Sister Bishop

[Thoughtful]

Mo Fems report rumors of women being called as something of a counselor to their new-bishop husbands. Confidentiality extends within the marriage. Women lead with their husband?

How does this go down?
- more emotional labor for women
- more gossip in the ward
- actually no actual change in authority
- creating an "at a glance" impression that women are happy and leading
- still totally the same with with extra patriarchy and bias against singles!

Where does the game playing and theatrics end, pretending to do the right thing while maintaining the men as the only ones with a conduit to God?

Good grief I'm glad I'm out.

[deacon blues]

"In the ward are parents single? No the thought makes reason stare!" Apologies to Eliza Snow.

[Palerider]

The real test will be when the wife sits on the stand every Sunday (without her husband) and gets up to conduct the Sacrament meeting.

That's called "Priestesshood".

[2bizE]

I haven't heard of this but it sounds possibly valid.

[Not Buying It]

It may be an attempt to soften the patriarchal sexism of the whole institution, but it would in fact be even more sexist, in that a woman would qualify for this new position not because of any leadership ability or wisdom on her part, but because she happens to be married to the man who is called to be bishop.

I think it would be even more sexist than not having the role at all, because the only way a woman qualifies is through her marital connections to a man. Why don’t they just come out of the Dark Ages and give women the priesthood?

[Just This Guy]

To me this sounds like a potential legal nightmare waiting to happen.

By calling the wife to assist the bishopric, this could easily lead to the Bishop telling things that were told to him in confessional confidence. If things get out, then the bishop is now legally responsible for any damage that occurs.

Think about it this way: Bishop gets home from church and says to DW: "You won't believe what XXX told me about today." Thinking that his wife is a bishopric member and is safe to talk to about stuff like that. In reality, because the church does not regonize a woman in that calling, then If word gets out that the bishop talked to someone outside about what was told to him in confidence, then guess who is now open for recrimination? Not LDSINC.

[Palerider]

If things get out, then the bishop is now legally responsible for any damage that occurs.

It isn't "IF", it's "when" things get out.

Even without the Bishops wife being privy to details, I've never seen a Bishopric yet that could keep their mouths shut on confidentialities. It's a fairytale that they do.

[græy]

I don't buy it.

I could see a meeting where the area authority or whoever was actually calling the bishop says to the wife that she is to be a support to him in this new calling. They may even use the word counselor, but I wouldn't put any more stock into it than that they just meant an unofficial support.

Somewhere in the world a new bishop's wife was getting braggy about how she was tasked to be his "counselor" and the rumors have spun up from there.

[Thoughtful]

I don't buy it.

I could see a meeting where the area authority or whoever was actually calling the bishop says to the wife that she is to be a support to him in this new calling. They may even use the word counselor, but I wouldn't put any more stock into it than that they just meant an unofficial support.

Somewhere in the world a new bishop's wife was getting braggy about how she was tasked to be his "counselor" and the rumors have spun up from there.

Someone said wives even sat on the stand and oversaw the sacrament in the absence of the menz.

[græy]

Someone said wives even sat on the stand and oversaw the sacrament in the absence of the menz.

I still don't buy it.

The handbook explicitly states that bishopric oversees sacrament. In their absence, the stake president would assign another priesthood holder (usually the EQ president) to preside.

Handbook 2 18.2

If the bishop and his counselors are all absent, the stake president designates who presides at sacrament meeting. Normally he designates the elders quorum president, but he could authorize another priesthood holder instead.

As it currently stands, women would not be allowed to preside since they do not hold the priesthood.

I'd love to be wrong about this. But I don't see any of this being true while the church simultaneously won't allow Laurels to do anything more than hand out towels at temple baptisms, and women aren't allowed to stand as witnesses at baptisms or even hold their own babies during blessings. It seems that if anything were to evolve, those "lesser" areas would be the first to see changes. They wouldn't go straight into calling a woman as an additional bishopric counselor and letting her oversee sacrament.

Also, it seems more natural to me, if these steps were to be taken, that the RS president would be the obvious choice to sit on the stand or preside in the absence of whoever else is in charge.

Sorry, none of it sounds right to me. Though I'd love to be proven wrong.

[Thoughtful]

Someone said wives even sat on the stand and oversaw the sacrament in the absence of the menz.

I still don't buy it.

The handbook explicitly states that bishopric oversees sacrament. In their absence, the stake president would assign another priesthood holder (usually the EQ president) to preside.

Handbook 2 18.2

If the bishop and his counselors are all absent, the stake president designates who presides at sacrament meeting. Normally he designates the elders quorum president, but he could authorize another priesthood holder instead.

As it currently stands, women would not be allowed to preside since they do not hold the priesthood.

I'd love to be wrong about this. But I don't see any of this being true while the church simultaneously won't allow Laurels to do anything more than hand out towels at temple baptisms, and women aren't allowed to stand as witnesses at baptisms or even hold their own babies during blessings. It seems that if anything were to evolve, those "lesser" areas would be the first to see changes. They wouldn't go straight into calling a woman as an additional bishopric counselor and letting her oversee sacrament.

Also, it seems more natural to me, if these steps were to be taken, that the RS president would be the obvious choice to sit on the stand or preside in the absence of whoever else is in charge.

Sorry, none of it sounds right to me. Though I'd love to be proven wrong.

I have no proof, but multiple people are saying its being piloted in their wards and stakes Will be interesting to see if its true.

[jfro18]

I have no proof, but multiple people are saying its being piloted in their wards and stakes Will be interesting to see if its true.

I love how revelation is always piloted in select wards and stakes first.

[Thoughtful]

I have no proof, but multiple people are saying its being piloted in their wards and stakes Will be interesting to see if its true.

I love how revelation is always piloted in select wards and stakes first.

Yes, and research firms hired.

[Palerider]

I have no proof, but multiple people are saying its being piloted in their wards and stakes Will be interesting to see if its true.

I love how revelation is always piloted in select wards and stakes first.

Yep. How many times have I heard that phrase in the church; "Run it up the flagpole and see if anybody salutes..."

Pretty courageous there...

[alas]

A reply on one of the feminist blogs said that in her ward, they had two women were called to be special advisors to the bishop, sort of a third and fourth counselor. She said they sit on the stand and sit in on bishop courts. So, it is possible the church is experimenting with ways of getting women’s input directly into the bishopric. She didn’t say if it was a pilot program or a bishop wanting extra input so he went rouge. But if the bishop himself were just adding in things, I think he would be called on it, so it might be another pilot program.

[2bizE]

What about that ward in Hong Kong where they have sacrament every day of the week and women do almost everything?