As Primary president, I would submit names for Primary callings and get no response, OR, even worse, I would give them a slew of names and they would call someone totally off the wall and not tell me. I would just find out in Sacrament Meeting with everyone else. This included even my counselors. After several Sundays of not nearly enough people to cover the callings, we sent all of the children back to their parents and told them we didn’t have the coverage and couldn’t guarantee safety! Guess what….those callings were filled fairly quickly. It’s ridiculous!!!
– Kelly C.

Every single time our RS presidency asked for a specific teacher and were turned down by the bishopric.
– L

I served in Relief Society, Primary, and Young Women presidencies and have faced the same issue each time. We were constantly losing people because they were “needed” for another calling. And then we would ask for people and were told, “they already have a calling.” And EVERY time, I would say something like, “so did the person you just pulled from this calling, but yet here we are.” I got so many blank stares. In all the years in the church that I faced this, I only once had a bishop who actually stopped for a second and then said, “you know, you’re right. I don’t know why I didn’t see it like that.” And I mean, we all know why he didn’t see it like that. But it was at least refreshing that he listened.
– Leah Marie Silverman

When I was in a Primary presidency, we had been trying to get a Sunbeam teacher for months. It was so bad with subs, one of the Sunbeams asked his substitute teacher if she would be there the following week. Anyway, we had submitted names and were waiting on one to be approved. Then we got released and a new presidency quickly called. I lost it on the counselor who released us. They wouldn’t give us a Sunbeam teacher forever but quickly replaced us as a presidency. His excuse for them not approving the Sunbeam teacher? “She may have been considered as a counselor [in the new Primary presidency] and so we were waiting.” Because Primary teachers aren’t as important as the presidency.
– Mary Siever

As Young Women president, I spent many weeks trying to fill in a presidency. No matter what my input was on what we needed for our presidency, the bishopric first counselor would find a reason to veto it. The fact that I only had the chance to suggest counselors, and men had the chance to actually decide what was best for us, will always piss me off.
– Gail Bennett

When I was a ward choir director, the bishopric were taking forever in calling an accompanist. They kept saying “they had other ward business to attend to that was more priority.” Months went by. I finally prayed myself and asked a woman I knew to play. After the next ward choir performance, the counselor overseeing the music approached me and said I made a bad move asking the lady to fill in. He said I had no authority to do what I did. Of course I continued to keep the same woman even though it ticked off the bishopric.
– HB

Pro Tip: Keep female auxiliary presidencies in the loop with the status of callings, and never extend a calling that falls under a woman’s stewardship without her knowledge or permission. Extend callings promptly, and whenever possible, staff callings with the people the women have felt inspired to call.

Click here to read all of the stories in our #hearLDSwomen series. Has anything like this happened to you? Please share in the comments or submit your experience(s) to participate in the series.

“If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:23)