DiscussMormonism.com

inquiringmind wrote:I understand LDS Bishops serve (PT) for five years, while working full time secular jobs to support their families.

Do they have to tithe while serving?

Are their any monetary fringe benefits to being an LDS Bishop?

Is there any conceivable reason anyone would accept such a calling if they didn't thoroughly believe the LDS Church is true?

Fence Sitter wrote:If they sincerely thought the church was a worthwhile organization despite not being "true" (what ever that means) then they might, especially if they are in a marriage where the wife is a faithful TBM. Certainly there have been bishops who have lost their testimony while serving as bishops who continued to serve until released.

inquiringmind wrote:I understand LDS Bishops serve (PT) for five years, while working full time secular jobs to support their families.

inquiringmind wrote:Do they have to tithe while serving?

inquiringmind wrote:Are their any monetary fringe benefits to being an LDS Bishop?

inquiringmind wrote:Is there any conceivable reason anyone would accept such a calling if they didn't thoroughly believe the LDS Church is true?

A man charged last week with sexually assaulting two teen girls had served as bishop of a Menifee Mormon church the victims attended, authorities said Monday, June 3.
Todd Mitchell Edwards, 48, of Murrieta, was arrested May 28 and charged with three felonies —– sexual battery, sexual penetration with a foreign object and witness intimidation, authorities said.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday in Riverside Superior Court and was being held at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside with bail set at $65,000, jail and court records show.
Edwards was bishop of the Menifee Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County district attorney’s office, said the victims attended Edwards’ church.
George Kramer, a spokesman for the Menifee Stake of the LDS church, said Edwards was removed from his position in the church when the allegations against him came to light. Kramer could not immediately provide the dates Edwards served as bishop.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind,” Kramer said in a written statement. “Anyone who abuses a child is rightfully subject to both criminal prosecution and formal Church discipline.”
Allegations against Edwards were reported to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in December, said Sgt. Glenn Williams. He said the assaults occurred in remote areas in Menifee but declined to elaborate. One case occurred in November 2006 when the girl was 16. The other was in February 2012 with another teen girl, he said. Edwards was friends with the families of both girls, Williams said.
Investigators identified a possible third victim but the statute of limitations on filing criminal charges had run out on that case, he said. Details about the date of that incident were not available Monday.

Bazooka wrote:Here is an example of an individual who may have accepted the calling of Bishop even though they don't believe the truth claims of the Church.

A man charged last week with sexually assaulting two teen girls had served as bishop of a Menifee Mormon church the victims attended, authorities said Monday, June 3.
Todd Mitchell Edwards, 48, of Murrieta, was arrested May 28 and charged with three felonies —– sexual battery, sexual penetration with a foreign object and witness intimidation, authorities said.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday in Riverside Superior Court and was being held at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside with bail set at $65,000, jail and court records show.
Edwards was bishop of the Menifee Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County district attorney’s office, said the victims attended Edwards’ church.
George Kramer, a spokesman for the Menifee Stake of the LDS church, said Edwards was removed from his position in the church when the allegations against him came to light. Kramer could not immediately provide the dates Edwards served as bishop.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind,” Kramer said in a written statement. “Anyone who abuses a child is rightfully subject to both criminal prosecution and formal Church discipline.”
Allegations against Edwards were reported to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in December, said Sgt. Glenn Williams. He said the assaults occurred in remote areas in Menifee but declined to elaborate. One case occurred in November 2006 when the girl was 16. The other was in February 2012 with another teen girl, he said. Edwards was friends with the families of both girls, Williams said.
Investigators identified a possible third victim but the statute of limitations on filing criminal charges had run out on that case, he said. Details about the date of that incident were not available Monday.

http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/menifee/menifee-headlines/20130603-menifee-man-charged-with-sex-crimes-was-mormon-bishop.ece

subgenius wrote:subterfuge is one conceivable reason...but it is unlikely they would be offered the calling to begin with...but it is still a reason to accept.

OGDEN — A former LDS bishop is facing criminal charges after investigators say he involved members of his congregation or those who knew him through his church position in an investment scheme.

Chad Bennett Reid, 57, of South Ogden, was charged with three counts of securities fraud and one count of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, all second-degree felonies, for allegedly swindling at least three people out of more than $100,000. Charging documents state that the fraud occurred between March 2005 and February 2009 and resulted in a loss of $270,500 taken from 31 different investors.

The three counts of securities fraud stem from incidents that began with a man who was in the LDS young single adult 14th Ward at Weber State University while Reid was serving as bishop. The man was Reid's executive secretary in the ward and "said he trusted Reid implicitly due to Reid's church position and their association," the charges state.

Bazooka wrote:

subgenius wrote:subterfuge is one conceivable reason...but it is unlikely they would be offered the calling to begin with...but it is still a reason to accept.

Subgenius, how would an individuals desire to use subterfuge make them unlikely to be offered the calling in the first place?

Because whatever safety net is used, it doesn't seem to work too well....

OGDEN — A former LDS bishop is facing criminal charges after investigators say he involved members of his congregation or those who knew him through his church position in an investment scheme.

Chad Bennett Reid, 57, of South Ogden, was charged with three counts of securities fraud and one count of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, all second-degree felonies, for allegedly swindling at least three people out of more than $100,000. Charging documents state that the fraud occurred between March 2005 and February 2009 and resulted in a loss of $270,500 taken from 31 different investors.

The three counts of securities fraud stem from incidents that began with a man who was in the LDS young single adult 14th Ward at Weber State University while Reid was serving as bishop. The man was Reid's executive secretary in the ward and "said he trusted Reid implicitly due to Reid's church position and their association," the charges state.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=23544891

subgenius wrote:subterfuge is one conceivable reason...but it is unlikely they would be offered the calling to begin with...but it is still a reason to accept.

Subgenius, how would an individuals desire to use subterfuge make them unlikely to be offered the calling in the first place?

(and i said "unlikely"...not "impossible")

Bazooka wrote:
Now all you have to do is provide us with is the mechanism that's in place to filter out the individuals with ulterior motives which prompted you to say "it is unlikely they would be offered the calling to begin with..."