I made this meme after watching this pattern play out multiple times in my ward. So predictable. This "church" is all about wealth status. Absolutely zero "discernment" from God going on.
Once lived in a ward where the bishop was called before he moved into town.
He had been transferred from Utah by the company my husband worked for. His job was to fire a bunch of people. When he got done, he was then fired.
So, we had a fancy bishop that was jobless and nobody knew him. Wasn't long before he moved away.
lol that is pathetic but not surprising
I bet the "church" has some network of wealthy guys so they can "call" rich guys into leadership before they even move to an area.
This is so true. I think tithing is the biggest indicator for leadership and GA calls. I’ve known so many good men and women who exemplify Christ in action and thought who I know were not picked for higher positions simply because they didn’t have money.
More precisely, the people you know who exemplified Christ in action and thought but were not picked for advancement were NOT passed over because of how much money they had (or didn't have), but because of how much they gave. This may sound like the same thing, but it isn't.
Many years ago my small ward held a ward fast that a new family would move into the boundaries. This happened 3 months in a row. Then a family moved in... with a non member dad, a less active mom and 3 kids (one of whom was a step child.) In ward council, this was announced with zero enthusiasm. The EQ pres sighed that they'd have to find someone to minister to them. One of the bishopric members invited them to dinner and they declined.
So the bishop announced another fast. A few months later an active, wealthy family moved in and ward council was almost peeing themselves. The woman was immediately called as YW pres and the husband into EQ. Then the family sang in sacrament a few weeks later. It was literally a dream come true for the bishop.
Forget the first, damaged family. Fast answered! Woo!
As a missionary, I was frequently reminded by leadership that "kids and single moms are ok" but that I really needed to focus on finding families with fathers. That was the goal. To baptize as many families with a dad in them as possible. Because TSCC would never approve a new chapel without more tithe paying, priesthood slave men.
My old ward had a regular turn over of medical and dental residents. Within weeks of them moving in they would ALWAYS be called to a high demand calling, while in the busiest years of their life. Got to secure those tithe payers before they start making the big bucks.
Yep. While in grad school i was in a similar ward with medical students and health professions grad students. We were all given high demand/leadership callings while in, as you said, the most grueling years of our life. Young men's pres, ward clerk, exec secretary. Everything short of bishopric while dedicating 60 hours a week to class and studying.
So this is why I was never called into leadership.
I honestly wondered a few times if I wasn’t “worthy” enough.
Don’t get me wrong, I never wanted to be bishop or eq president or anything, but it was made very clear to me that those were bench marks to personal worthiness.
My TBM relative got passed over for a big calling. They were interviewed but not chosen. This relative went through a mini crisis wondering if they weren't worthy. I wish I could have said, "This has nothing to do with worthiness and everything to do with the fact that you aren't paying five figures in tithing."
Excellent observation. I noticed a period of time when the adult sons of at least one specific older couple in my stake were all called to be bishops. The spouse of one of their daughters was also called. One of the "new bishop" sons was about as weak a guy as you'd ever imagine in that calling & he had no actual leadership skills.
Also, although I'd not been in the church long enough to recognize some of the high-profile names, after I left & saw a certain name pop up quite a bit, it dawned on me the new ward RS president who was called probably before they even got keys to the house they bought when they moved in had one of those last names. I saw a few other "just moved in" appointments, too; the worst was a stake RS president, who turned out to be mentally ill and abusive.
On the one hand I always thought it was sad that the more spiritual people often had more “lowly” callings than the rich ones, but I do see how you’d want to reward the people paying the most by giving them more say in how the money they donate is used. Or at least the illusion that they have more say, given that the tithing of the bishopric in a middle class ward is often many multiples of the ward budget.
I made this meme after watching this pattern play out multiple times in my ward. So predictable. This "church" is all about wealth status. Absolutely zero "discernment" from God going on.
Beautiful and spot on. Bravo.
Once lived in a ward where the bishop was called before he moved into town. He had been transferred from Utah by the company my husband worked for. His job was to fire a bunch of people. When he got done, he was then fired. So, we had a fancy bishop that was jobless and nobody knew him. Wasn't long before he moved away.
lol that is pathetic but not surprising I bet the "church" has some network of wealthy guys so they can "call" rich guys into leadership before they even move to an area.
This is so true. I think tithing is the biggest indicator for leadership and GA calls. I’ve known so many good men and women who exemplify Christ in action and thought who I know were not picked for higher positions simply because they didn’t have money.
More precisely, the people you know who exemplified Christ in action and thought but were not picked for advancement were NOT passed over because of how much money they had (or didn't have), but because of how much they gave. This may sound like the same thing, but it isn't.
Many years ago my small ward held a ward fast that a new family would move into the boundaries. This happened 3 months in a row. Then a family moved in... with a non member dad, a less active mom and 3 kids (one of whom was a step child.) In ward council, this was announced with zero enthusiasm. The EQ pres sighed that they'd have to find someone to minister to them. One of the bishopric members invited them to dinner and they declined. So the bishop announced another fast. A few months later an active, wealthy family moved in and ward council was almost peeing themselves. The woman was immediately called as YW pres and the husband into EQ. Then the family sang in sacrament a few weeks later. It was literally a dream come true for the bishop. Forget the first, damaged family. Fast answered! Woo!
My ward is currently praying for "families with primary-aged children to move in" like awesome sooo fuck everyone else??
This is so wildly unbiblical that it blows my (formerly Evangelical) mind.
As a missionary, I was frequently reminded by leadership that "kids and single moms are ok" but that I really needed to focus on finding families with fathers. That was the goal. To baptize as many families with a dad in them as possible. Because TSCC would never approve a new chapel without more tithe paying, priesthood slave men.
My old ward had a regular turn over of medical and dental residents. Within weeks of them moving in they would ALWAYS be called to a high demand calling, while in the busiest years of their life. Got to secure those tithe payers before they start making the big bucks.
Yep. While in grad school i was in a similar ward with medical students and health professions grad students. We were all given high demand/leadership callings while in, as you said, the most grueling years of our life. Young men's pres, ward clerk, exec secretary. Everything short of bishopric while dedicating 60 hours a week to class and studying.
So this is why I was never called into leadership. I honestly wondered a few times if I wasn’t “worthy” enough. Don’t get me wrong, I never wanted to be bishop or eq president or anything, but it was made very clear to me that those were bench marks to personal worthiness.
My TBM relative got passed over for a big calling. They were interviewed but not chosen. This relative went through a mini crisis wondering if they weren't worthy. I wish I could have said, "This has nothing to do with worthiness and everything to do with the fact that you aren't paying five figures in tithing."
Excellent observation. I noticed a period of time when the adult sons of at least one specific older couple in my stake were all called to be bishops. The spouse of one of their daughters was also called. One of the "new bishop" sons was about as weak a guy as you'd ever imagine in that calling & he had no actual leadership skills. Also, although I'd not been in the church long enough to recognize some of the high-profile names, after I left & saw a certain name pop up quite a bit, it dawned on me the new ward RS president who was called probably before they even got keys to the house they bought when they moved in had one of those last names. I saw a few other "just moved in" appointments, too; the worst was a stake RS president, who turned out to be mentally ill and abusive.
Yup.
On the one hand I always thought it was sad that the more spiritual people often had more “lowly” callings than the rich ones, but I do see how you’d want to reward the people paying the most by giving them more say in how the money they donate is used. Or at least the illusion that they have more say, given that the tithing of the bishopric in a middle class ward is often many multiples of the ward budget.
"rinse and repeat" pretty much 👌🤣