Mission President Interview, Part Deux
He was a friendly looking man in his early 60’s accompanied by his wife.
“Is this the famous sister Serenemoon?” he asked with a chuckle. Elder H quickly shuffled out of the room and before I new it, it was just the Mission Prez and I sitting face to face. I felt immediately at ease with him. He had a marvelously kind and gentle spirit. It shown through right away, his aura beamed.
“Now, when I get called in to do these sorts of things,” he began, “I don’t know why. They don’t tell me so please don’t think anyone has said anything about you.” He smiled and pulled a notebook from his pocket.
“Usually what happens is that when you are asked a serious of questions there are 3 parts to the 4th question and if you answer yes to any of those they call me in. Is this what happened?”
“Yes.” I replied
“Well let me tell you a little about myself first…” he began by telling me how he grown up LDS in the Midwest, his wife was a convert and how he hadn’t gone on a mission himself was he was pleasantly surprised to be called to be the Mission President. He explained that when he was called his wife and himself met with Thomas S. Monson, before he was the Prophet, and what a kind and gentle soul he was. How he told great jokes and was down to earth yet somehow bore a presence of “other worldliness” at the same time.
I was truly moved by his description. It nearly brought me to tears. He then asked if he could go through the baptismal interview questions with me. He started at the beginning and was impressed by my answers.
“The missionaries have taught you so very well!” he exclaimed. I blushed and bit my lip to keep from smiling to big. I thought about sweet Elder R and how he’d get the credit for me being so well informed and it made me happy. He was such a dear boy and tried so hard to be a good missionary - he was truly humble and served well. He was a bit awkward and shy so I loved the idea of him getting the credit for my “knowledge”.
We then reached question number four. “Have you ever committed a serious crime and we mean a felony?”
“Nope.”
“Have you ever had an abortion?”
“No.”
“Have you ever had a homosexual relationship?”
“Yes.”
“How long ago?”
“Two years ago.” I replied thinking to myself – most recently anyway.
“So it’s been since you were married?” he knew I had two boys ages five and 1 ½.
“Yes.”
“So,” he began a little awkwardly, “ I don’t need to know the details, I don’t want to know the details, I just want to ask if the circumstances in your life that led up to the relationship have changed?” he seemed pained that he had to ask this. He seems to feel it wasn’t any of his business. “I mean,” he continued to clarify, “sometimes we sin by accident or by circumstance…” he then proceeded to tell me a story from his youth where he had stumbled into a situation more or less accidentally.
“Yes, my husband and I are monogamous now, it wont happen again.”
And that was it. He finished up the questions with me for good measure. He told me how proud he was of me and how lucky the church was to be gaining a member like me. He then asked if I worked and when I told him that I use to be yoga instructor he was so elated!
“I recently hurt my back!!” he exclaimed. “Can you help with that?” I agreed and he practically skipped with me to the next room where his wife had bought the missionaries lunch. When he explained that I was a yoga instructor everyone wanted a lesson and so there I was laughing and joking with Elders R and H, the Mission Prez and his wife, showing them yoga asanas. The conversation digressed into diet and lifestyle and for another hour we sat and talked while they asked questions and I gave answers on everything from ice cream consumption, hydrogenated milks, the best local health food stores, and proper posture while driving a car.
“Well, I better be getting home to my babies.” I finally said when I realized I had been there for three hours. I bid them all farewell and walked to the car with my head held high and my cheeks positively hurting from smiling so much!
So, yeah, it went well. And I guess I was there for healing after all!
