Leaderboard

I’ve served as bishop for just over 5 years. Several weeks prior to meeting with the stake president I’d received a witness that the call was coming. Even so I spent sleepless nights when the call came wondering what I’d gotten myself into by accepting and how could I, with all my warts and weaknesses, be considered worthy and able. I’ve reached a point that while not really comfortable with the calling I at least somewhat know what I’m doing. There is a sizable number of people who on a regular basis offer thanks to me for what I do, but there are also those who are not happy with me or feel I’ve failed them. With them feeling that way I suppose it’s safe to say that I have. While serving, our ward council has seen some changes. Including those who were serving when I was ordained and set apart we’ve had: 5 bishop’s counselors, 3 executive secretaries, 2 ward clerks, 2 RS presidents, 4 YW presidents, 5 Primary presidents, 3 YM presidents, 3 HPG leaders, 4 EQ presidents, 4 SS presidents and 4 ward mission leaders. A number of those served for relatively short durations prior to moving out of the ward and a couple of the women were released when they were dealing with problem pregnancies. Bottom line, lots of fluidity in the ward council and much more when looking within the organizations. I suppose I could say I’ve had 7 counselors as the two women who served as RS president have been de facto counselors for me. As you would expect, the hours of working to keep up with everything have at times been long. The phone calls at all hours are trying. My favorite question to ask when an issue is brought to me is, “who is the home/visiting teacher?” I’m a big fan of delegation and have done so extensively. Even with doing so, it’s been a hard row to hoe. On the other hand I love the kids in the Primary and I am not a “kid” person. I’m tickled when a child’s eyes light up because, “…THE BISHOP BUMPED FISTS WITH ME!!!” My absolute favorite part of the call has been to interview the kids just prior to their baptism (with the office door cracked and their parents sitting right outside). The best one was the boy who had a cheat sheet in his little suit pocket so he could give the right answers. My amazement and gratefulness for how so many people step up to help others in so many ways grows daily. But I’ve also been burned by individuals who know and milk the system. That hurts. I will note that I’ve not yet been officially released. I traded e-mails with my stake president – with whom I am very good friends – to nail down the date the bishopric will be reorganized. He will be meeting with my wife and me prior to extend the official release. I’ve long thought that learning of my release would be a joyous day. Not so. I’m feeling a sense of loss. Of what exactly I haven’t yet figured out. When I was first sustained my wife gave me a card that said, “Congratulations and Condolences”. The same card could apply now. I’m left pondering, what comes next?

You should prick your finger and use your blood. I vote red. By the pricking of my thumbs...

So, this place has been far too serious today, and my holy grail pen arrives tomorrow, and I'm having a hard time deciding what ink should be its first - though I've narrowed it down to my top two (I think - there are numerous I could choose), so help me out here.... The pen is a demonstrator - meaning you can see the ink (the barrel is partly clear - it also has blue, gray, and while swirls). Here are pictures of the two inks: Robert Oster Fire & Ice Or De Atramentis Indigo Blue So far, among my IRL friends, one of these is getting all the votes, but I wouldn't want to sway your vote. (I've researched both inks, and each would make a better president than most, if not all, of our recent options, but they didn't want to run, so we'll just have to stick with putting them in my pen rather than the White House.)

No attempt at a politically unifying speech. Maybe what Trump said was what we needed to hear, but it certainly is not an open and welcoming inaugural speech. It is an open slap in the face to the previous administration(s) and to those who enthusiastically supported Obama's efforts. The battle lines have been drawn. If Trump can deliver on 50% of his rhetoric, he will be a stunning success. Here's to hoping.

Indeed... Joseph Smith did teach about the Importance of Calling and Election... He also taught that one of the reasons more of the Saints don't have such revelations is that God can't trust us to keep our mouths shut about them. Its not about keeping it secret... its about keeping it sacred. And all we have to do is look around and see just how this worlds will blaspheme anything and everything sacred.

Bro Snuffer is an author. His best known book was about how to make ones Calling and Election Sure. It was a pretty decent book. For whatever reason his later books and blogs began to attack the church. He got himself excommuncated because of it. He now has his own church and followers based on his corrections to the church doctrine and practices. Their primary target for converts are existing Mormons. Their primary opening line is to talk about making ones Calling and Election Sure. The Church appears to be treating the subject of Calling and Election to be a matter of personal study... As such you have some that feel the church is ignoring or otherwise hiding the subject thus the Snufferites can play on that to win people over. Thus when @skalenfehl opens with talking about Calling and Election he draws down the comparison. Its kind of like someone coming on to the forum and Asking about Jesus and Satan being brothers... Alot of people see that as being straight out of the anti-mormon play book even if the person asking is innocent.

It's the substance that lines the countertops of Mafia hit men.

My free-time hobby is learning about different faiths and the people who believe in them. That is very much seeing another person's viewpoint. I've learned that in order to walk in someone else's shoes I need to take mine off first- shelf my objections, my bias', and whether or not I think their beliefs are bunk. Instead, learn their reasoning and their world as they see it: what's important, what's beautiful, what's worrisome, what's not worth bothering with. From this experiences I've tremendously came to more understand and respect my fellow man and their beliefs. While I may totally disagree with their beliefs, I do see God moving in their lives and from their lens I learn my about my beliefs. It is a wonderful experience.

Um, you mean how the professional speech-writer who wrote the IA talked about the idea of shifting focus and power from DC to the people? Let's not get delusional here. Nothing happened except a bunch of sounds came out of a human mouth. We can all hope that some of the things in that speech will be attempted by politicians (I'm skeptical), and we can pray that some of them actually happen (still skeptical). But the speech was just a speech, it didn't dismantle corrupt or wasteful bureaucracies, it didn't shut down useless government offices, revoke crippling regulations, nor end frivolous lawsuits. Whether any real good comes from this change in administrations is yet to be seen. The speech-writer did his job well, though. Not that it matters. My pen has arrived and when I add up the online votes and IRL votes, we have a tie.

Thanks so much. Yes, I'm a new kid on the block.

Because America just has to be different. Soccer instead of football. Fahrenheit instead of Celsius. Color instead of colour. Oh, T and P also sound different in the US than in the Philippines.

I'm gonna smack you. Hah! But this reminds me... the R sound in the Philippines is different from the R sound in the US... just to make it more complicated.

I'm not disagreeing. I don't suggest it be kept secret. I'm simply pondering if internet forums, or even published books, is sacred. The temple is sacred. People share experiences in the sanctity of the Celestial room and others. Our homes are sacred. Sacrament meeting is sacred - that's the purpose of Testimony Sunday, so we can share these sacred things. Of course, if you have the proper priesthood keys for it, you can share through any doors the keys unlock in the same manner that Joseph Smith was given the priesthood keys to share the revelation of this new dispensation. Just my 2 cents.

There are worlds of difference between "Don't talk about it" and "Don't declare that you know the Churches position" when the church has declared the subject not relevant to its goals and mission.

Marc, your experience is awesome and magnificent and sacred. It's this sacred part I'm worried about. Yes, it is good to share. But, I don't think pearls should be treated the same way as... I don't know... @zil's ink or something. That's why we have temples, right? Anyway, I'm just some random sinner on the internet, what do I know...

How old is son? Boys develop sounds later. Many kids don't make good r sounds until 8-9 years old. Especially at the end of words. But if you want to try. R sound: Growl like a dog. First step, you try growling like a dog. Put your hand over your voice box. See how it vibrates? Demonstrate your growling to son. Put his hands over your voicebox. Now, you ask him to growl like a dog. Put his hands over his voice box. Try 5 times per week, about 15 minutes at a time. Then practice one syllable words beginning in r. Eg red not bread. Give it several weeks Then try at end of words. Fur not burnt.

Do you know that I honestly have no idea what a Snufferite is? Hi Marc. Nice to meet you.

You rang?

we've had to deal with obama for 8 years- that makes for a pretty low bar for expectations. my take away from this election is that the lds population is not as influential in this state as it would appear (there were more legislative items with moral issues that the church was against that got voted in than out) yes he was the schoolyard bully (at least verbiosely) however clinton was more like the mafia. between the two i'd much rather have to suffer under trump than suffer under hillary. I htink you answered yourself here. If all your options are crappy, then you will have a crappy result. it's worse. It's not jsut the individuals but the whole party that comes with them... the republicans are terrible and the democrats are worse and it's almost nigh impossible to get a 3rd option. there's a difference between a qualified leader and a good leader. Hitler was a qualified leader. everything in the media is fluff. if you ever get to watch a lot of actual congress actions and congress time (not the news face time) you'll be willing to lynch about everyone on both sides. exactly. she promised to wipe iran off the map (2015 in a dartmouth college). trump hasn't made any promises to go to war with any specific nation. lds view lives of innocent children very strongly if you take a group of 1000 kids and killed three of them to infinitely improve the lives of the remaining 997 kids the LDS would still vote against it. there is no such thing as free money (at least not without inflation increases to go with it). free money should be raising red flags up and down the isle. unfortunately said health plan included a few elements that trumped the rest of it (ie stance on abortion). probably. however you will find that most (correction almost all laws) laws come with a load of crap with them no matter how altruistic the intent is. i would highly recommend doing a deep and comprehensive study of the US gov especially from 1900-1970s (but mid 1800s have some shining gems too). Hillary's baggage is much closer to elements that are very scary. where as having someone who is ineffectual and won't get much done beyond using foul verbiage is actually a rather blessed relief. as it was he did have to limp the rest of his life. we settled a place that the local survival experts said we were straight up certified stupid to try to settle (mostly mountain men but also a couple natives). we are still weird. Then the feds got involved. This time was different. You kept moving on, you respected your citizens and followed Jesus example, you took your leave. So now, you are willing to fight to keep your paradise. Because they were trying to take away what you have trekked through arduous conditions after peacefully moving on from your persecutors, to claim of your own in the brand new country. Shrewdly, though, you realized that you could not defeat the USA but you could join it. You made some compromises but you had that determined spirit to keep moving forward, limp or no limp. You built a beautiful state. You had a rich spiritual and religious environment, but you also had an openness to ideas. At one time, Utahns weren't so staunchly aligned with one party. One party that was especially disliked in Utah, was the party that fought against you having statehood, the Republican Party. Utah was really a moderate political state with a very strong Democratic leaning. parties change over time, and if you want to make things better for your situation you have to fight for it- in the US that means picking a side and working it for everything it has, plus lots of other people saw that utah had good land, and utah was straightly inbetween california and the rest of the US. pretty sure that has happened to some extent. Humans always develop an us vs them mentality. actually we gave the GOP a good scare shortly before the 2016 november election. I just wish we as a state could have had it realised on the day when it would have really counted. We still do move forward a lot.... however as stated before there are no other places we can physically go to. and we still get blamed for tons of crap. if i recall right i believe we are the only state that's been able to forge an equality law that gave protections to both LGBTQ and religious sides (both complain that it doesn't do enough for their side XD) the persecution still exists it's just changed format. I know how you feel. for the past decade or so i've been watching animal farm play out in politics all the while feeling like the title of the book "I have no mouth and I must scream".... altho watching the hillary campaign page on FB in november was really scary. let me thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.. especially for not ranting how stupid we are, or how we should be exterminated for supporting trump, or being right wing terrorists. my advice, first take a lot of deep breaths. second realise that no matter what FB says we've had worse presidents than the last 4(including our most recent one) at worse times in history. 3 realise that people will be truly sick and tired of him and republicans at the end of 4 years, and if not then for sure after 8... and the pendulum will start to swing the other way again. that change is happening more so out of expediency than anything else.... ironically a lot of that expediency is generated from fallout from what christian societies in the US put into law in previous generations. we're still bogeymen to a lot of people. as of a year ago i would have said the church has tons of influence upon the politics in utah... however after this last election i'm having another look at that. I would also like to go back to that open society idea.... however what's happening in the work, education, and government landscapes is that if religion gets brought in at all you are lucky if you just get roasted and skewered socially (rather than losing your job either by being fired or by being sued out of house and home). I also wish that more people would vote as well... but one must always be open to the chance that they might be in the minority in regards to the vote. thank you for sharing! it has been an interesting read! i'm out of time to go through your proposal so i hope to get to it in the next day or two thank you, you have no idea how comforting that is. I earnestly hope this is the case. i will try responding the best i can to this as i do live in utah.

I did not vote for Trump because I did not think he was someone I wanted as president (as you so clearly describe) I did not vote for Hilary because I did not think she was someone I wanted as president (as you glossed over) Most people tend to exaggerate the flaws of those they don't like and minimize the flaws of those that they do... And consider themselves fair. I know I do... but since I didn't vote for/like either of them... I think I can be fair between the two. I want the government to shrink, because all government laws/powers are backed up with the threat of violence. Therefore I want that to be very narrow in scope. All the democrats who are quaking at the thought of what Trump can do... Seem totally ok with giving that power to Obama/Hilary. That is hypocrisy. A Moral/Principled stance is not it is Good if we do it to You, but Bad if you do it to Us. But then I do not for see the republicans making any attempt to shrink the government now that they have control... So round and round we go.

If you're curious about the history of Mormons and the political parties, you can start with this: Mormons and American Politics. If you want to know why many Mormons voted against Hillary, you could try asking and then restating their position to ensure you understand.

Of course, she'd have the sense to tell the SP only a man would be crazy enough to accept such a calling.

Hi there! I've been in some executive secretary or clerk role to watch 3 different Bishops leave, and they've all said the same thing. Delegation is important, their favorite parts were with the children, and they're worried about what next. Oh yeah - and I've watched them all struggle to be Christlike and loving with certain kinds of people. Let's see - what now? Bishop #1 moved out of the ward, I never see him any more. Bishop #2 is now on the high council, and Bishop #3 is just tickled pink to be sitting back in the congregation and have his life back. You'll find your path! Thanks for accepting the calling, and all I'm sure you've done.

The bolded/italicized emphasis is mine. A beautiful talk written and spoken by Marion G. Romney in 1977 during general conference: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1977/04/the-light-of-christ?lang=eng&_r=1 On October 19, 2016, after obeying the Lord and testifying to a coworker the things the Lord put into my mouth, on my way to my car in the parking lot after work, as I pondered everything that had just happened, the Lord interrupted my thoughts and spoke to me saying, "today, I covenant with thee thou shalt have eternal life." When I heard this, my heart suddenly felt so much joy and peace that it felt like it would leap out of my chest and soar through the sky. That's the only way I know how to describe how I felt.

This is a jaw droppingly short sighted thing to say. Fun fact: it's quite likely that the time elapsed between homo sapien and stegosaurus is LESS than the time elapsed between stegosaurus and triceratops. The start of the Jurassic period was 200 million years ago. That time period represents less than 5% of the Earth's age. The age of the earth itself represents only a little less than a third of the age of the universe. And you're going to claim that because homo sapien has failed to replicate the conditions of your Designer as proof of your Designer's existence? Homo sapien's existence is still being measured on the scale of thousands of years. And it took your Designer over eight BILLION years to produce intelligent life! When put into perspective, I have to say, your Designer doesn't sound anywhere near as Intelligent as you make her sound.

We were doing XYZ, and then signed up for therapy. After 2 months of assessing (majority of it off-topic), we finally got into therapy. Lady told us to do XYZ (the exact same thing we had been doing). After 3 months she had a birthday had to move programs and be completely assessed again (majority of it off-topic), which has been long and frustrating. I'm hoping the new therapist will be better. Oh, and yes little girl has much improved, but I don't think it has anything to do with going to therapy.

Or in other words Talk is cheap. Trump is going to have to get in the trenches with the Republican's and the Democrats and get most of them working his way. By any definition of the words that is going to be incredibly difficult. Will he be able to??? Who knows... His fans say yes. His detractors say no... everyone else is we will see.

Was hoping to hear your take Vort. Obviously populist, but no more a slap in the face then Obama's farewell speech. ie.."If we’re unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America’s workforce."

I feel frustration, too. In my case it is a grandson.

I didn't figure I needed to add yet another caveat, which was obvious, but OK, fine: "with ONLY the person to whom you are married" (as opposed to "not with a person to whom you are not married" - there's a subtle difference). (No, I'm not trying to quote anything, I'm trying to explain how some people see it - doesn't matter whether you agree, only that you intellectually comprehend the idea.) I also didn't say you had to interpret things one way or the other, and I don't think I implied right or wrong ways to interpret, I'm just saying there are different ways to interpret and I can understand the interpretations which I've heard / read.

Yes, Spanish and Russian R sounds are different from English too - harder.

Whoa! Awesome! I'm taking you out of that compound. You need to move to mine.

As one who has spent many years documenting Microsoft's stupidity, I will rise to their defense. Generally speaking, Microsoft understands the need to document their products better than most other companies. They don't do enough, and the doc team is still one of the first to go when budget cuts are implemented, but Microsoft has largely set the industry standard for documentation. Even the term "programming writer" (or "programmer writer") is a Microsoft innovation, referring to a technical writer with specific facility in programming topics, such as one who writes SDK documentation, API guides, and such.

Fixed that for you.

I remember Steve Martin, back when he was a standup comedian and not a movie actor, saying how any song with a banjo was always happy. The banjo was a happy instrument. You just couldn't sing a sad song with a banjo. Well, this song actually made me shed tears (which, yes, probably says more about my own patheticness than about the song). But it's beautiful bluegrass with a prominent banjo and a great fiddle, and it's very sad. Ignore the silly video and just listen to the song.

Not to make light of someone dying from cancer, but I think he's lucky not to have choked to death trying to pronounce her name... PS: Beautiful song.

This is one of my favorites because it's an Appalachian song that is done by a traditional Irish group. The rendition is especially touching because Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh's husband Frankie Kennedy who together founded Altan passed away from cancer. He was an amazing flute player. Fare thee well My own true love Farewell for a while I'm going away But I'll be back Though I go 10,000 miles 10,000 miles My own true love 10,000 miles or more The rocks may melt And the seas may burn If I should not return Oh don't you see That lonesome dove Sitting on an ivy tree She's weeping for Her own true love As I shall weep for mine Oh come ye back My own true love And stay a while with me If I had a friend All on this earth You've been a friend to me

I would point out that a number of topics on this particular forum heading of "LDS Gospel Discussion" has much if any relevance in magnifying anyone calling in announcing to the word the message of the restored Gospel. My personal feeling on the matter is not that the subject should not be discussed but that it should not be discussed under the heading of LDS Gospel Discussion – but rather under the heading of General Discussion (as with many other topics under this particualr heading). I do not believe that the instruction of the First Presidency is that no member should ever study or seek truth in the fields of geology, biology, archaeology and anthropology or that no member should ever find employment in any field that relates to those fields of study or ever publish or take advantage of discoveries they or anyone else has made in these fields of science. Just that we should not teach what we learn concerning these matters (both pro or con) as the Gospel of the Restoration. In essence it appears to me that the statement of the First Presidency is denouncing any declaration in support of or against (for example evolution) as being something that we believe to be part of the Gospel of the Restoration. Perhaps I can give an example: When home teaching or visiting teaching we should not consider whether or not a person holds to the principles of evolution or not in befriending them and fulfilling our calling as a home or visiting teacher. Likewise we should not get angry or upset with anyone for not agreeing with our particular understandings in these matter when we openly discuss our opinions. This should have no effect, what-so-ever in our love and concern for anyone as we share our thoughts with one another concerning these things. The Traveler

Correction: The origins of life is philosophy because we can't scientifically prove an intelligent designer.

And conservatives get the idea that liberals enjoy watching conservatives "suffer"... So it goes both ways... Liberal cheered the suffering of conservative under Obama and now that they see the shoe being put on the their foot instead, and they suddenly find the tactics to be "deplorable"

Guys, ID aside, I'm truly just dumbfounded that a group of college educated adults cannot get an agreement on what constitutes science, I mean, I know that the American education system have challenges, but c'mon... What makes this even more ridiculous is everybody involved in the discussion believe in an intelligent designer except for one - our resident atheist who is very easy to spot because he calls himself Godless. You would think this would be an easy topic.

Nice to see you again Marc!

LOL. What has nine arms and sucks? (Can't help pulling that old joke out at every opportunity.)

I think he can make you spiritually sick, which can lead to physical and mental illnesses. But he can only make you spiritually sick a) if you let him (surrender your agency to him) or b) if someone in a position of unrighteous dominion robs you of your agency and introduces the means of mental or physical harm.

My point is that telling a fornicator, even an adulterer (or adulteress), that his/her sin is comparable to murder in seriousness, is not likely to be helpful. And there is always a chance that the sinner will think rationally about that statement. If he does so, he will likely reject the idea as utterly absurd. As a rational thinker, he may even decide that anyone who teaches that fornicating with your girlfriend is worse than child abuse, torture, betrayal of your country, or cheating a thousand old folks out of their lifetime savings and leaving them in poverty, is clearly not to be taken seriously, and as a result avoid repentance altogether.

yjacket, seriously, chill. This is wrong in so many ways. The woman has admitted (anonymously) to her actions and has come here seeking a path forward. Heaping coals on her head isn't helpful. When the woman taken in adultery was dragged before Christ, she appeared not to have been willingly confessing. She wasn't there because her guilt drove her there, but because she was apparently dragged from her bed of adultery into a public place. Jesus first ignored, then shamed, her accusers, finally leaving only himself and her (and the rest of the crowd watching the drama unfold). At that point, Jesus did not rub her actions in her face. Quite the opposite: He said that he did not condemn her. We are given a space for repentance, before the condemnation of God comes upon us. God does not immediately condemn us for our missteps, even something as serious as adultery. Instead, he allows us to figure things out and repent. I suspect I am as disgusted by this adulterous sin as you are, but coming out in accusing condemnation toward the woman who sinned is not the way to go. Remember who has the title of Accuser. That's not someone we want to emulate. By the way, the idea that sex sin is the worst possible thing that anyone could ever do except for murder appears to be scripturally based solely upon a specific interpretation of the teachings of Alma (junior) to his son Corianton, found in Alma 39:2-5: But what are the actual antecedents to "these things"? In context, they are: (1) boasting in his own strength and wisdom; and, (2) forsaking his ministry by going after a harlot. In other words, his abominable actions were self-glorification and breaking his divine covenants of ministry. Insofar as adultery (or fornication in general) is a breaking of covenant, then I certainly agree that it is most abominable. But the idea that non-marital sexual activity per se is the worst thing anyone can ever do besides murder another person is absurd on its face. I can think of any number of things more spiritually damaging and damning than an unmarried couple having sex with each other -- and so can you. Years-long neglect to the needs of a child, or ongoing nastiness and hatefulness toward him. Long-term physical abuse. Beating someone so badly that you cause permanent, severe disability. Actively working to undermine the legitimate government of a people. Openly rebelling against God and seeking to lead his children astray. Anyway, believe what you like about that. But I think that your condemnation of the OP is over the top. I think that encouraging her to come clean and turn from her path of sin is a better option than explaining to her in gory detail how awful she is.

Thank you all for your input. I know what I have done was horrible. I will tell my husband in a letter and will go see my bishop. My family and his family will judge me, but I know in the end the only one I need to please is the Lord!

The most poisonous thing you can do for your relationship with God and your husband is to continue on living the lie you're doing right now. Honesty is the first step of repentance and repairing relationships with God and your husband.

Also as aside, you and your husband should visit a clinic and get tested.

As long as we're being unhappy hillbillies...