could be a half hour late while she visited with friends. Her parents said no...she proceeded to come home and was hit head on by a drunk driver. In this case, the youth had it much easier than her parents.
bluebell Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 7 minutes ago, Jeanne said: Many of those who were already very much converted and stalwart were in a position to judge the others. Ugh..this made life a very hard time for the youth in that tiny ward. The young girl who had died had called her parents from a truck stop to see if she could be a half hour late while she visited with friends. Her parents said no...she proceeded to come home and was hit head on by a drunk driver. In this case, the youth had it much easier than her parents. I can imagine.
jkwilliams Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 20 minutes ago, Jeanne said: Because if we didn't live up to church standards or not make any mistakes..her death would be in vain. That is how we all felt and if you could have seen the tears and heartfelt words of those young testimonies...your heart would have broke. Those that were having trouble with the gospel and their lives at home, struggled so hard and those that were very valiant in the ward couldn't do enough. Perhaps, it would have been better if her parents had not mentioned this. I think I understand where you're coming from. My whole life my mother told me and others that my life had been spared because I had a special mission for the Lord in this life. I was terrified of not living up to that special mission, and I felt terribly guilty whenever I succumbed to any weakness or sin. It's a lot of pressure to put on a young kid. And of course, the part of my patriarchal blessing I quoted reinforced my mother's belief. I'm glad I've finally been able to be OK with who I am. 2
Jeanne Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 32 minutes ago, bluebell said: I haven't read that many PB's but of the 6 or 7 that i've read (some contemporary to me by the same patriarch and some not) none of them have even been close to the same. I know that some Patriarchs are fond of using the same language but that doesn't mean they are from a memorized script. Perhaps it is because all of my friends had the same patriarch too. But that was just my experience. You and GG have had different experiences in everything I bring up. I must be just a crap person.
jkwilliams Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 3 minutes ago, Jeanne said: Perhaps it is because all of my friends had the same patriarch too. But that was just my experience. You and GG have had different experiences in everything I bring up. I must be just a crap person. That's what I think. The only thing my friends and I had in common was that we received our blessings from the same patriarch in the same time period.
bluebell Posted May 23, 2016 Posted May 23, 2016 19 minutes ago, Jeanne said: Perhaps it is because all of my friends had the same patriarch too. But that was just my experience. You and GG have had different experiences in everything I bring up. I must be just a crap person. Why would you think that having different experiences makes you a crap person??
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