Called and Assigned

Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serve as full-time missionaries for a period of 18 months to two years. Because they don’t choose the location of their service, after submitting an application, they eagerly await a letter from the president of the Church, which begins, “You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Later in the letter comes the much-anticipated sentence, “You are assigned to labor in the _______ mission.”

The location of missionary service is an exciting piece of news, affecting the clothing and other supplies the new missionary will need, how hard it will be to communicate with family, and even whether they need to learn a new language. But as David A. Bednar has pointed out, this assignment is secondary in importance to the call itself:

In the culture of the Church, we often talk of being called to serve in a country such as Argentina, Poland, Korea, or the United States. But a missionary is not called to a place; rather, he or she is called to serve. …

An assignment to labor in a specific place is essential and important but secondary to a call to the work.

“Called to the Work,” General Conference, April 2017

In March 1832, Stephen Burnett received a rather unusual mission call. “Go ye, go ye into all the world,” the Lord says in this revelation, “and preach the gospel to every creature that cometh under the sound of your voice” (Doctrine and Covenants 80:1). This language, which echoes the Great Commission the Savior gave His apostles after His resurrection (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16), represents his formal call to serve. He is also assigned a companion—Eden Smith (Doctrine and Covenants 80:2). If he was hoping for clarity on where he should go, the next sentence must have shocked him:

Wherefore, go ye and preach my gospel, whether to the north or to the south, to the east or to the west, it mattereth not, for ye cannot go amiss.

Doctrine and Covenants 80:3

Commenting on this verse, Elder Bednar said:

I do not believe that the phrase “it mattereth not” as used by the Lord in this scripture suggests that He does not care where His servants labor. In fact, He cares deeply. But because the work of preaching the gospel is the Lord’s work, He inspires, guides, and directs His authorized servants. As missionaries strive to be ever more worthy and capable instruments in His hands and do their best to fulfill faithfully their duties, then with His help they “cannot go amiss”—wherever they serve.

“Called to the Work,” General Conference, April 2017

A few days later, another church member named Jared Carter received a call. He had already served for more than five months as a missionary in his home state of Vermont and nearby New York. He was instructed to continue his work in “the eastern countries,” but even that location assignment came with the following qualifier:

I will send upon him the Comforter, which shall teach him the truth and the way whither he shall go.

Doctrine and Covenants 79:2

When the sons of Mosiah traveled to the land of Nephi to preach to their enemies, the Lamanites, they held a brief meeting in which their leader, Ammon, “blessed them according to their several stations.” Then, “they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest” (Alma 17:13, 17-18). God would direct them each to specific locations and to specific people, but they were all united in a common mission, which resulted in the conversion of thousands of people over fourteen years.

I have learned the following two lessons from these stories:

1. The aspects of our callings which seem most exciting may not be the most important parts. We need to ground ourselves by really understanding what we have been called to do, so that we can adapt more readily to changing circumstances.
2. A call to serve is necessarily broad. The details—where, how, and who—will come into focus gradually, as the Spirit of the Lord directs our service day by day and moment by moment.

Today I will seek for the guidance of the Lord to better understand how to fulfill my callings. I will remain fully committed to the calling itself while being adaptable as the Lord helps me understand the details of my service.