Set Apart, Not Set Aside
A year after joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an adult convert, I was called to serve as first counselor in our ward bishopric. I had a testimony of the gospel, but I was still learning how the Church functioned. I was also learning a vocabulary most lifelong members appeared to understand without effort.
One of my responsibilities was to invite members who had received callings to come to the bishop’s office to be set apart. Unfortunately, my terminology fell down on the job.
“Would you come to the bishop’s office so we can set you aside?” I asked a sister who had been called as a Primary teacher.
Overhearing this, the bishop leaned over and whispered in my ear. “We don’t set people aside in the Church, Paul. We set them apart.”
Since those words of wisdom were imparted, I have participated in setting apart many members and in giving other priesthood blessings. Recently, I participated when my eldest grandson was set apart as a full-time missionary. He has been called to serve in Santos, Brazil. His father, his other grandfather, and I were invited to join his stake president. When the stake president placed his hands upon my grandson’s head, we added ours. As he pronounced the blessing, love filled the room.
Setting apart is a familiar part of Church service. Its familiarity may be one reason we sometimes overlook what is taking place. My grandson had already received his mission call. He had accepted it and begun preparing to serve. The setting apart gave him authority to begin his ministry. His relationship to the work had changed.
The Guide to the Scriptures defines setting apart as being “selected and consecrated for holy purposes.” Members set apart under the direction of those who hold priesthood keys receive authority from God to act in their callings. The setting apart also includes a blessing and promises given through the guidance of the Spirit. President Dallin H. Oaks has taught, “Whoever functions in an office or calling received from one who holds priesthood keys exercises priesthood authority in performing her or his assigned duties.”
This authority is given to women and men alike. Whatever the calling, the member does not enter the work on goodwill alone. The Lord has authorized both the service and the person called to perform it.
Authority does not provide instant knowledge or remove the need for preparation. A Sunday School teacher must still study the lesson. A missionary must still learn how to teach and may struggle with a new language. Setting apart assures them the Lord has authorized their service and will help them seek what they lack.
The practice reaches back to the ancient Church. While prophets and teachers in Antioch worshipped and fasted, the Holy Ghost instructed them, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” The brethren fasted and prayed. Then they laid their hands upon Barnabas and Saul and sent them forward. Barnabas and Saul were set apart for a particular labor. Their authority came with a destination and a responsibility.
A Church calling creates a similar stewardship. The authority belongs to the calling rather than the individual. It has boundaries. When the person is released, the authority connected to the calling ends. Those boundaries help us recognize the source of the authority. We do not claim it because we believe we are talented or spiritually impressive. We receive it from the Lord through those authorized to extend the call and direct the work.
There is also power in the blessing pronounced during a setting apart. President Boyd K. Packer reminded Melchizedek Priesthood holders that laying hands upon another person’s head is not merely offering a prayer. He taught, “You are authorized to set apart, to ordain, to bless, and to speak in the name of the Lord.”
The person voicing the blessing does not deliver a speech or provide detailed instructions for the calling. He listens for the guidance of the Holy Ghost and speaks as directed. The words may offer comfort or identify gifts the recipient will need. They may provide direction for difficulties no one in the room yet knows are coming.
The blessing does not excuse the recipient from effort. Its promises are received through faith and faithful service. Through it, the Lord can strengthen someone who is willing to serve.
Perhaps we should pay closer attention when we are set apart. Because the setting apart often follows the sustaining with little delay, the moment can pass quickly. Afterward, the newly called member may remember only a phrase or an impression.
Those impressions deserve to be treasured. A setting-apart blessing can become a source of reassurance when the calling becomes difficult. The person can remember not only what was said but also what was conferred. The Lord authorized the work and knew whom He had called.
My grandson is still waiting for the visa that will allow him to travel to Brazil. Geography does not alter what occurred when he was set apart. His service to the Lord has already begun.
Years ago, a bishop quietly corrected my slip of the tongue. His words have stayed with me. As my brothers in the Melchizedek Priesthood and I laid our hands upon my grandson’s head, those words returned with renewed force…
We do not set people aside in the Church. We set them apart for the work of the Lord.