The Calling of a Bishop

[jay santos]

If you people would just leave those bishops alone concerning your intents to get snipped, then all would be well!

No kidding. I am shocked on a regular basis when I hear people say "we went to the bishop and he told us ________". Or "did you ask the bishop? you should ask him." Or in a calling "will you ask the bishop if it's OK?"

Real people, people you don't think are completely incompetent, people who are not total complete losers, people who are not in the bottom one percentile in being helpless human beings.

[San Juan Sun]

If I pin any one of my family members down, they'll admit that they are agnostic at heart. (I have polled them intensively by telephone.)

Maybe they play the agnostic card just to get you off their backs? Intensive phone interviews about your faith level seems tedious.

[Goatnapper'96]

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.

The problem isn't the type of person best qualified to deal with the time demands of the calling. The problem is how the calling has evolved to require time and effort in areas that, IMO, have nothing to do with the calling. There are a lot of reasons for why it has evolved this way. Jay hits on one that mankind loves status and as more and more non-spiritual issues got heaped on Bishops too many of them, sometimes motivated by pride and sometimes motivated by genuine concern, seemed to assume those responsibilities all too gladly.

Now saying that since I doubt our culture is going to change about the responsibilities given/and or assumed I think it best to call men who have the time to deal with it.

If you people would just leave those bishops alone concerning your intents to get snipped, then all would be well!

[Goatnapper'96]

Cardiac doesn't believe in God either. He just likes to be antagonistic when I post this sort of thing. If I pin any one of my family members down, they'll admit that they are agnostic at heart. (I have polled them intensively by telephone.) They will also claim and rationalize belief when convenient. The white lie serves a greater good, and they believe in the greater good (the Church as a positive influence on society).

Even I could claim a belief in God if God is nature or some sort of nebulous power or order in the universe that we do not understand.

We were all agnostic while serving our missions.

I'll admit that ItchyCoug did have faith at one point. He was brainwashed by the end of his mission. He thought there was something wrong with composing a sacrament talk on paper. He was taught to "speak by the spirit" on his mission which basically meant to not prepare and then ramble off a bunch of random, poorly organized stories.

I call bullshit on it all. They believe deeply, burst out in tears whenever they hum to themselves "In the Hollow of Thy Hand" in the shower and only pretend to be rational believers weighing all the positives and negatives and after running it through Peachtree concluding it is for the better.

You would cry too at "In the Hollow of Thy Hand" but that Crimson Jezebel that you wanna tap on a regular basis will mock you incessantly.

You are just jealous you don't possess the natural leadership instincts of ItchyCoug so you throw rotten vegetables from the gallery of nothingness!

[smokymountainrain]

Cardiac doesn't believe in God either. He just likes to be antagonistic when I post this sort of thing. If I pin any one of my family members down, they'll admit that they are agnostic at heart. (I have polled them intensively by telephone.) They will also claim and rationalize belief when convenient. The white lie serves a greater good, and they believe in the greater good (the Church as a positive influence on society).

Even I could claim a belief in God if God is nature or some sort of nebulous power or order in the universe that we do not understand.

We were all agnostic while serving our missions.

I'll admit that ItchyCoug did have faith at one point. He was brainwashed by the end of his mission. He thought there was something wrong with composing a sacrament talk on paper. He was taught to "speak by the spirit" on his mission which basically meant to not prepare and then ramble off a bunch of random, poorly organized stories.

To clarify, I was saying I thought cardiac had a different opinion of Itchy's belief in God.

[jay santos]

I was 15 and the oldest of 4 when my dad was called to be bishop. He sat us all down and told us he had received the call. He told us the time suck it would be. He told us of the unfair expectations and stereotypes that would be heaped upon us. He told us that we would have to help mom out more. And he told us that if any of us couldn't support him in this calling he would decline. We all gave him our support and blessing and he accepted the call.

I bet a lot of men do this with their family. I wonder what would happen if one of their kids said "yeah dad these next five years it's going to be important that you stay close to me. You already have a hard enough time with your busy job. I really want you to say No."

[lambdacoug]

I was 15 and the oldest of 4 when my dad was called to be bishop. He sat us all down and told us he had received the call. He told us the time suck it would be. He told us of the unfair expectations and stereotypes that will be heaped upon us. He told us that we would have to help mom out more. And he told us that if any of us couldn't support him in this calling he would decline. We all gave him our support and blessing and he accepted the call.

Similar story to me, but I was twelve. I never felt like he wasn't around, never felt cheated of time with him. We played chess every Sunday (until I beat him twice, then he stopped...lol). Time wasn't the issue, it was other things with my dad being bishop that sucked. So credit to him for managing to handle that calling without making us feel cheated of time with him.

[Surfah]

I was 15 and the oldest of 4 when my dad was called to be bishop. He sat us all down and told us he had received the call. He told us the time suck it would be. He told us of the unfair expectations and stereotypes that would be heaped upon us. He told us that we would have to help mom out more. And he told us that if any of us couldn't support him in this calling he would decline. We all gave him our support and blessing and he accepted the call.

[jay santos]

Cynical POS Jay Santos checking in here...

It's interesting that callings like ward missionaries, scouts, primary, nursery get rejected all the time. I have heard plenty of anecdotes that a bishop has called older couples to missions and been rejected or called people to serve as temple workers and been denied. Yet I have never heard once of a man rejecting a call to be bishop.

I wonder how real those tears were. Or I wonder why a husband would accept a calling like that when his wife was that upset over it. Because I'm pretty sure if that same man was called to be the scout master and his wife was that upset about it and he was that busy, he'd probably just turn it down.

[Moliere]

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.

[DU Ute]

I was once a 1st Counselor, and at the same time my wife was the Primary President. It's what you make of it. Can't say that the kids suffered, but then they ended up not getting into BYU. So, you never know.

Not getting into BYU sounds like the opposite of suffering.

[SoonerCoug]

IIRC, you might have family members who disagree with that statement. Although, I have to say, it would be very interesting to have Itchy chime in on the subject. Get on that, would ya?

Cardiac doesn't believe in God either. He just likes to be antagonistic when I post this sort of thing. If I pin any one of my family members down, they'll admit that they are agnostic at heart. (I have polled them intensively by telephone.) They will also claim and rationalize belief when convenient. The white lie serves a greater good, and they believe in the greater good (the Church as a positive influence on society).

Even I could claim a belief in God if God is nature or some sort of nebulous power or order in the universe that we do not understand.

We were all agnostic while serving our missions.

I'll admit that ItchyCoug did have faith at one point. He was brainwashed by the end of his mission. He thought there was something wrong with composing a sacrament talk on paper. He was taught to "speak by the spirit" on his mission which basically meant to not prepare and then ramble off a bunch of random, poorly organized stories.

[smokymountainrain]

My younger brother (ItchyCoug) is a bishop. He is only 31, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't believe in God.

IIRC, you might have family members who disagree with that statement. Although, I have to say, it would be very interesting to have Itchy chime in on the subject. Get on that, would ya?

[clackamascoug]

What's a Moran?

I've noticed you've used it a few times lately. And, I can spot a humblemoran miles away.

I guess the jokes on me. If you're in a thread and you're the only one who doesn't know what a moran is.... You must be it.

[Art Vandelay]

My younger brother (ItchyCoug) is a bishop. He is only 31, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't believe in God.

It must be awkward when he asks himself the first temple recommend question.