On Tuesday, June 21, 2011, I spent 3 hours with the previous Bishop of the American Fork 29th Ward going through the ward list, talking about every person. We got through the H's. On Sunday, June 26, 2011, we spent another 3 hours and got part way through the S's. Tonight we spent 2 more hours together and we finished the list. It took us 8 hours of debriefing for him to share insights gleaned from 6 years of working with the 563 members of our ward. A Mormon Bishop is a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a confessor, a cheer leader, a coach, a judge, a diplomat, a CEO and a motivational speaker in addition to an ecclesiastical leader, preacher, pastor, youth minister and minister. I now know many intimate, confidential details about people that I will take to my grave. At one point in our discussion, this beloved former Bishop turned to me and said, "You know, there are issues behind every door." Shakespeare called the vicissitudes of this life "the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to." Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1. Only the Savior Jesus Christ achieved perfection in mortality. None of us escape trials. "In the world ye shall have tribulation." John 16:33. The secret is to find "joy in the journey." Thomas S. Monson, October 2008 General Conference. "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:.33.
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When I got home tonight, my wife asked me how my evening had gone. "It was a very good evening," I replied as I swept her off her feet and gave her a big hug and a kiss.
