Wow this a little more than I thought I would get. My Bishop just gives me advice sometimes about certain paths I should take in my life. I dont really want to go in detail but thanks all for the suggestions.
QUOTE (Jen) |
Wow this a little more than I thought I would get. |
Yeah thats what I have been doing but thanks for all your tips.
It is really very simple. If you do not agree with spiritual assignments he gives you then only one person loses out. If you do not agree with the color tie he is wearing then only the fashion designer may lose out. You can try to complicate things but it is as simple as that.
I think it's ok to disagree with a Bishop. I think that should be done privately though outside of some extreme cases.
It's important to support ANY leaders as much as possible -- both in the church and outside. Leading is a tough job. I'm not saying follow everything like a zombie, but Bishops are just normal people and they don't know everything about everything. Some bishops are more mature and give better advice than others. Sure, ALL are judges in Israel. I know that. They have to make some hard calls sometimes and that is their job. Asking for advice though? That's just what it is -- advice.
You have to make decisions for yourself based on your knowledge, experience and your relationship with God (inspiration).
I've had really bad life advice from a Bishop before. I followed it at the time even though I thought it was not good advice. Even though it was a failure in a worldly sense, I still felt I was supposed to do it. I honestly don't know what else hidden in life or who it affected. Maybe looking back some day I will see why I was supposed to do it the that way. I take responsibility for MY decision to follow the bad advice though.
QUOTE (JenLuvsMp3 @ 24-Oct 07, 6:01 PM) |
I dont really want to go in detail but thanks all for the suggestions. |
Bishops don't generally have any formal training in counselling or any other subject matter. The only advantage they generally have is that they are more often older men with some life experience. So they might have some personal knowledge of something because of profession or experience, but that doesn't even mean they are always right.
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I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are lead by him.... Let every man and woman know themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates or not.
Brigham Young, JD 9:150
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I'm not even questioning bishops being worthy or walking in the "path of the Lord." I think they generally are. It just doesn't make them experts in everything in the world.
My specific example that I was talking about:
Back in 2002 I was laid off from work. The effects of 9-11 had slowed my company and they let some people go. I didn't find another job immediately and realized I needed to sell my house because I wasn't going to be able to make the payments soon. The real estate market was hot at the time, and we made a $60,000 profit on the house. My family had to move in with my parents while I continued to look for work.
I met with my bishop to discuss the situation because I wanted my kids to stay in the same ward (to minimize the trauma) even though my parents lived in the neighboring ward. I told my bishop that I planned to pay off ALL my remaining debts with the profit from my house sale so that we would not be burdened with any of that financially. This included a very nagging student loan that was most of it.
He counselled me NOT to do that and to live off the money -- because I never might know when I would need the cash on hand. Well, we did that. My employment situation didn't change much for a year. That ended up being a lot longer than I or anyone would have expected. Near the end of that, we had to declare bankruptcy. I had none of the money left, and to this day I still am burdended with the student loans because those can not be cleared through bankruptcy.
This was terrible financial advice. Sorry, it just was not good advice. I didn't feel good about it at the time, but my bishop and my own father (who is a CPA and a former bishop) were in that meeting and agreed on the advice.
I don't have hard feeling about it. I listened to them and made the decision. I am responsible for what I do. It's not like they put a gun to my head and made me do it. They were obviously influential people in my life though.
Nevertheless, they did not give me good advice.