The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Media (fka Mormonism)

[Rocker Ute]

That's only one of the documents I signed. You also sign it when you are called as a counsellor, or as a clerk. I signed a few other documents as well that I never signed as a counsellor or clerk. That's the plain and simple truth.

No that is not the plain and simple truth. You must have had a rogue stake president or something. Or maybe things are different in Canadia. What other specific legal documents did you sign?

[tooblue]

No that is not the plain and simple truth. You must have had a rogue stake president or something. Or maybe things are different in Canadia. What other specific legal documents did you sign?

I was there. I know what I read through and what I signed. It was more than the card for the bank authorizing my signature. I had already done that serving as both a counsellor and clerk. Perhaps it is peculiar to my area, but there are other considerations to account for ... the authority to perform legal marriages; who can legally speak for the church with regards to church owned properties; the distribution of welfare in an area etc.

My point is, a Bishop isn't exclusively the spiritual leader of a Ward.

[sancho]

Bishop fight!

[Rocker Ute]

Bishop fight!

I wouldn't fight tooblue or any man who drinks milk from a bag. Those type of guys are too unpredictable.

And I'm disagreeing with all the love in my heart.

[Rocker Ute]

I was there. I know what I read through and what I signed. It was more than the card for the bank authorizing my signature. I had already done that serving as both a counsellor and clerk. Perhaps it is peculiar to my area, but there are other considerations to account for ... the authority to perform legal marriages; who can legally speak for the church with regards to church owned properties. The distribution of welfare in an area etc.

My point is, a Bishop isn't exclusively the spiritual leader of a Ward.

I've been there too. I didn't sign anything more than a signature card. You do get a certificate from church HQ that states you are a bishop that you could use to whatever official was requiring it (like to visit someone in jail or to perform a marriage - although in Utah that isn't required to produce that document). But I signed no legal documents, and nothing as dramatic as signing my life away as you originally described.

[tooblue]

I've been there too. I didn't sign anything more than a signature card. You do get a certificate from church HQ that states you are a bishop that you could use to whatever official was requiring it (like to visit someone in jail or to perform a marriage - although in Utah that isn't required to produce that document). But I signed no legal documents, and nothing as dramatic as signing my life away as you originally described.

I did state that I was joking about signing my life away, in blood ;-) At the time I also joked: "is this the point where I stand up and say I'm not ready for this, let me out of here." That went over about as well as one would imagine.

Setting all that aside, there are levels of complexity to these issues that go beyond: "Religions are evil! There must be transparency! The Mormon church hides abuse!"

The system isn't perfect, but in my experience it works well. Some individuals do not head the counsel given to them and that's tragic.