The call of a prophet

Isaiah talks about his calling thus:

In the year that king Uzziah died
I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple...
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
(Isaiah 6:1-9)

I see a pattern in this:
The king dies
Isaiah sees the Lord and His majesty, and repents
Jesus Christ cleanses him with fire and the Holy Ghost
He volunteer for service
He is given a commission

Death of the king

Kings traditionally have two major rolls: 1. To order society and bring justice to the affairs of men, and 2. To protect the people. "Nephi, unto whom ye look as a king or a protector, and on whom ye depend for safety..." (2 Nephi 6:2) In an Earthly sense, the king is the savior of the people. Today, we look for different types of protection. We feel that money will protect us, for example.

As a metaphor, the king represents whatever part of the world we need for protection. This is commonly money, which is why Jesus spoke so often about money, comparing and contrasting the wealth of the world with the Kingdom of Heaven.

Money gives us a foundation for obtaining everything we need for life. Everything is for sale so money provides us with not just the necessities, but the luxuries as well. Having enough money makes life good, it gives us ease and comfort.

However, we must be careful: Jesus told the parable that included Abraham telling a man who was very wealthy in life, but suffering after death: "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." (Luke 16:25)

The foundation of money must be removed entirely in order to build on the Rock. This process is often grueling, requiring the loss of all things, like Job. Job lost his money, flocks, and even his children. Then, to add insult to injury his own wife tells him to "curse God, and die." (Job 2:9) Yet, he did not murmur or complain. All of his trust in wealth was removed.

See the Lord

To "see" is to perceive or understand. We go through life mostly oblivious to the works of the Lord in our lives. We think we accomplish things, but really it is all about Him and His guiding hand. Suddenly, we are brought to see who He is, and how great, majestic, and wonderful He is. Before, we understood that God exists, but now we perceive Him as He is -- greater than all the Earth!

This experience of Isaiah is not unusual. Once we are able to understand the greatness of God, we will understand our own nothingness as Moses stated after seeing the Lord and His creations: "Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed." (Moses 1:10)

After "they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth," (Mosiah 4:2) King Benjamin also told his people what had caused them to see it: "...the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state..." (Mosiah 4:5)

Until we perceive the contrast, we are not truly humble, we can only have false humility. True humility is a full understanding of who we are in relation to God.

Cleansed with fire

Once we are truly humble, we can repent of all our sins, meaning we turn our hearts over to God. We no longer seek our own desires, but rather seek His desire for us in all things. Repentance is a process that ends in cleansing with fire and the Holy Ghost.

There is nothing we do to be clean, except humble ourselves and submit to the will of God. However, it's not what we do that brings salvation; it is Christ that cleanses us through the Holy Ghost. John the Baptist explained this concept, "he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." (Matthew 3:11)

So, the coal from the altar represents the reception of the Holy Ghost from the presence of the Lord. Jesus explained to his disciples in the New World, "that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day." (3 Nephi 27:20)

Volunteer

We must receive the Holy Ghost in order to have the Word of God in us. This is how we come to know what to do. "Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." (2 Nephi 32:3)

The Lord called, and Isaiah answered. God's realm is a kingdom; not a democracy. We do what the King tells us, not seeking our own desires. President J. Reuben Clark Jr. said: "In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1951, 154). We must be sure we are worthy, or ready, to accept a call when it comes, with the same words, "Here am I, send me."

Receive a commission

When he volunteered, Isaiah was given a specific mission to preach things that would be hard for the people to understand because they had rejected the simple things. They were looking for "mysteries" without understanding and applying the basics. They didn't even understand the Doctrine of Christ! He told them all the words the Lord gave to him.

Each prophet receives a specific commission from God. The Great Jehovah used the same words as Isaiah, as did Satan, "And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first." (Abraham 3:27) Jesus was chosen, and received the commission to be the Savior of the World. And, because he wasn't chosen, Satan became the father of lies.

A Pattern of calling

Other servants of God have had similar experiences. Joseph Smith went through the same steps, seeing God, being humbled, being cleansed by the Holy Spirit, and then receiving a call to restore all things for the last days. Paul did as well. After seeing the Lord, Saul was blind and went to the house of Ananias for healing. The Lord told Ananias of Saul's commission even while he was still blind, "But the Lord said unto [Ananias], Go thy way: for [Saul] is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." (Acts 9:15-16) The calling of a prophet seems to follow a similar pattern.

As the prophets are servants of the Lord, so is the calling of all servants. All who desire to serve God must go through the same steps to receive a commission and begin their mission. Missing any one will disqualify them. However, those who go through these steps are sent forth with power and authority, and are able to represent the Lord in their callings, like Isaiah.