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| Left to right-my son-in-law, our branch president, myself and my son our district president |
Living in the third world like the Philippines, where doors of opportunities seem but a few and hard to find, and where salaries could hardly make both ends meet, all eyes are focused on the vast and seemingly innumerable doors of better opportunities and greener pastures in lands faraway. The increasing Filipino diaspora throughout the world is one sad proof of such scarcity of employment prospects. Even those with professional degrees, highly trained and best skilled intelligent workers find it difficult to open bolted doors of opportunities in our own land, and so join the diaspora, resulting to a brain drain.
To the Latter-Day Saints labor pool, the same temptation to leave the family for better and more rewarding employment opportunities abroad is an ever-present concern. Ecclesiastical leaders discouraged priesthood holders to leave families in favor of work abroad. Yet keeping a balance between spiritual and temporal considerations oftentimes moves them off shore. Only a call from God seemed to be one best resistance against the temptation. It is the only real motivation to stay afloat on their little boat of hope while the roaring waves of temporal challenges raged on in the dark and tempestuous seas of life.
My son was preparing himself and viewing a possible prospect abroad. The whole family had applied for a passport in anticipation for a needed movement away from home while under threat of his employer’s operational belt-tightening and possible closure. He was then the Branch President in our unit. All things considered, he thought it proper to favorably respond to his brother-in-law’s invitation to work in the United Arab Emirates than to have his family suffer from destitution and despondency. But before he could leave, he was again chosen of the Lord to preside and lead a church district in our locality. His Priesthood leadership was needed by the Lord and he finds no excuse, complaint or reason for refusal, but accepts the call with full purpose of heart even in apprehension of his personal inadequacies. He left all his temporal concern with faith in the same God who called him to a new priesthood duty.
In my management schooling which earned for me a Master in Business Administration we were taught to motivate people to ENGAGE, INVOLVE, and PARTICIPATE in attaining corporate goals in accordance with corporate mission and vision. True engagement in a work place has always been the corporate plans even now. While in a corporate leadership people do compelling duties by order of authority in return for the value of their salaries, many still do not adhere to the corporate motivational techniques. Costs are therefore added by conducting enhanced training through hired consultants.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints called leaders are volunteers and the local organizations are manned by unpaid workers. This seemed to be a very hard kind of leadership in which you simply convince people to engage in the work according to their personal discretion where the only motivation is the knowledge that the energy, talents and resources invested give meaning to their service commitment and Christian faith. The one single impetus and stimulus is for the leader to be a personal example of a true follower. The prototype of being a faithful disciple with the best intention to help others become faithful followers is the very essence behind church leadership calling. “Like the Savior, leaders seek to minister to individuals and families, both spiritually and temporally. They care about each person, not just about managing an organization. They reach out to…those who may be lonely or in need of comfort.” (www.lds.org.) I tried to apply these simple church leadership principles as an addition to corporate leadership and I found it very effective that for many years I have been a consistent recipient of an outstanding performance.
All righteous and worthy Priesthood holders are candidates to a calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. No one applies for a position neither are any Priesthood holder required to submit a resume when called upon to any title of authority in the Church. They are called by inspiration and when calls are extended to any one Priesthood holder, he is bound to accept the voluntary service in accordance with his oath and covenant of the Holy Priesthood, no matter his inadequacies and imperfections. “We believe that a man must be called of God by prophecy and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.” (Articles of Faith 5). A call by prophecy from the one who holds the Priesthood key usually comes in surprise to the one called. Generally only the one who holds the key to extend the call and the one being called knows. The wife only knows as soon as the call is accepted through an interview of support considering the weight of a calling from God that might affect the family.
Such was the case of my son Robert Sherwin. Without any prior premonitions or presentiments, he was chosen of the Lord to preside over a small district of the Church in Surigao City. The call was extended to him by the Mission President of the Philippines Butuan Mission. I am a counselor in the Mission Presidency, but I never know and the whole family knows only during the sustaining of the newly called leadership in a conference on September 7, 2014. There was not even any prior knowledge about the reorganization of the district. Hence the call was totally a surprise. But like Nephi of old he can only say, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (1 Nephi 3:7). He has several prior plans for his family life, but with the new call he has to redirect his goals accordingly. The call to preside and to lead is not an easy one. It requires time and effort. The call of duty and service in God’s Kingdom demands, “…our heart, might, mind and strength… faith, hope, charity, and love with an eye single to the glory of God… virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence… (D & C 4:2, 5-6).” These attributes and virtues are required because as a Priesthood leader he is to be engaged in a position where all those who work with him are volunteers from all walks of life and different educational levels. It will be a test of no ordinary leadership. He is to lead as a servant and steward.
My son served a two-year full time mission. He also served as Branch President for six years. With these experiences he feels that he is still inadequate as to preside over six operating branches in the district with a total membership of approximately 2,500, plus the fact that he is a career man with corporate supervisory accountability, and a paramount and preeminent responsibility to his family. Yet he knew that ‘when he is in the Lord’s errand, he is entitled to the Lord’s help’. Therefore, he takes to heart the clarion call of President Thomas S. Monson: “reach outward. … Membership in the Church calls for a determination to serve. A position of responsibility may not be of recognized importance, nor may the reward be broadly known. Service, to be acceptable to the Savior, must come from willing minds, ready hands, and pledged hearts.”
God's promised help did manifest. While there was massive retrenchments, he was retained in his position as ISO Internal Auditor and IT supervisor. The company did not close but is now looking forward with anticipation to a full mining operations.
As the presiding authority, he now stands as a watchman upon the towers of Zion, “…to warn the wicked from his wicked way…(see Ezekiel 3:17-19).” His foremost role is to strengthen the district into becoming a stake of Zion by leading the people in righteousness. This is no easy task but with God manifesting Himself to His appointed oracles, nothing is impossible. As in the words of President Thomas S. Monson: “Whatever our calling, regardless of our fears or anxieties, let us pray and then go and do.” (“They Pray and They Go,” Ensign, May 2002, 51.) In such a call from God, there is no better training for a Priesthood leader than to read the handbooks of instructions and be guided by Him through the Holy Ghost---the source of pure intelligence, in the performance of his functions.
As a counselor in the mission presidency I have the opportunity to sit with them in council immediately after the new District Presidency were set apart. My counsel to them as an initial step is to set a goal and make a plan of action. The goals will become the network that will connect efforts towards achievements.
Perhaps there is no greater parental accomplishment than to see our children serve in different capacities in the church. Our goal is to be an eternal family, and for each to be in continued and uninterrupted righteous service in the Church is the best assurance that we can move forward to the attainment of our eternal goals. King Benjamin taught that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). Indeed, there is real happiness and joy in touching the lives of people as we are called to serve and to lead. The Lord declared: “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.” (D & C 64:33-34.) As a father I am truly grateful for my son’s call to preside and lead in the small district of the Church and his ever willing heart and mind to accept the challenge, while temporarily leaving behind his dreams for temporal growth and development for his family. .
To the Latter-Day Saints labor pool, the same temptation to leave the family for better and more rewarding employment opportunities abroad is an ever-present concern. Ecclesiastical leaders discouraged priesthood holders to leave families in favor of work abroad. Yet keeping a balance between spiritual and temporal considerations oftentimes moves them off shore. Only a call from God seemed to be one best resistance against the temptation. It is the only real motivation to stay afloat on their little boat of hope while the roaring waves of temporal challenges raged on in the dark and tempestuous seas of life.
My son was preparing himself and viewing a possible prospect abroad. The whole family had applied for a passport in anticipation for a needed movement away from home while under threat of his employer’s operational belt-tightening and possible closure. He was then the Branch President in our unit. All things considered, he thought it proper to favorably respond to his brother-in-law’s invitation to work in the United Arab Emirates than to have his family suffer from destitution and despondency. But before he could leave, he was again chosen of the Lord to preside and lead a church district in our locality. His Priesthood leadership was needed by the Lord and he finds no excuse, complaint or reason for refusal, but accepts the call with full purpose of heart even in apprehension of his personal inadequacies. He left all his temporal concern with faith in the same God who called him to a new priesthood duty.
In my management schooling which earned for me a Master in Business Administration we were taught to motivate people to ENGAGE, INVOLVE, and PARTICIPATE in attaining corporate goals in accordance with corporate mission and vision. True engagement in a work place has always been the corporate plans even now. While in a corporate leadership people do compelling duties by order of authority in return for the value of their salaries, many still do not adhere to the corporate motivational techniques. Costs are therefore added by conducting enhanced training through hired consultants.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints called leaders are volunteers and the local organizations are manned by unpaid workers. This seemed to be a very hard kind of leadership in which you simply convince people to engage in the work according to their personal discretion where the only motivation is the knowledge that the energy, talents and resources invested give meaning to their service commitment and Christian faith. The one single impetus and stimulus is for the leader to be a personal example of a true follower. The prototype of being a faithful disciple with the best intention to help others become faithful followers is the very essence behind church leadership calling. “Like the Savior, leaders seek to minister to individuals and families, both spiritually and temporally. They care about each person, not just about managing an organization. They reach out to…those who may be lonely or in need of comfort.” (www.lds.org.) I tried to apply these simple church leadership principles as an addition to corporate leadership and I found it very effective that for many years I have been a consistent recipient of an outstanding performance.
All righteous and worthy Priesthood holders are candidates to a calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. No one applies for a position neither are any Priesthood holder required to submit a resume when called upon to any title of authority in the Church. They are called by inspiration and when calls are extended to any one Priesthood holder, he is bound to accept the voluntary service in accordance with his oath and covenant of the Holy Priesthood, no matter his inadequacies and imperfections. “We believe that a man must be called of God by prophecy and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.” (Articles of Faith 5). A call by prophecy from the one who holds the Priesthood key usually comes in surprise to the one called. Generally only the one who holds the key to extend the call and the one being called knows. The wife only knows as soon as the call is accepted through an interview of support considering the weight of a calling from God that might affect the family.
Such was the case of my son Robert Sherwin. Without any prior premonitions or presentiments, he was chosen of the Lord to preside over a small district of the Church in Surigao City. The call was extended to him by the Mission President of the Philippines Butuan Mission. I am a counselor in the Mission Presidency, but I never know and the whole family knows only during the sustaining of the newly called leadership in a conference on September 7, 2014. There was not even any prior knowledge about the reorganization of the district. Hence the call was totally a surprise. But like Nephi of old he can only say, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded” (1 Nephi 3:7). He has several prior plans for his family life, but with the new call he has to redirect his goals accordingly. The call to preside and to lead is not an easy one. It requires time and effort. The call of duty and service in God’s Kingdom demands, “…our heart, might, mind and strength… faith, hope, charity, and love with an eye single to the glory of God… virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence… (D & C 4:2, 5-6).” These attributes and virtues are required because as a Priesthood leader he is to be engaged in a position where all those who work with him are volunteers from all walks of life and different educational levels. It will be a test of no ordinary leadership. He is to lead as a servant and steward.
My son served a two-year full time mission. He also served as Branch President for six years. With these experiences he feels that he is still inadequate as to preside over six operating branches in the district with a total membership of approximately 2,500, plus the fact that he is a career man with corporate supervisory accountability, and a paramount and preeminent responsibility to his family. Yet he knew that ‘when he is in the Lord’s errand, he is entitled to the Lord’s help’. Therefore, he takes to heart the clarion call of President Thomas S. Monson: “reach outward. … Membership in the Church calls for a determination to serve. A position of responsibility may not be of recognized importance, nor may the reward be broadly known. Service, to be acceptable to the Savior, must come from willing minds, ready hands, and pledged hearts.”
God's promised help did manifest. While there was massive retrenchments, he was retained in his position as ISO Internal Auditor and IT supervisor. The company did not close but is now looking forward with anticipation to a full mining operations.
As the presiding authority, he now stands as a watchman upon the towers of Zion, “…to warn the wicked from his wicked way…(see Ezekiel 3:17-19).” His foremost role is to strengthen the district into becoming a stake of Zion by leading the people in righteousness. This is no easy task but with God manifesting Himself to His appointed oracles, nothing is impossible. As in the words of President Thomas S. Monson: “Whatever our calling, regardless of our fears or anxieties, let us pray and then go and do.” (“They Pray and They Go,” Ensign, May 2002, 51.) In such a call from God, there is no better training for a Priesthood leader than to read the handbooks of instructions and be guided by Him through the Holy Ghost---the source of pure intelligence, in the performance of his functions.
As a counselor in the mission presidency I have the opportunity to sit with them in council immediately after the new District Presidency were set apart. My counsel to them as an initial step is to set a goal and make a plan of action. The goals will become the network that will connect efforts towards achievements.
Perhaps there is no greater parental accomplishment than to see our children serve in different capacities in the church. Our goal is to be an eternal family, and for each to be in continued and uninterrupted righteous service in the Church is the best assurance that we can move forward to the attainment of our eternal goals. King Benjamin taught that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). Indeed, there is real happiness and joy in touching the lives of people as we are called to serve and to lead. The Lord declared: “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.” (D & C 64:33-34.) As a father I am truly grateful for my son’s call to preside and lead in the small district of the Church and his ever willing heart and mind to accept the challenge, while temporarily leaving behind his dreams for temporal growth and development for his family. .
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