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I Don't Agree Bishop - Page 3

Name: Richard

Comments: Bishop's are good people for the most part. Their advice is influenced by inspiration, education, background, personal experience, fatigue, the mood they are in that day, and so on. We are under no obligation to to accept advice without praying and verifying that it comes from the Lord.

Bishop Agree Dont I

I think it is alright to tell them that you don't agree, because some of the times it helps them grow and learn from peoples opinions. I can remember my branch president had a debate with a mission councilor about the straight and narrow path etc. and he was proved wrong and he humbly accepted it and learned alot from it. When you say you don't agree or think differently you are only helping them out.

I Don't Agree Bishop Studies Doctrine Mormon

I never thought about my bishop learning anything from me disagreeing, its more like he looks annoyed that I somehow don't get what he is saying, but its not that I dont get it, I just dont agree, to me there is a difference.

Page 3 Bishop Agree Dont I

I see a few distinctions that should be made in this discussion. Bishops are ordained by God to receive revelation for the membership of their ward and other people in that area.

Bishops have been given the keys to be inspired to counsel you in spiritual matters. Going to your bishop for specific financial advice doesn't make a lot of sense. Should you rely on your bishop to tell you what career to pursue as well? The role of a bishop as it applies to finances is to emphasize what the church has already said on the matter, I.e.-pay an honest tithe, don't go into debt if possible, don't invest in risky endeavors, get food storage, live within your means, etc. The bishop's duty is not to offer personal financial advice on something that you yourself can receive personal revelation for or have already been given the ability to make judgments on. Usually, your financial portfolio has little to do with the affairs of the ward, which is the bishop's purview.

If the bishop comes to you or to the ward with counsel, then you should heed this counsel, all else being equal. If, instead, you come to him with a question that you want him to solve for you, that may or may not be appropriate for the bishop to solve, and you should take it with a grain of salt and consider whether the matter is something that you have the ability to receive your own revelation for.

The bishop is to generally counsel us on what is appropriate behavior, and what will bring us blessings, but he usually isn't supposed to tell us what house we should move into, or how many children we should have, or how we should be conducting basic family matters.

So having said that, unless the bishop is unworthy of his calling, we should be following his spiritual counsel as it pertains to the ward. If we're offered a calling, we should accept it. If the bishop asks that something be done differently in the ward, we should willingly go along with it. We are ultimately commanded to sustain our church leaders.

President Joseph F. Smith declared that we should obey our leaders when they counsel us, but that it must be an obedience based on understanding.

"When our leaders speak it is for us to obey; when they direct we should go; when they call we should follow. Not as beings who are enslaved or in thralldom; we should not obey blindly, as instruments or tools. No Latter-day Saint acts in this manner; no man or woman who has embraced the Gospel has ever acted in this way; but on the contrary they have felt to listen cheerfully to the counsels of the servants of God as far as they were able to comprehend them. The difficulty is not in getting the Latter-day Saints to do right, but in getting them to comprehend what is right." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 12, p. 329.)

The way it has been explained to me is that following the counsel of your bishop and stake leaders will bring you blessings, whether directly or indirectly. Every piece of counsel they give may not prove to be fruitful as a direct result, but we will be blessed for our obedience. Obedience itself brings its own blessings.

If you have some reason to believe that the bishop is unworthy of holding his calling, it is your duty to report this to the stake presidency for review. Otherwise, you will be blessed by following the bishop's counsel. Just don't go to the bishop for the type of things that you should be praying about to get your own personal revelation. Mothers and fathers have the capability to receive revelation for their own families.

Edited: Interstellar on 8th May, 2008 - 6:12pm

Bishop Agree Dont I

Most times I'm NOT LOOKING for any counsel or advice, its more like I'm just given it whether I want it or not. I'm just saying that a lot of what I'm told I don't necessarily agree with.

I Don't Agree Bishop

Without making a judgment as to whether you need counsel or advice, in general it's the people who are reluctant to take advice who need it the most.

And if you believe the church is true, then it follows that you would believe that the bishop (provided he is worthy of his calling) has the keys to receive revelation for the ward, and that he is inspired. (it also doesn't mean he's infallible) So if you're finding yourself disagreeing with his counsel on several matters, then you need to examine whether the bishop's view or your view is based more on faith and prayers.

Can you offer any examples, because we're still talking in vague terms here. If it's about something like how to dress modestly, for example, I would compare what the bishop's judgment is based on and what your judgment is based on. Or if it's about the type of people you should be hanging around with, make the same comparison. I would bet that most of the bishop's judgments that you're having a problem with are founded in instruction given from the general authorities of the church, and we could find references to them in conference talks and Ensign articles.

I Don't Agree Bishop - Page 3

Interstellar, I am not sure if I follow you here:

So if you agree the Bishop (like ALL leaders) is not infallible, can't he commit a mistake when counseling a member? I have seen this in few occasions and NOT because the Bishops were unworthy.

In my opinion, when a Bishop (as well as any other leader) counsels, we should pray to receive an answer from the Lord in the matter. Following the advice blindly without receiving an answer can be a quite dangerous practice.

I Don't Agree Bishop Mormon Doctrine Studies - Page 3

I can also say its the people who love to give advice who need some advice! We can keep throwing these words, but its not going to get me to spill details people!