The Calling of a Bishop

[SoCalCoug]

I think we're really lucky in our ward. Our bishop is relatively young, and he's a fun-type, laid back personality (pretty sure he's a surfer) married to a very free-spirited wife. He relates well to the youth, and I haven't heard of any of these sorts of issues. For a ward with a lot of youth, it's a great situation.

Also, my dad was our bishop from when I was 12 to when I was 18. He really didn't have tons of time to spend with us, although I do have really good memories of watching BYU games on Saturdays at the church with him (as Bishop he was able to ensure the satellite was hooked up and tuned in). But he was gone most evenings and Sundays.

I'm finding that my wife's expectations of the time I should be spending with my children are a little different than my experiences with my dad. There's times I think I'm spending way more time with the kids than my dad did with me, growing up, and therefore I'm doing a really good job at it. At the same time, she sometimes feel I don't spend enough - her father was very involved with the kids growing up.

This isn't a major controversy between us - just something I've noticed. I do think it's ironic that a church that places so much importance on the family requires so much time away from family, particularly from the most devout.

[Topper]

I think we're really lucky in our ward. Our bishop is relatively young, and he's a fun-type, laid back personality (pretty sure he's a surfer) married to a very free-spirited wife. He relates well to the youth, and I haven't heard of any of these sorts of issues. For a ward with a lot of youth, it's a great situation.

Also, my dad was our bishop from when I was 12 to when I was 18. He really didn't have tons of time to spend with us, although I do have really good memories of watching BYU games on Saturdays at the church with him (as Bishop he was able to ensure the satellite was hooked up and tuned in). But he was gone most evenings and Sundays.

I'm finding that my wife's expectations of the time I should be spending with my children are a little different than my experiences with my dad. There's times I think I'm spending way more time with the kids than my dad did with me, growing up, and therefore I'm doing a really good job at it. At the same time, she sometimes feel I don't spend enough - her father was very involved with the kids growing up.

This isn't a major controversy between us - just something I've noticed. I do think it's ironic that a church that places so much importance on the family requires so much time away from family, particularly from the most devout.

A measure of your devotion to the concept of family unity and time is to tear somebody away from family time and unity by urging conformity. Makes sense to me.

[Indy Coug]

A measure of your devotion to the concept of family unity and time is to tear somebody away from family time and unity by urging conformity. Makes sense to me.

It seemed to work for Joseph Smith.

[Topper]

It seemed to work for Joseph Smith.

He experienced such a happy, successful family life, don't you agree?

[byu71]

It seems a lot of you don't understand the concept. Although we can't see it, the family by having the father the Bishop is blessed in countless ways we don't see. It more than makes up for any shortfall that happens because of time spent with the family.

I wish my Dad had been a Bishop. I probably would have been a lot more spiritual and had a lot more money.

[jay santos]

This is what parents like that don't get. The kids are going to do this stuff anyway. About a year ago every Laurel in our ward had a boyfriend. But my daughter and one other were the only ones whose parents knew about it. Would you rather your kid have a boyfriend or girlfriend and know about it, or have them sneaking around behind your back.

There are about 15 Laurels in my ward. A few have boyfriends. Their parents know about it. FM's wards are starting to sound like Sooner's bishops.

[Indy Coug]

He experienced such a happy, successful family life, don't you agree?

It's a good thing that mortality doesn't comprise our entire existence.

[Topper]

It's a good thing that mortality doesn't comprise our entire existence.

One sure bets a lot on the rewards of the next life. Does a father's absence whose children fall away somehow guarantee they shall return? Does one get to choose the 72 virgins?

[DU Ute]

A measure of your devotion to the concept of family unity and time is to tear somebody away from family time and unity by urging conformity. Makes sense to me.

It seemed to work for Joseph Smith.

He experienced such a happy, successful family life, don't you agree?

It's a good thing that mortality doesn't comprise our entire existence.

[San Juan Sun]

One interesting thing about religiously motivated bans on certain activities: the people banning the activities never have an interest in participating in them. In other words, it's easy to ban things that you don't do anyways.

PBW's Halo party is a good example of this.

Another good example: I had a friend in my BYU student ward who had been married for a year or two. He loved football, but (stupidly) agreed to his wife's request at the outset of their marriage to not watch TV on Sundays. He was not allowed to check Internet scores either. Of course, his wife came from a background where the dudes didn't like sports, so it was an easy sacrifice for her to make. My buddy was faithful to his wife's request in the time that I knew him, although it was not easy. He also was our home teacher, and made many Sunday afternoon HT visits, with my TV "accidentally" left on.

One last thought: I am glad I did not marry a crazy person.

[Topper]

One interesting thing about religiously motivated bans on certain activities: the people banning the activities never have an interest in participating in them. In other words, it's easy to ban things that you don't do anyways.

PBW's Halo party is a good example of this.

Another good example: I had a friend in my BYU student ward who had been married for a year or two. He loved football, but (stupidly) agreed to his wife's request at the outset of their marriage to not watch TV on Sundays. He was not allowed to check Internet scores either. Of course, his wife came from a background where the dudes didn't like sports, so it was an easy sacrifice for her to make. My buddy was faithful to his wife's request in the time that I knew him, although it was not easy. He also was our home teacher, and made many Sunday afternoon HT visits, with my TV "accidentally" left on.

One last thought: I am glad I did not marry a crazy person.

Religious extremes in any variety are tasteless.

[DapperDan]

I used to think that calling an older, retired person as bishop would be better. Now I'm not sure. Younger bishops relate better to the youth and spend time building up the youth while older bishops spend their time talking about reactivating adults that don't want to be reactivated, at least that is my experience.

Also in my experience, older/retired bishops assume that everyone else has just as much time as they do so they tend to call and message you during the day and ask you to do things during the week even though they can be done just as easily during the 2nd hour of church.

And lastly, older/retired bishops have time to micromanage things, which sucks for auxiliary presidents. I'd take a younger bishop that lets the presidents run their auxiliaries on their own instead of a bishop that wants to approve every single activity or every meal you'll eat on a campout.

I think it just depends on the person. The younger bishop you describe was my dad when he was a bishop, but he was in his early 60s when he got released.

[smokymountainrain]

One interesting thing about religiously motivated bans on certain activities: the people banning the activities never have an interest in participating in them. In other words, it's easy to ban things that you don't do anyways.

PBW's Halo party is a good example of this.

Another good example: I had a friend in my BYU student ward who had been married for a year or two. He loved football, but (stupidly) agreed to his wife's request at the outset of their marriage to not watch TV on Sundays. He was not allowed to check Internet scores either. Of course, his wife came from a background where the dudes didn't like sports, so it was an easy sacrifice for her to make. My buddy was faithful to his wife's request in the time that I knew him, although it was not easy. He also was our home teacher, and made many Sunday afternoon HT visits, with my TV "accidentally" left on.

One last thought: I am glad I did not marry a crazy person.

When I was a kid, I would get annoyed when GAs would poo poo Heavy Metal music as of the devil, but always talk about how classical music invited the spirit. My thought was, of course you feel that way, you like classical music! When I listen to classical, I want to kill somebody.

[Indy Coug]

One sure bets a lot on the rewards of the next life. Does a father's absence whose children fall away somehow guarantee they shall return? Does one get to choose the 72 virgins?

Joseph Smith's sacrifice has greatly benefited my family, so it's more than just a matter of your immediate family. I would dare say that a bishop can likewise impact the lives of many more than just his family.

If we're busy looking out for #1, odds are that our lives will be more like #2.

[byu71]

Joseph Smith's sacrifice has greatly benefited my family, so it's more than just a matter of your immediate family. I would dare say that a bishop can likewise impact the lives of many more than just his family.

If we're busy looking out for #1, odds are that our lives will be more like #2.

The sacrifice for you and your family and many others was truly magnanimous. For others such as mine, he would have done well to take care of his own family. I have heard though they will be taken care of anyway even if they did drop away.