Sunday, September 23, 2007

DC 2nd training ground for mission’s most coveted leadership position

Source: Doonata Spire

Former DC 2nd Ward missionary, Elder Trupp, joined Elder Palmer, also a former DC 2nd elder, as assistant to the president for the Washington, D.C. North Mission. The transition took place Wednesday morning in a traditional ceremony that included lunch at McDonald’s and high-fives from other missionaries.

“I wasn’t surprised,” reacted Bryan H., ward mission leader since April 2007. “These things happen all the time—it seems as if the mission president sends elders to our ward as a testing ground for future appointments to leadership.”

In fact, 7 of the last 13 elders to serve in DC 2nd later became assistants to the president. Former DC 2nd-elder-turned-AP, Elder Anderson, related how his experiences in DC 2nd helped develop his leadership skills: “Being a leader takes courage, and nothing requires more courage as an elder than asking an attractive, young single sister for her phone number—for referrals of course!”

President Price, who recently returned to Utah after completing three years of service, offered this explanation: “I sent potential assistants to the singles ward to see how they would respond in the face of temptation, to see if they can keep their focus when the chatter around them is about the latest music and movies.”

President Masnell, current mission president, was unavailable for comment.

The trend of sending missionaries from the single ward to the mission home is about to end, however. Current elders Cottrell and Johnson are both slated to end their missionary service in the next two transfer periods. This marks a major departure from past precedent. Analysts suggest that Mansell is seeking to establish his own policies as newly established mission president by phasing out predictors of leadership habitualized by Price.

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