I have seen this happen in wards where they were plenty of men in their 50s and 60s, i.e. men with empty nests, some even retired and with time on their hands, to choose from. But instead, they would call a younger man with five or six young children to be a bishop, more or less sentencing his unfortunate wife to be a single mother for the next five years, and his children to hardly see him. These young bishops were usually good men; but why not wait until they were older so it would not be such a hardship for their family?!

I have often wondered this too. Why not make a retired guy in his 60's Bishop who is retired? He would have time to do the calling right, would have life experiences to be a better leader. I would think, that would be the best fit for everyone, a guy who has the time to make interviews, etc during the day at times when need be. If something did arise , he would be able to take care of it promptly.

Then again, if you made guys my age (55) Bishop, I doubt I would go along with the idiotic rules the GA and others make. I would tell them to shove them where the sun dont shine.

Leave me alone to do what I feel is best for the people and the ward.

But then, little in the church makes sense any more. Too much is man made.. too many petty rules, too many petty people making petty rules.

The church is run too much like a business for me anymore.

Probably the main reason I started investigating the church was because of a young bishop. He is 35,3 very small kids,no experience with life in general and brand new to the ward. They couldn't find anyone else suitable. He was a jackass.

And the wives also said, "no way." Experience has benefits.

The seniors are sent on missions if they don't say NO! Or have too many health issues, or can't afford it.

They want young men to train as bishops, I guess.
The problem is that a bishop is really just a middle manager, nothing else. But the members use him for things he is not qualified for out of tradition.

I would have asked my dad this question 45+ years ago, but he was not home enough to ask, since he was off to the church for a million pointless meetings.

Damn, I need to get past the bitterness! Sorry for my rant.

Don't be sorry. This place is _meant_ for rants! Yours could even go longer and still be all good.

Sorry about your dad's church-induced absence. What are they thinking?

Shortly after I left the church a young man was called to be bishop of a struggling ward. Not only did he have many small children spaced closely together (one set of twins in there too)but he was a physician. His time at home was already compromised by his busy schedule.

He is not bishop now and I recently heard his wife (who was very devout at least at one point) had an affair with a neighbor and they are now in the middle of a "messy" divorce. My TBM relatives say it all happened because she was "bi-polar" and her diagnosis just wasn't visible until recently. Whatever!

all who are age 30 and were called to be bishops in the last year. I don't understand it either, and I feel very sorry for them and their families.

I know a man who was called as Bishop while he still had four children at home and a wife whose mental health was questionable. Plus, he commuted 50 miles one way for his job.

While he was busy being father to the ward, his own family fell apart. His two oldest ended up on drugs. His third child became pregnant by her loser BF. The youngest dropped out of HS (although he finished a GED later). Wife ended up on anti-depressants.

He was a really good guy, who genuinely cared about his family but between his real job and his church job he just didn't have any time or energy left over for them.

So sad. Family church? Hah!

This brings to mind the 40-year-old bishop, Clay Sannar, who was murdered in the Bishop's office August 29th. He left behind his wife and six sons, the youngest 4 months old. I wonder if it might have been best if he spent his time between job and family.

My BIL is a bishop and has been for the last 4 years. He was called at 32. My sister has 5 children, and has single handely raised them. He also commutes 2 hours each way (yes, 2 hours) to get to work each day as they chose to live in the country. He has a long commute, a huge work load, and an extreemely time consuming calling. She is a single mother. They are a wonderful family, but my sister does absolutely nothing else and has no time for any of her family because it always either interferes with church callings, or interferes with whatever little family time they have together. She is always short with everyone in the family and generally makes comments that alludes to the fact that she is the only one that is busy and has so much on her plate. I can't blame her, she is overwhelmed. However, learning a little word such as 'NO' could go a long way in her life.
In fact she does know that word, except she only says NO to things related to our family (other than my mother, we have all left the church), anything for the church, she would not dream of saying no to, no matter how overwhelmed she is.

Because they're related to the stake president!

Sorry, but I wasn't going to overlook obvious corruption, lies, and sugar-coating by a cult. The internet was too convincing.

They loved me in the stake. Volunteered for everything. Rich, lots of free time, 5K foot home great for firesides, youth activities, etc. Wasn't surprised when they called me to the Bishopric. My kids were teens. The Bishop, my one time friend, had 7 kids at home under the age of 12. It was a cruel and heartless day when they called him to be a bishop, not for him necessarily, but for his poor wife. OMG, it was so hard for her.

Yet, he is in his 5th year. He loves being a Bishop...and he is loved, admired, and respected by all. That's the way its suppose to work - morgbots strive for leadership, their worshiped by the sheepie, their egos grow and grow, and they live in a deluded fantasy world until the end. The women are the ones that suffer, and this is the way it has been from the beginning in this cult. Women are treated like cattle, 2nd class, stepped upon, servants...to serve their man (men).

Crazy cult.