Good afternoon!! Btw, I have a couple of ??. (what's new, huh) The months the miss. were coming by they'd speak of the Bishop, etc. who doesn't receive pay.O.K., lots of religions, i.e. methodists, baptists, presb., etc. have deacons, etc. (which are active, but not as active as Bishop, etc in Mormon ch.)MY ? is, why & how can someone be THAT involved and not get any compensation @ all. They seem to know everything going on w/everyone in church. (Bishop @ the church I'd attended always has a grin &/or smirk on his face or that's how it appears.)There were ALWAYS 4-6 stuffy looking men sitting together @ the head of church. (most didn't ever even speak)I know the missionaries do not receive pay, but, why would these "authorities" in church do all of this time consuming"part time job" w/no compensation. Just asking.

Well, their answer would be "For God", and maybe they really do believe it.

But personally, I think its because the church has them so brainwashed/mind controlled that they are too terrified to do anything less.

Been there. It is power and glory. The Bishop has two counselors, at least one clerk (usually at least 2) and a secretary to help him. He oversees and directs the Ward counsel which consists of another, approximately 8 people who are at his disposal. He is the big cheese. He is looking at the Stake President and doing what he can to get that gig. The Stake President (who gets full reimbursement of expenses) is looking at Mission President or Temple President who get living stipends. Above that they are all paid. It is God's pyramid scheme.

They must do it for the good of the almighty dollar. All money must go to ummmm, to the ummmm, oh that's right. To the mall. I just forgot. All money is for buildings too. And the bishop gets to harrass you if you don't pay up at tithing settlement. What a wonderful job.

Instead of having a paid clergy who is trained and educated to counsel, preach about the Bible/JC, visit all the sick, hold Bible study one or two or three times a week, the Mormons get a guy who thinks he is very special and he gets to sit at the front and look important. It is all brainwashing that allows these guys to think it is important. I have full respect for my pastor and all he does. I don't hear that much here among former Mormons. Seems they just tolerate whoever it is.

If you are called as a Mission President or an Apostle where you'll be away from home. you will be given a period of time to get your financial affairs in order.

You may notice that only well-to-do men get called to high positions like Mission Presidents,Apostles,Seventies. This is because they need to have enough money to live on as they perform for free.

It is to be considered as consecrating their lives to the Lord. Even as a Bishop or StakePresident, they consecrate their lives (fallaciaously called a "volunteer position") and are generally men who have good financial health so that they can focus on the Lords work and not be distracted by monetary woes on the homefront.

In a church where financial wellbeing is a sign of righteousness, it would rarely do to have a ditchdigger for a Bishop.

Perhaps I drifted from the point...
Anyway, doing the work for free has been the expectation for many decades, and people just do it without monetary expectation.

There was a time however, way way back, that Bishops and StakePresidents were afforded something like 2% of the tithes as income for themselves.

Mission President, Temple Presidents, Seventies and Apostles are all paid positions and have been for years. Some particularly pious ones decline, but it is available to all. I have know a few quite well. Vaughn J Featherstone was very forthcoming on him being a paid Mission President.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2011 06:55PM by Jim Huston.

It also gives them a better chance to jockey for position in the hereafter. Since everyone must buy in to the idea eternal progression, those who rose to high church positions will keep their power and be closer to attaining their own planet in the great beyond.

so, i guess, in a nutshell, it's worth ALL of it to them. So they can move up the ladder, per say. I've even heard of bishop's, miss. president's, etc. wives getting involved in members personal loves.

To be clear no one volunteers for the position of Bishop. The old bishop and his higher ups CHOOSE someone to take that position. That person obediently accepts that position.

The followers believe that the LDS church is the ONLY true church on the face of the Earth. They believe that Jesus himself is leading it through the prophet. Everything from the top is believed to have come down from God himself. And in the LDS church you covenant to serve the church in ALL things. They extend "callings" to its members which they feel obligated to follow because they believe these are "inspired" callings. It is as if God himself extended the calling to you. If God himself extended a calling to you personally, would you say no? That's how it is in LDS church. Mormons feel duty bound to God to accept and fulfill the callings that are extended to them. They see them as a test given to them by God. If they reject the calling they are rejecting God himself. Callings in the LDS church are REALLY volunteer. They are obligations.

Some of the bishops are humble men who feel they are simply serving god in this calling and that is why they do it. There are also lots of Mormon men who aspire to higher positions in the priesthood hierarchy of the church because you get looked up to and respected. It is a status symbol in the Mormon culture. You are revered and many of them get a power trip from having these positions.

The selection of Bishops and positions above that are very carefully selected by the leaders of the church. The man you see sitting on the stand has most likely proven himself to be a very solid and obedient member of the church. He most likely has never questioned the church and has an excellent history of serving in the church. These are men who usually have proven good leadership and management skills.

Hope this helped.

I meant to say "Callings in the LDS church are *NOT* REALLY volunteer."

They kiss up to those in power and know how to glad hand. They also usually have more money, power, and prestige than the average lower level priesthood guys.

Many of their families throw parties to celebrate the achievement when they get their calling. It's usually a proud moment like having a close family member win a major award or promotion in a company.

My sister with 12 kids predicted as a teenager that she'd see to it that whoever she married would make it to at least stake president. Her husband is now finally a bishop and it means the world to her because women get to share the prestige for whatever position their husband achieves in the mormon church. My sister had a party both times her husband got jobs in the bishoprick and a party when he got an important stake job, but she's more proud of this bishop job than any of the others and celebrated with the best party she could muster. It's been a long haul for her as her husband is over seventy years old now.

so more or less, it's an honor to have these position(s) paid or not paid.

Exactly. Every adult member is given "callings" in the ward. If you were to be baptized, it is expected that you would be given a "calling" within 4 weeks. In fact, there is a checklist for programming new members and that is one of them. You might get nursery assisstant, or music leader for the kids etc.

Anyway, since everyone is ranked, and has to accept callings then why not accept something that all the other sheep really look up to? The members revere the bishop so much more than people in other churches. The bishop, they believe, actually recieves revelation from god for the flock. If the bishop told someone in their ward he "felt" they needed to do such and such, about their business, their marriage, how to treat their troublesome teenager etc, they would do it.

The bishop may really believe he works for god and is giving that sort of advice trying to help, but that sort of power over a few hundred people must be an ego boosting thing.

You can not get that sort of respect and obedience in the business world.

Also paid were people who run the Bishop's Storehouse, the Facilities Management Group, etc., but I think a lot of that has changed lately.

Btw, what is a patriarchal(i think that's right)message?? That was one of the things i'd never heard of. and how would someone know what your pat. calling is whenever you receive that. Lots of the things presented to myself were "different" than what i'd know all of my life.

From Richard Packham's site

>> Mormons often obtain a "patriarchal blessing" when in late teens or early twenties. This is a solemn blessing pronounced by an ordained "patriarch" telling the recipients about what life holds for them if they are obedient Mormons. It also tells the person from which tribe of Israel that person is descended (usually Ephraim or Manasseh). The blessing is recorded and transcribed for future reference. This is just a form of fortune-telling. Many blessings are vague and worded very conditionally. Those which are more specific are often not verified by events.

Many bishops are trying to do the best they can, but most of them are untrained for the situations they are confronted with. Bishops are not trained in basic counseling, human sexuality, marital counseling, family counseling, grief counseling, nor many other problems ward members ask about. Often bishops give advice that makes problems worse rather than better and are not wise enough to know when they are in over their heads and should refer out. Unlike other churches, the Mormon Church does not educate and train the leaders of their congregations, so had you become a Mormon and gone to a bishop with a problem, chances are fairly good, depending on the bishop, you would have been in the hands of someone unable to help you and who likely would have made you feel worse. Give me the paid, trained clergy that the Mormons sneer at any day over unpaid, untrained bishops.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2011 08:08PM by robertb.

In theory, what's wrong w/clergy getting paid, anyways?? That's their calling, yes, but it's their living, as well. The presb. clergy here and his wife have 5 children. (she stays @ home) I'm certain he has to have a paycheck @ well as paid for the school he went to in order to become a minister. (he's in early 40's, now)

"what's wrong w/clergy getting paid, anyways??"
That was always one of my questions too. I asked several different people and always got the same blather about how the Christian churches' clergy were making so much money off parishioners and just rolling in the dough.
I knew quite a few clergy personally so I knew this wasn't the truth.
After looking more closely at the morg's history I came to find out that JS had had quite a few disagreements with local clergy and was simply bent on writing off their credibility to enhance his own quest.

Exactly, and they receive proper training for it.

In the Mormon Church, you've got someone who could be an office manager by day, asking you about and advising you on the most intimate details of your life.