I knew Romney was Mormon. What surprised me though was to find out he served as a bishop.
What does that even mean?
Is it just being a regular guy involved in his community and pitching in to fill a job that need to be done. Mostly an administrator rather then a minister?
No more a big deal then having been a CEO?
As a Catholic I can’t help thinking what it would be like if one of our bishops ran for office.
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I’ll go for a two for one since the election is tomorrow.
Do you think Romney would appoint judges that are favorable to plural marriage if he was elected?
I wouldn’t have given much thought about that 12 years ago and might have considered the question showing a little religious bias. But I didn’t see it as an issue until marriage started being redefined for homosexuality.
So, weird timing for the first potential Mormon to get this close.
I don’t have a dog in the race, but comparatively I think plural marriage has a better case.
Sorry if all of this has been discussed in other threads.
Mormon bishops are lay members and preside are over wards, which is the Mormon equivalence of a parish. Romney was also a stake president, and lead a stake, which is the Mormon equivalence of a diocese. This is also a lay position.
As a bishop, he would have been more active in the day-to-day of members’ lives, although most of what he would be doing is leading the lay leadership of a 300 person (give or take) congregation in which pretty much everyone has at least on calling.
As a stake president, he’d be dealing mostly with the bishops and High Counselors.
My father was in the bishopric of our ward, and a counselor, and various meetings kept him pretty busy all day Sunday.
The only real significance of him being a bishop is that it shows he’s a conservative Mormon, something which can be seen otherwise.
He would not be looking for judges to allow polygamy, but he sure would be looking to overthrow Roe and probably to prevent gay marriage.
Having a cult member as president is the least of our worries. Having a Republican president far outweighs any weirdness that being a cultist would cause.
If it helps in understanding the LDS structure, keep in mind that pretty much all adult males in the LDS church are “priests”. As for plural marriage, the LDS church has strived for years to be accepted as mainstream. The last thing a Mormon president would do would be to taint the current LDS church with the long abandoned tenet of plural marriage.
I just wish we could get to a place where we elect leaders based on their ability to lead and their religion didn’t enter into the conversation at all. It only serves as a distraction from issues that really matter.
According to the 2011 Statistical Report, the LDS church has 28,784 “wards or branches”. Each one of these is led by a bishop or branch president who serves for maybe five years on average. In other words, it’s not that big of a deal to have been a bishop once.
I believe Romney was also a stake president, which is a more selective group, as there are only 2,946 stakes, and each stake president serves for more like 10 years. Still, nothing particular shocking there either, at least in this Mormon’s opinion.
That’s why I tried to put it as a separate, lesser question.
For a hundred years no one questioned what marriage was. It’s only in the last couple years that it’s been debated again, even though for completely different reasons. Polygamy may be comparatively unpopular, but when it becomes a constitutional question there may be someone making a legal argument for it.
It’s probably the biggest source of friction with Mormons and they were wise in putting it aside.
From my understanding it came as part of a divine revelation, it was abandoned as what was retroactively called a revelation.
So if political winds change I’ve got to wonder if a divine revelation is around the corner.
Personally I haven’t talked to any, but my guess is if Mormon women have a say it’s a double dead issue.
That could be describing me. Maybe I’m a Mormon bishop and didn’t know it.
That’s what I was thinking. Just about any devout Mormon with ambition enough to run for office would at some time serve as a bishop.
Weellll, they were practically at war with the U.S. way back when. That may be exactly what would happen when he loses. Except for one thing, a hope for Tagg Romney in 2024
:whimsical emoticon here:
Not if it is guiding decisions that will affect people. That would only be possible for candidates with no religious beliefs at all.
Prejudice is ignorance because simply knowing someones religion does not get to the truth of what they will do or who they are.
But turning a blind eye is to give into ignorance just as much.
If someone is only a member because it’s something their parents were and they don’t really have any interest, then sure, it probably shouldn’t be given much attention.
If someone is a high ranking member in a leadership position and wears the secret underwear every day, then I do think it is a very relevant association that needs to be considered.
Well, let me see if I can channel Republican Fearmongering for a couple of minutes;
1> Mormonism will be taught in schools.
2> Non-Mormons will pay higher taxes and be subject to mandatory weekly visits from government sponsored missionaries.
3> Polygamy will not only be legal, it will be mandatory.
4> All members of the military will be required to be active members of the Mormon Church and polygamists.
5> The Mormon Church Heirarchy will decide all public issues. Citizens will be expected to vote as directed.
What other usual fearmongering bullshit would be added to this list if it was being made by fearful conservative “christians” and spread by much-forwarded emails?
A Mormon stake president is analogous to a Catholic bishop, except that it’s a lay position. The stake president or one of his counselors interviews everyone who needs a temple recommend.
A Mormon bishop is analogous to a Catholic priest, exept that it’s a lay position. His signature is also required on a temple recommend.
A Mormon priest is analogous to a Catholic lay male age 16+, except that he can bless the communion (sacrament) and baptize.
A Mormon “elder” is a male adult, and has authority to lay on hands for the gift of the holy ghost and to bless the sick.
A “teacher” is a male age 14+ who gets to fill the sacrament cups with tap water.
A “deacon” is a male age 12+ who wipes his boogers on his tie before passing the bread and water sacrament to the congregation.
A “high priest” is an adult male who has served in a bishopric or a stake presidency. I’m not sure if old geezers can get promoted to high priest without having served in a position that requires it.
And LDS leaders as well as LDS politicians have ZERO interest in bringing back unpopular doctrines such as polygamy. Not gonna happen.
Another way Mormon leadership positions are not analogous to Catholic ones is that the lay positions have term limits. Stake Presidents are generally 6 or 8 years IIRC, and bishops cycle through every 4 years or so. So yes, any moderately successful Mormon with decent people skills will have been a bishop at some point. Stake Presidents are a bit more exclusive; they are usually fairly wealthy and much more doctrinally orthodox.
Frankly, as a former Mormon, I wouldn’t have any problem voting for a candidate who had been a Bishop or Stake President. I would definitely balk at voting for anyone who had been in the upper leadership of the church, i.e. the paid positions like Apostles or Seventies.
How long have you been avoiding the news? It’s been discussed more than a little bit that Romney was both a ward bishop and a stake president.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Bishop is a man who holds the Priesthood and is called to that office by the Stake President. The LDS theology holds that such a call is inspired by God. As a Bishop, Romney functioned as the leading minister of a local congregation of the church; one of those duties is connected with the Bishop’s Storehouse. Contrary to popular belief, the Bishop’s Storehouse is not solely for Mormons. As a Stake President, he functioned as the leader of a group of congregations. Both offices include spiritual and administrative, not to mention welfare assistance, duties.
Romney was not running while Bishop or Stake President. He currently has no leadership position in the LDS church. I know the Church of England is not the Roman Catholic church; however, they do have Bishops with the similar (identical?) ecclesiastical duties of a Catholic Bishop. A number of the Church of England Bishops are members of the House of Lords. I really don’t know what kind of reaction members of other faiths have to that.
There’s absolutely no way that would happen now or in the future. For one, the LDS does not practice polygamy, does not advocate it, and excommunicates members who advocate or attempt to practice it. In short, polygamy is not on Romney’s radar. “Big Love” and “Sister Wives,” by the way, do not portray members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Another thing that would stop that is the simple fact that appointment of federal judges requires the consent of Congress. It’s just never going to happen.