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On another thread Jason Bourne wrote:

I was a fairly merciful bishop because I needed mercy. And I wanted others to avoid some of the unnecessary shame the church heaps on people.

To me, these seem like the qualities of a very good bishop. What are some other good qualities for bishops to possess?

I think they are in tune with their auxiliary and quorum leaders and understand how important they are to energizing the Ward.

I had one Bishop who cared about how I was feeling in my calling, and saw it not only about getting the work of the Church done, but about how I felt about serving etcetera. When I was released as YM President during this time, they threw a kind of appreciation event for me. I don't expect those kinds of things, but it was my first real adult leadership calling in the Church, and I left for my new position -- Stake Young Men's President -- on a huge spiritual plane. Not only did I feel good spiritually, I felt the organization itself appreciated my efforts -- even though it was not expected. I was totally motivated to serve.

Contrast that with my last Bishop. He never PPI'd me, and every HP initiative I started that showed results, he ended up cancelling somehow. New ideas were generally squashed as "not the program of the church". And when a group of women in the Church grew petty and distributed a nasty note about me to the entire Ward leadership, he didn't even bother to intervene.

A couple years later I asked to be released due to burn-out, and everyone just left the release to dangle for months. Handshake and a mechanistic thanks at 2 months, and then no formal release for a few months after that. HC didn't care to keep us informed about what was happening, and I left on the biggest low I think I've ever experienced.

It's been said somewhere else on this board that the best priesthood leaders are those that pay less attention the rules and doctrine and more attention the people. I agree with that. Ultimately all the rules are intended to help us learn how to love. Love is the only thing that matters.

One that realises he isn't inspired by God and isn't qualified to hand out advice and counselling on serious topics.

And one who understands the Church Handbook of Instructions, but is more than willing to deviate from it if there are good ideas on the table, which justify it.

I was a fairly merciful bishop because I needed mercy. And I wanted others to avoid some of the unnecessary shame the church heaps on people.

To me, these seem like the qualities of a very good bishop. What are some other good qualities for bishops to possess?

The merciful quality is fine, but coupled with the reasoning that the Church somehow heaps shame on people means that this was probably not a very good bishop.

And one who understands the Church Handbook of Instructions, but is more than willing to deviate from it if there are good ideas on the table, which justify it.

More terrible advice. A good Bishop will be creative within the bounds the Lord has set in the CHI.

bcspace wrote: A good Bishop will be creative within the bounds the Lord has set in the CHI.

Does the Lord personally author all text books or does He simply involve Himself with the correlating and editing?

Does the Lord personally author all text books or does He simply involve Himself with the correlating and editing?

Neither. But most LDS know those aren't requirements nor is it how the Lord operates His Church.

bcspace wrote:
The merciful quality is fine, but coupled with the reasoning that the Church somehow heaps shame on people means that this was probably not a very good bishop.

Mercy is one of the core divine Christ like attributes. If more LDS leaders understood this and applied it the church members would be much happier. As for the church and shame it was clear to me even as a TBM that the church used this tools excessively. Of course it takes someone that has a bit of spiritual maturity to see this as well as someone who does not simply operate by blind faith. As for whether I was a good bishop or not I will let the members of my ward judge that. I did not make everyone happy but I think most appreciated my efforts. I know many since have told me this missed having me as their bishop. I am fairly satisfied with my service. I was not perfect and made lots of mistakes and would do some things differently if I could go back.

I think anyone who thinks the Church heaps shame on people is neither a TBM or spiritually mature. Not saying (yet) that anyone here is, but one who seeks to subvert the CHI or other doctrines or policies or operate outside them when they address the situation directly is not qualified to be a bishop and is not even a believer by any stretch of the imagination.