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In our sacrament meeting this week, the bishop announced that we will be getting a new bishop next week, because of his employment situation, and that the stake president had told him that it would be okay for him to share with the ward that this will be his last week as the bishop. Anyway, fast forward to the 3rd hour. I was sitting in Sharing Time with my Primary class. The primary president had asked one of the bishopric counselors to come in and talk about the gift of the holy ghost as part of the lesson. He talked for about 10 minutes about the gift of the holy ghost, and then asked if anybody had any questions. One little girl in the 7-year old class asked who the next bishop would be. The counselor said he didn’t know. Then she asked if a woman could be the next bishop. He said that the bishop has to be a priesthood holder, so it would have to be a man. Then, she asked WHY a woman can’t get the priesthood and be the bishop.
The counselor was visibly uncomfortable, and he finally said, “You know, I’ve had that same exact question many times. I’ve prayed about it to ask why women can’t be bishops and have the priesthood, and I would encourage all of you to pray about any questions that you have. I wish I had a better answer for you, but I’m still trying to figure out the answer to that question myself. But, I want all of you to know that it’s okay to ask questions like that, and if you ever have a question that somebody doesn’t know the answer to, it’s a good idea to try to find the answer yourself and to pray to have help finding the answer.”
I gained a lot of respect for that counselor in that moment! It was nice to see a little girl ask an innocent question, and not have her question belittled. Just wanted to share.
:thumbup: Nice! Out of the mouths of babes! :thumbup: Why can’t a woman be Bishop? Because then she would have to have female counselors, as it would be improper for a Bishop to go out visiting with one of her opposite sex counselors alone! She would also need female clerks (same reason as above), and then pretty soon there would be no jobs left for the men folk except primary!! Oh the Humanity……… Quote:There is hope smiling brightly before us….
Wonderful. Simply wonderful. I like the question and love the answer. :thumbup: :thumbup: I like that answer. He explained how he doesn’t understand, that prayer to understand would help, and that it’s OK to ask questions like that. Brilliant!!! A template for answers to similar questions from others that are controversial like that, particularly when you personally agree with the implications of their question. I love it. :thumbup: Sheldon wrote:Why can’t a woman be Bishop? Because then she would have to have female counselors, as it would be improper for a Bishop to go out visiting with one of her opposite sex counselors alone! She would also need female clerks (same reason as above), and then pretty soon there would be no jobs left for the men folk except primary!! Oh the Humanity………
Men could be RS President & counselors & VT’s.
I know silly again.
How exactly would a female bishop feel about hearing about what guys/boys have done? Would she be able to stand/handle hearing all sorts of things? I think a female bishop would be good for a ward made up specifically to test how things can progress first, to determine whether it is something that a woman would be able to handle and wouldn’t leave her with issues. The ward as a test bed would identify problems immediately and solutions can be discovered. I think something a Klingon said applies here, courtesy of Gorkon, Head of the Klingon Empire: “If there is to be a brave new world, our generation will have the hardest time living in it.” I think that a newer generation would find it easier to accept a female bishop and be more able to keep an open mind and give her a chance.
I’ve said this before & it’s worth repeating. Some of the best bosses I’ve had, have been women. I’ve had women in the church who I reported to in my calling in Family History.
I make it a point to have a woman Doctor. I believe that women work harder than men to get to
their career positions. I believe that they listen better than men. No one wants to be stereotyped.
But, generally speaking, from my own experience, over many year, I believe this is true.
Some of the best talks in church have come from women.
Sheldon wrote:Why can’t a woman be Bishop? Because then she would have to have female counselors, as it would be improper for a Bishop to go out visiting with one of her opposite sex counselors alone! She would also need female clerks (same reason as above), and then pretty soon there would be no jobs left for the men folk except primary!! Oh the Humanity………
If you want to listen to DBMormon’s real interesting history of “no jobs left for them” list tomen-to-boys-development-of-the-priesthood]russdm, switching the pronouns and sex/gender focus in your comment is interesting. Seriously, switch “he” to “she” and “boys/men” to “girls/women” throughout the comment, and see what your answers / reaction would be. If they are different, examine why they are different – what assumptions and/or experiences are causing the different answers / reaction.
Honestly, I don’t know if that will make a difference for some people, including you, but it is a fascinating exercise.
russdm wrote:How exactly would a female bishop feel about hearing about what guys/boys have done? Would she be able to stand/handle hearing all sorts of things? I think a female bishop would be good for a ward made up specifically to test how things can progress first, to determine whether it is something that a woman would be able to handle and wouldn’t leave her with issues.
I think being able to “handle” the stress of being a bishop, and hearing the issues that he hears, has a lot more to do with the person and their personality than it does with their gender. There are plenty of men who struggle with the calling, and others who do a great job. I believe it would be exactly the same with women. Some would struggle, some would be fantastic. I see the bishop’s calling as being very similar to a marriage and family therapist in many ways. Look how many female counselors, therapists, and psychologists there are. I don’t see them crumbling from the pressure of their work.
In my opinion, the success of any person in almost any calling or job has much more to do with their personality than their gender.
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