Help please question about bishop

[bobbysanches]

Hello if i told my bishop about my past problem of masturbation would he ask me to stop partaking of the sacrament for a while and if he does that mean i cant come to church at all on sunday

[Dravin]

1. Really depends on your bishop and your particular situation (I'm not asking for details).

2. Even excommunicated members are invited to come to Church. So the short answer is yes, you should keep coming to Church even if the Bishop tells you to forgo the sacrament for a while.

[bobbysanches]

I also have another question i forgot to ask is it possible for him to take the priesthood away from me and when i went through the whole repenting process i would have to be ordained again Also would he tell anyone else about it thanks

[Dravin]

As far as I know the closest think to the revocation of the priesthood is excommunication, but I don't think one is re-ordained after being rebaptized. Don't quote me on that though, someone with a better handle on things probably has a more definitive answer. Note though that just because you hold the priesthood you may not be worthy to exercise it, so for instance a priest who was asked to not partake of the sacrament might be asked to not pass it or bless it, or may feel the spirit prompting them not to.

As far as the Bishop telling someone else, he shouldn't. Folks, may know that you are struggling, or say a Deacon's Quorum leadership may be told not to ask you to pass the sacrament (to avoid public embarrassment) but he shouldn't go around letting folks know that you came to him with your particular issues. Confessions are private.

[NobodysFool]

As far as I know the closest think to the revocation of the priesthood is excommunication, but I don't think one is re-ordained after being rebaptized.

There is a "restoration of blessings". However, I think being ex'ed is unlikely in this situation.

There's also getting disfellowship, but I think that's still probably a bit strong for the situation.

[slamjet]

If you are a holder of the Melchizedek Priesthood, then your Bishop will take it to your Stake President for advice, or to hand it over depending on the severity of the issue. If you are an Aaronic Priesthood holder, or no Priesthood, your Bishop will be the one in charge, so to speak. That being said, there are three options:

1) Probation - you will not be able to take the Sacrament, nor will you be able to exercise the Priesthood in any way. Probation is informal so it's an agreement between you and your Bishop to abstain. Which holds to reason since you wouldn't be worthy to do any of that anyhow.

2) Disfellowship - Consider this a formal probation. You will not be able to exercise the Priesthood, although you will still be ordained with it. You will not be able to do anything within the church except to attend meetings and participate in activities. This is something that lasts as long as needed, from a few months to a year, however long it takes for you to become worthy to perform your duties. This is between you and the Bishop or Stake President as the situation warrants.

3) Excommunication - Your membership is pulled from the church records. You essentially are no longer a member. You can still go to meetings and activities, but that's it. It takes the First Presidency and the Stake High Counsel to approve your re-baptism and after that (minimum 1 year) to approve the restoration of your blessings (Priesthood, endowments, sealing(s), etc). You really have to do something really wrong for this. FYI, Pornography and masturbation isn't even close to this level.

All three are meant not only to protect the Church, the victim but also as an act of mercy to the sinner. It will give you a chance to step back and work on yourself without the burden of trying to perform your responsibilities without the spirit and authority needed, which you won't have anyhow because of the sin.

I know of people who have done some pretty bad stuff and only be disfellowshipped for a couple of months. Most are on probation. So unless there's more to your story (and please don't share it in an open forum) you're unlikely to be much more than probation.

However, you need to talk to your Bishop and be open and honest with him. I cannot emphasize this enough. Just do it! Tell it all to him. Then he will be able to guide you back to proper worthiness. You will be better off in the long run.

[jayanna]

Also, keep in mind that if it really is a past problem, that you have put behind you, there may be much less left to do at this point..also depending on if you have recieved your endowments, if you look at pornography, etc. Your bishop is really the only one that can tell about your particular situation.

[MichaelPAGuy]

If you are excommunicated or resign from the church you lose your blessings, including the priesthood. When you return and are repabtized after being found worthy, all of your former blessings are restored to you.

[MarginOfError]

If you are a holder of the Melchizedek Priesthood, then your Bishop will take it to your Stake President for advice, or to hand it over depending on the severity of the issue. If you are an Aaronic Priesthood holder, or no Priesthood, your Bishop will be the one in charge, so to speak. That being said, there are three options:

1) Probation - you will not be able to take the Sacrament, nor will you be able to exercise the Priesthood in any way. Probation is informal so it's an agreement between you and your Bishop to abstain. Which holds to reason since you wouldn't be worthy to do any of that anyhow.

2) Disfellowship - Consider this a formal probation. You will not be able to exercise the Priesthood, although you will still be ordained with it. You will not be able to do anything within the church except to attend meetings and participate in activities. This is something that lasts as long as needed, from a few months to a year, however long it takes for you to become worthy to perform your duties. This is between you and the Bishop or Stake President as the situation warrants.

3) Excommunication - Your membership is pulled from the church records. You essentially are no longer a member. You can still go to meetings and activities, but that's it. It takes the First Presidency and the Stake High Counsel to approve your re-baptism and after that (minimum 1 year) to approve the restoration of your blessings (Priesthood, endowments, sealing(s), etc). You really have to do something really wrong for this. FYI, Pornography and masturbation isn't even close to this level.

All three are meant not only to protect the Church, the victim but also as an act of mercy to the sinner. It will give you a chance to step back and work on yourself without the burden of trying to perform your responsibilities without the spirit and authority needed, which you won't have anyhow because of the sin.

I know of people who have done some pretty bad stuff and only be disfellowshipped for a couple of months. Most are on probation. So unless there's more to your story (and please don't share it in an open forum) you're unlikely to be much more than probation.

However, you need to talk to your Bishop and be open and honest with him. I cannot emphasize this enough. Just do it! Tell it all to him. Then he will be able to guide you back to proper worthiness. You will be better off in the long run.

There are two more options.

4) No action

5) Informal probation

If you are excommunicated or resign from the church you lose your blessings, including the priesthood. When you return and are repabtized after being found worthy, all of your former blessings are restored to you.

Being rebaptized is separate from having priesthood authority restored is separate from having temple blessing restored. But in neither of the latter two cases is "reordination" necessary.

To the OP, worrying about whether or not you'll be asked not to take the Sacrament is the wrong attitude. You should be focusing on cleansing yourself and preparing to commune with the Lord through the Sacrament, whatever the price. Repentance is more important than appearances.

[Backroads]

At the risk of downplaying this sin (which I don't mean to), I don't think you should worry about extreme consequences, especially if it's a past problem that you are working had to control. Really, what I can see here (having been in and knowing people in similar situations) is being instructed to refrain from passing/taking the sacrament for a few weeks while the bishop checks up on you.

[bytor2112]

He will likely ask you how long it has been and have you abandoned the practice or do you need help. If you have abandoned the practice and it has been a while, he will probably tell you to move on and forget about it. Sometimes confession completes the process....rather than begins

[ThatLDSKiD]

a Deacon's Quorum leadership may be told not to ask you to pass the sacrament (to avoid public embarrassment) but he shouldn't go around letting folks know that you came to him with your particular issues. Confessions are private.

I am in the situation. It is a past problem and i really want to continue performing my Priesthood duties.

1) My ward only has enough youth that if one person doesn't pass then an adult has to...so avoiding passing for a few weeks or months would obviously raise questions in my situation

2) Does the Bishop confront your parents?