Why aren’t seniors called to leadership positions?
Question
Gramps,
Has it become a norm that once a person reaches 55 or 60 years of age they no longer are called to any position of leadership? In my ward and stake, as well as surrounding stakes, there is not a single leadership position held by anyone older than 55 or 60. In my ward my wife and I have not been called to any position for over 8 years. We are temple worthy and are ordinance workers but no call in our ward or stake. Many others that I speak with at the temple relate the exact same experience.
Jim
Answer
Jim,
The only policies about age and potential callings in the Church are Aaronic priesthood ordinations.
I am quite concerned that you say you haven’t been in a leadership position for eight years. As you know, leadership in the Church is a matter of service. So every calling is a leadership position. If you’ve truly not had a calling for eight years, you should speak with your bishop as soon as you can. Serving one another through church callings is one of our great privileges as members of the Church. Unless you are under church discipline, you should be serving in a calling.
I suspect, however, that you are defining leadership positions much more narrowly than the Lord does. Perhaps you see leadership positions as those callings with great administrative responsibilities, such as Stake Presidents, Relief Society Presidents, or general officers of the Church.
As Elder Bednar discussed in his most recent General Conference address, the Lord values the wisdom and experience of age as we see in the general officers of the Church. Few are called into general leadership positions before the age you mentioned.
Chosen to Bear Testimony of My Name
On the local level, there are people of every age serving in every kind of position. Just last year the Deseret News ran a story about a 100-year-old woman who served as an advisor in Young Women’s.
Why has the Lord chosen younger people to serve in highly visible positions in your region of the world? I can hardly guess the will of God in this matter. But I also wouldn’t categorize it as a great mystery. Surely you can imagine many reasons why the Lord has chosen these particular people at this particular time to advance His great work.
The season of life you are in is a great one for serving the Lord. You’re already learning that as temple workers. If you are looking for additional opportunities, consider the benefits of missionary service. The Church needs senior missionaries, and the call continues to go out for more and more volunteers.
As you continue to build up the kingdom, don’t focus on where you are serving as much as on how you are serving.
God speed,
Gramps
In my ward we have many older brothers and sisters serving….including a 90 year old “grandpa” in the nursery. His calling was originally supposed to be just for 1 year, but he loved the calling so much he asked to stay when the year was up. He has been there for about 6-7 years now and the kids love him.
I would be curious to know where this guy lives. I’ve never seen a bishop, stake president, counselor or high council member under the age of 50. Maybe in Utah where there are so many young Mormons those callings tend to get filled by those who are under that age simply because of demographics, but in most places, older members are the only ones they can find to fill those roles, and they tend to recycle them until they pass away.
And then of course, we have the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency, which, as liberal apostates love to point out, are both made up entirely of old white men…
It’s as if this guy belongs to a whole different church. So confusing.
Great to point out all that you said, Antodav…& I agree about the demographics….so don’t be so confused, he is not from a diff church, from your reasoning, for sure~ ;0)
Our bishop and our stake president are 37. One high councillor is 28. Another is 42. Our ward relief society president is about 75.I live in Australia.
Also: he could always apply to serve a full-time senior mission if he wants to have a calling so badly.
Our Bishop is in his early 70’s. I don’t think age has anything to do with a leadership calling.
In my almost-5-years of being a member, I’ve only had one bishop under the age of 40 – the rest have all been 45+, with the oldest being in his 70s or so. In places where there are more young people, it’s probably just a matter of who’s available. Then again, I’m in Florida, which is a retirement state… xD
Our Relief Society President is in her 80’s. I have a friend in her 60’s who is a Primary teacher. I’ve had bishops who are in their 30’s and bishops who are in their 80’s. I’ve loved the different life experiences and knowledge that each one has brought to their callings!
Perhaps the lack of callings is attributable to your current service in the temple. When I was an ordinance worker, I was told that temple workers are not called to ward or stake callings while serving in the temple. I know that I was called to my stake’s High Council when I was 56, and called as Stake Clerk when I was 61. I was called as Ward Sunday School President when I was in my 70’s.
My 80 year old father is a branch president.
Our High Priest Group leader is 85 years old and is very high functioning.
I was 57 when I converted to the LDS church. I believe that there are many leadership positions in the church, assuming that you are only questioning being a Bishop of counselor. In my 60’s, I served as Ward Executive Secretary, three times. I am now 73 and serve in the primary teaching Valiant 8. Teaching is a leadership position. Also in my 60’s I served as a missionary at the LDS Employment Center. I certainly consider that calling as leadership in that I counseled those seeking employment and taught classes in that center. I assisted many LDS unemployed in finding employment. In my early 60’s I also served as a temple ordinance worker. That to me is leadership. There is a member I worked with in the Employment Center who is 81 and is serving as 2nd counselor in the Bishopric of his ward, while also continuing to work at the Employment Center. He is certainly a leader. I am sure that there are many in the church over the age of 65 serving in some sort of leadership position and it does not have to be the Bishopric or Stake Presidency. We had a High Priest Group Leader who was in his late 60’s, and our current one is probably about 60. One does not have to be a Bishop or Stake President or High Council to be a leader.
My bishop is in his late 60’s
Shasta, one calling is just as important as any other. The Lord places us where we can have the best chance to grow and progress and where we can serve others best with the talents we have been given.