Does a church leader's inspiration trump our own?

[carlimac]

23 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

My story isn't about overcoming a fear of teaching.  It's about accepting a calling I didn't think I could do, had good evidence that I couldn't do it, shared my thoughts on the matter fully with my leader.  Then, when his answer didn't change, I threw myself fully into it because I believe the church is led by revelation, and I figured God knew more about it than I did.

I suppose that's the crux of it - do you believe your Stake president is being led by God or don't you?  Is he just some guy who doesn't want to take no for an answer, or is he acting on inspiration to keep pushing back?

I don't believe he is acting on revelation in my case. I've heard of and seen him in other cases blatantly offending people. He was disciplined by his superiors for this a year ago. I think he has had some great inspiration for the stake but has also displayed a controlling personality and is not acting on the will of the Lord all the time. 

[carlimac]

23 hours ago, Fether said:

I feel like this is more destructive. You are preventing your self from growth. You can’t be walking around always telling yourself “I am not right for this job”. If you do then you will always be right.

I don't. In my 59 years I have only turned down one other calling and that was in the middle of post partum depression. I have accepted and fulfilled every other calling given to me. 

[Guest MormonGator]

Remember that we are all praying for you @carlimac. Hope you find an answer to this. 

[carlimac]

23 hours ago, Fether said:

@carlimac, there are 3 options here.

1) Deny the calling and any potential growth that comes with it

2) Acceptnthe calling out of spite and wake up every morning at 4:30 telling yourself “this sucks, I never should have done this”, teach half hearted lessons and leave the children destitute and starving for the gospel.

3) say “I can do this”, wake up every morning saying “UGGHH it’s so early” and go to class fully prepared because of preparation the night before (even though you had hardly in time for it because of all the work you have to do elsewhere). Probably have some lessons you think were terrible because of how hard everything is, probably cry a lot-a-bit. Fast forward 4 years and have students you taught come back to you and say “Remember that lesson (the one you thought was absolutely awful)? Ya, that changed my life and now I am going to serve a mission”.

This is not a post about whether or not I should accept the calling. I've already made my decision with the approval of the Lord!! YOu don't even know me or my situation. Lighten up!!  This is a question about the appropriateness of a leader who keeps pestering someone who has said no. 

[carlimac]

9 hours ago, SilentOne said:

Reemphasizing what I understood to be the major points. Which have a lot of similarity with

Because what I see being responded to is not even close to the same as what I got out of reading this.

And in my words: Inspiration can be difficult to interpret. Double check to make sure your understanding is correct and complete.

check. done!

[carlimac]

14 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

Remember that we are all praying for you @carlimac. Hope you find an answer to this. 

Thank you!

[Guest MormonGator]

39 minutes ago, carlimac said:

Thank you!

Very welcome. Just go at your own pace. Make sure you are comfortable before you do anything else! 

[estradling75]

1 hour ago, carlimac said:

I don't believe he is acting on revelation in my case. I've heard of and seen him in other cases blatantly offending people. He was disciplined by his superiors for this a year ago. I think he has had some great inspiration for the stake but has also displayed a controlling personality and is not acting on the will of the Lord all the time. 

And there it is...  You rending judgement about the Stake President ability to receive revelation.

The interesting thing about revelation is that if we tell the Lord what we want or are going to do he will allow it.  For example Israel choosing to have a king, Joseph Smith handing the 116 pages of the Book of Mormon translation to Brother Harris, any time we choose to sin etc.  God is totally willing to let us have what we want to our condemnation.

We avoid this problem by doing what Jesus did in the garden. In the scripture Jesus did not want to suffer the atonement..   per Matthew 26:39 “ O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: "  It is harder to find a more direct and simple indication of what Christ wanted at the moment.  He wanted to pass on this calling. 

Yet in-spite of clear indication that he did not want to fulfill this calling he set the example for all of us who do not want to talk on a burdensome calling... when he continued his prayer "nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."

You described telling the Lord want you were going to do, what you wanted... you did not describe seeking the Lord's will on what you should do, what He wanted..  There is a huge difference between the two.  The first one can lead to our condemnation... the second is where you need to be standing.

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

Carlimac,  you have my support.  Our leaders are there to point the way to Christ, not to stand between us and Him.  Trust the inspiration that you received that it is okay to say no to the calling.  You Bishop is supporting you in this, and that is great.  I'm crossing my fingers that your next calling will be to the Primary.     

[Anddenex]

On 7/14/2018 at 12:04 PM, carlimac said:

I am so bugged right now! Earlier this week  I was asked to teach early morning seminary this year by a stake president who barely knows me. Actually the way it went down is that we were contacted by a high counselor who wanted to make a visit to extend an "opportunity" within the stake to us. (My husband is new in the bishopric so we knew it wasn't him they were going to call.) I figured it out since I knew what stake business he was over. That day I totally melted down. Had another anxiety attack and cried all afternoon.  I prayed about it and told the Lord I'm not in a good place to do this. And the clear answer I got that spoke peace to my mind was, " It's OK to say no. Just say no " So I sent an email to the bishop and to this stake leader saying it wasn't worth it to ask because I know it's not something I'm capable of doing well right now. (see other posts by me about anxiety issues in my YW calling and in general). So I said no before even being asked. I felt ashamed because I've grown up with the " never say no" thing drummed into me my whole life.

.At this time in my life with the anxiety disorder and big gaps in my testimony, plus my inability to teach youth ( I've had to do this in Young Women's and it has been disastrous every time) I know this isn't something I could do well. It would be unfair to those teenagers when they are sacrificing sleep to come and be fed spiritually in the mornings. I'm just not in the right place to take on that responsibility right now. So I sighed in relief when the bishop and stake counselor told me not to worry about it and that they understood. 

Well, no apparently doesn't mean no to the stake president. I heard via my husband that the stake president had told the bishop to still try to convince me.   So I sent another email to the bishop today  and re emphasized my answer . This stake president should know by now about where I'm at because I spelled it all out in my message to the bishop. But he (the stake president) is a bit of a controlling individual. He has intimidated individuals and micromanaged some things in our ward. I'm frankly scared of him.  I am the YW leader over his daughter. I'm dreading any repercussions about this. 

This seems similar to a previous thread regarding sustaining our leaders, as the thread's Subject is rooted in sustaining our leaders, "Does a church leader's inspiration trump our own?" Anytime we have the appearance of placing ourselves in a state of opposition toward leadership should be approached with humility and caution as we do not want to be that person that rejects inspired callings.

The answer to the Subject's question is honestly both yes and no, and one important element we have to consider is stewardship. Does a church leader's inspiration trump the inspiration my wife and I receive over our children? No. This isn't their stewardship, and yet the Lord may inspire a leader to warn a family regarding aspects of their lives. If a leader has truly received inspiration from the Lord regarding a calling in the stake (his stewardship), then our personal inspiration does not trump this revelation, less we find ourselves in a position happy in fighting against God. Does this mean we can't receive a contradicting revelation from the Lord? No. The Lord has made clear in scripture that if we desire something, even to our detriment, he will give it unto us (i.e. Joseph and the lost manuscripts).

If a leader is seeking to fill a calling, and has not received inspiration, then I personally don't see how this would trump personal revelation. There is instruction given to leaders regarding inspiration and how proper information leads more to inspired revelation. At times a leader may feel inspiration regarding a certain individual (which I believe this inspiration is letting the leader know someone is worthy), and then when they discover more knowledge they realize that the calling (although the person is worthy and would have done a great job) it is not the calling for them and they feel a witness that this is so.

In your case, I have no clue if he is following inspired revelation or practical revelation. Personally, I would have caution with my own words here, "I prayed about it and told the Lord I'm not in a good place to do this." Please note, I am only responding to what is written, not what was actually felt or said (so I am sure I don't have all the information). I am reading someone who is "telling" the Lord, by which the Lord gives the individual what they want. You may have though just simply expressed your feelings, and then the Lord answers your prayer.

Let me provide an additional story of revelation and stewardship, and how a leaders inspiration doesn't trump our own pertaining to our stewardship (although we should take counsel seriously). My father shares the experience of a EQP who he described as someone close to the spirit of the Lord. There was a young man (19) who was just released from prison. The stake president was concerned for this young man, and wanted to help him get off to a good start. This young man didn't have a place to stay, and the stake president asked this EQP if he would take him in. The EQP prayed and received an immediate "No." He let the stake president know by which the stake president was persistent. As an obedient EQP he accepted. Sadly this did not turn out well for the EQP. This young man committed adultery with his wife, she up and left him for this young man leaving him with three young children to care for.

Stewardship is important. The stewardship of the stake president did not extend to the immediate home of the EQP. Due to the over-zealousness (for a good cause) of the stake president, his decision provided an opportunity for a broken home as he pressed the EQP despite knowing the answer he received from the Lord. 

In your position, this covers his stewardship, and him pressing shouldn't bother you but should give you cause to ponder your answer. If you continue to feel the way you do and that the Lord has answered you, then express what the Lord has specified and leave it alone. Thank them for the extending of the call, but there might be someone else who is better at this time. Then move forward. These are never easy, the Lord bless you carlimac.