Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, now the Republican frontrunner for the presidential nomination, was also a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -- the Mormon church -- during the 1980s. Romney is still a member of the church, although he no longer serves as a bishop.
The editorial staff of The Week recently reviewed a book called "The Real Romney," by Boston Globe reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, which accused him of threatening a single mother with excommunication from the church if she didn't give up her child for adoption. But probably the best summary of Romney's time spent as a bishop comes from Mormon writer Joanna Brooks, who compiled a list of links to accounts and explained Mormon culture and organization.
Because the Mormon church is very different from other Christian denominations, here are a few things to understand in order to make sense of these accounts:
Mormon bishops are lay members
Romney did not attend a theological seminary, or receive any formal training for his calling as bishop. With rare exceptions, he and other bishops are completely untrained in counseling, and are taught that God will show them how to handle complex spiritual and emotional issues despite that.
(What Mormons call "Seminary" is not the same as the theological seminaries where other churches' pastors and ministers are trained. It is, instead, a high-school age religion course for Mormon teenagers.)
Mormon bishops are unpaid
The Mormon church's General Authorities, or top-level leaders, receive an undisclosed "stipend," and the church pays other full-time employees (like Seminary teachers). Bishops, however, are unpaid, and must work at other jobs on the side, while paying a 10 percent tithing like all other members.
Mormon bishops aren't chosen by their congregations
Every few years, the Mormon church's regional leaders choose a new bishop for each congregation, meaning that it was normal for Romney to hold the office for only a few years, and that he wasn't fired or voted out.
The congregation votes to "sustain" these leaders after they are presented to them, but the voting is done by a public show of hands. "Opposed" votes are almost unheard of. Members who raised their hands to sustain a church leader are reminded later on that they've made a commitment to sustain him, and told that God requires them to obey church leaders.
Other facts about Mormon bishops
Bishops are expected to interview each member one-on-one behind closed doors to determine their obedience to church teachings and conformity to its doctrines. Children of both genders as young as 12 are asked personal questions about sexual issues, while their parents are not present.
A bishop cannot personally excommunicate someone, but he can initiate the proceedings to do so, and he is given a great deal of latitude to decide what merits such actions.
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