I loved hearing our Bishop's comments about how important it was for him not to allow meetings to go longer than necessary. He said that his date with his wife for ice cream that night was just as important as any meeting. I love that perspective. We need to use wisdom and caution that our desires to serve faithfully do not harm our family relationships. I also loved the Stake leader who (after calling my husband to a new position) said: "I want to know the minute this calling is not a blessing to your family." It IS possible to take our callings too seriously and to let our priorities become unbalanced. We must be willing to make sacrifices, but they must be wise ones.
MaryJuly 11, 2017
Church service can be a great blessing. Finding a balance between service and family is a priority. Church callings can be very demanding and take you away from family. It is important to set boundaries with Wife and family being first with specific time set aside for only them.
Life is short. Now that we are retired I had so many things we looked forward to doing together. Only three years after retiring my husband has beginning stages of Alzheimers.
Do not suppose there will be more time tomorrow, make time for your wife and family today. Many people in Church do chose wisely and expect church leaders to fix their poor choices.
God, Family and Church in this order.
BeckyJune 26, 2017
When I read things like this I must admit that the first thought through my mind is "Well, at least you still have him..." There are a great many singles in all of our wards who don't have a spouse to talk to and often feel left out. Having an experience where your spouse is busier than you'd like gives you an opportunity to gain some empathy for those who don't have a spouse to talk to or interact with - the widows, the singles, those who have never married. Reach out to those who need love and companionship when you are feeling empty and alone.
JoyceJune 26, 2017
Your book helped me so much when my husband was a bishop, so when he was a stake president, I gave it to all the new bishop's wives. Congratulations on your call to serve together as mission president and companion; we are just completing "the best three years" in this sacred and fulfilling calling!
BruceJune 23, 2017
Our stake just had a new stake presidency called, and the general authority who presided over it gave so much of this same advise to the new presidency and then in the Sunday morning session of the stake conference, especially the part of counseling and letting the one bounce ideas of the other. When the new stake president accepted the call, the general authority send him and his wife to a room TOGETHER for the man to have her assistance in coming up with names for his counselors. When my father served as a bishop, he and my mother did much the same. A wife who willing does this for her leadership-bound husband is a true jewel.
Warren PaigeJune 22, 2017
Marriages do not need to be sustained week to week. This is the same kind of mentality that keeps older folks from leaving behind their grandchildren to serve missions. They are too focused on the here and now and forget about the very thing the gospel is focused on, and that is ETERNAL families. A general authority recently shared sentiment that in General Conferece when he shared his son's reaction to getting another time consuming church calling. His young son responded that it was ok, because they are an Eternal family.
HelenJune 22, 2017
I will use what I can from this to to build a closer bond with my ex-member husband who has difficulty with the time and money I spend with my oldest daughter (his stepdaughter) who is fighting with metastatic breast cancer. In fact, just yesterday I sent him a Facebook post expressing some of her fears for this very purpose.
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MaryannJanuary 17, 2019
I loved hearing our Bishop's comments about how important it was for him not to allow meetings to go longer than necessary. He said that his date with his wife for ice cream that night was just as important as any meeting. I love that perspective. We need to use wisdom and caution that our desires to serve faithfully do not harm our family relationships. I also loved the Stake leader who (after calling my husband to a new position) said: "I want to know the minute this calling is not a blessing to your family." It IS possible to take our callings too seriously and to let our priorities become unbalanced. We must be willing to make sacrifices, but they must be wise ones.
MaryJuly 11, 2017
Church service can be a great blessing. Finding a balance between service and family is a priority. Church callings can be very demanding and take you away from family. It is important to set boundaries with Wife and family being first with specific time set aside for only them. Life is short. Now that we are retired I had so many things we looked forward to doing together. Only three years after retiring my husband has beginning stages of Alzheimers. Do not suppose there will be more time tomorrow, make time for your wife and family today. Many people in Church do chose wisely and expect church leaders to fix their poor choices. God, Family and Church in this order.
BeckyJune 26, 2017
When I read things like this I must admit that the first thought through my mind is "Well, at least you still have him..." There are a great many singles in all of our wards who don't have a spouse to talk to and often feel left out. Having an experience where your spouse is busier than you'd like gives you an opportunity to gain some empathy for those who don't have a spouse to talk to or interact with - the widows, the singles, those who have never married. Reach out to those who need love and companionship when you are feeling empty and alone.
JoyceJune 26, 2017
Your book helped me so much when my husband was a bishop, so when he was a stake president, I gave it to all the new bishop's wives. Congratulations on your call to serve together as mission president and companion; we are just completing "the best three years" in this sacred and fulfilling calling!
BruceJune 23, 2017
Our stake just had a new stake presidency called, and the general authority who presided over it gave so much of this same advise to the new presidency and then in the Sunday morning session of the stake conference, especially the part of counseling and letting the one bounce ideas of the other. When the new stake president accepted the call, the general authority send him and his wife to a room TOGETHER for the man to have her assistance in coming up with names for his counselors. When my father served as a bishop, he and my mother did much the same. A wife who willing does this for her leadership-bound husband is a true jewel.
Warren PaigeJune 22, 2017
Marriages do not need to be sustained week to week. This is the same kind of mentality that keeps older folks from leaving behind their grandchildren to serve missions. They are too focused on the here and now and forget about the very thing the gospel is focused on, and that is ETERNAL families. A general authority recently shared sentiment that in General Conferece when he shared his son's reaction to getting another time consuming church calling. His young son responded that it was ok, because they are an Eternal family.
HelenJune 22, 2017
I will use what I can from this to to build a closer bond with my ex-member husband who has difficulty with the time and money I spend with my oldest daughter (his stepdaughter) who is fighting with metastatic breast cancer. In fact, just yesterday I sent him a Facebook post expressing some of her fears for this very purpose.
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