Or an Elder's Quorum president or Relief Society president?
Here's the reason I ask:
My brother-in-law is a counselor in his bishopric. He is also in oral surgery residency in the army, and he and his wife have 2 kids, 5 and 2, with another due in April. His wife was crying to my wife the other day about how little he's home with his work and school responsibilities, essentially leaving her to care for the kids by herself, day and night. It was overwhelming, and they just called her to be a laurel advisor, as well.
We recently had a bishopric change, and a young father was put in as a counselor. They have four or five young children, including a 7-month-old. He was released about 8 months ago as Elder's Quorum President and has been Executive Secretary since then. It happened really quickly, and rather than being happy and excited at the new opportunity, his wife was crying because she realized she was going to see him far less over the next few years, and she was going to be on her own with all those little kids.
Why do we do that to people? Yes, I understand that whole thing about Joseph Smith in Liberty jail and how adversity makes us stronger, but holy crap, why do we do that to ourselves? If being in a bishopric is such an overwhelming responsibility, why not put a couple more guys in there to share the load, and let the bishopric's kids have a father?
I mean, we're all about having our home be our greatest responsibility, and we preach about how children need a father and a mother in the home, and then take some of the most capable men and make them do church work every weeknight evening and all day Sunday, so that their kids hardly see them, and turn their wives into single moms.
It's a contradictory message, and I don't know why the church does that to people. I know it's not as big of an issue when you've got older men in the bishopric, but when you start taking young fathers with young children out of the home, aren't you fostering the same problems that we claim exist when there's only one parent in the home?
Here's the reason I ask:
My brother-in-law is a counselor in his bishopric. He is also in oral surgery residency in the army, and he and his wife have 2 kids, 5 and 2, with another due in April. His wife was crying to my wife the other day about how little he's home with his work and school responsibilities, essentially leaving her to care for the kids by herself, day and night. It was overwhelming, and they just called her to be a laurel advisor, as well.
We recently had a bishopric change, and a young father was put in as a counselor. They have four or five young children, including a 7-month-old. He was released about 8 months ago as Elder's Quorum President and has been Executive Secretary since then. It happened really quickly, and rather than being happy and excited at the new opportunity, his wife was crying because she realized she was going to see him far less over the next few years, and she was going to be on her own with all those little kids.
Why do we do that to people? Yes, I understand that whole thing about Joseph Smith in Liberty jail and how adversity makes us stronger, but holy crap, why do we do that to ourselves? If being in a bishopric is such an overwhelming responsibility, why not put a couple more guys in there to share the load, and let the bishopric's kids have a father?
I mean, we're all about having our home be our greatest responsibility, and we preach about how children need a father and a mother in the home, and then take some of the most capable men and make them do church work every weeknight evening and all day Sunday, so that their kids hardly see them, and turn their wives into single moms.
It's a contradictory message, and I don't know why the church does that to people. I know it's not as big of an issue when you've got older men in the bishopric, but when you start taking young fathers with young children out of the home, aren't you fostering the same problems that we claim exist when there's only one parent in the home?
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