I spoke with a very nice TBM woman today who was recently called to a position in the Relief Society. She expressed her concern with how much time this new calling requires and it's quite apparent that she would rather not be doing it.
But you see, if she refuses to accept and fulfill the calling, then she is saying "no" directly to Jesus. This could have a serious impact upon her salvation. And while she has only had the calling a short time, she is already starting to feel burnt out by it. But in Mormonism you not only faithfull fulfill a calling, but even go the extra mile.
Of course, I believe that the LDS church has done nothing more than manipulate her and millions of other tired and burnt out Mormons into hours and hours and hours of free labor for them. She can stop anytime she wants, but unfortunately, she does not realize that. She is simply donating her time to a cult, which in the end will only thank her with a very brief mention in sacrament meeting and a vote of thanks by the members.
So she plugs along, believing that she is earning her place in heaven, while dealing with her family and their needs as well. This lady is a genuinely good person and I adore her very much. It's just sad that she has expressed her dislike for the calling but feels that she has to keep at it in order to please god. And yes, she is serving and helping the people of her ward, which is a good thing. But most likely she will hold the position for many years and will be completely burnt out by the time it's over.
While the next few years of her life could be fun, it will be spent in morbid service to the church. And she can't say no because Jesus will damn her. Her service will be given, but it will be given out of a sense of fear and obligation, not love and compassion.
I very much feel her pain as I was in the exact same situation myself. I was in a calling that demanded my time constantly. I hated it and it eventually drove me to inactivity. If I had stayed, I would probably still be doing it, and hating every minute of it.
But how can you tell a believer that they really don't have to do it? You can't. That's the catch. Every person has to figure it out for themselves. Even if I did try to tell her, she would resist it. A person can only get out of that vicious cycle when they are ready, and not before. I was past ready. And now I'm free!
I set myself free and I blog in the hopes that my words will find someone else who is ready.
2 comments:
I too have witnessed this, here is my beef. Most of the people who have these "callings" already have a busy life. Mom's & Dad's who work full time basicly have another job on their hands. Now I thought that this religion was based alot on family and that time you spend with family well then why do these moms and dads have callings that take away from their husbands wifes and children? There is nothing wrong with serving God but a relatiohship with God should be personal, why does someone have to know what kind of relationship I have with him. I have nothing to prove to anyone it is between him and I. Organized religion is a competition on who is more Holy, who knows more etc...
Too true! I also believe that there is nothing wrong with donating your time and money to your religion if you so choose. But the thing about the Mormon religion that really gets me is that they manipulate it out of their members. Their members don't do it because they want to... they do it because they're damned if they don't! I know that was true for me. And you're exactly right. Some of those callings literally take fathers away from their families for years. Someone in my own family had a calling that literally took him to a different city for years. He missed the first 5 or 6 years of his son's life all because of his calling.
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