“4 Principles We Can Learn from the Way the Presiding Bishopric Works,” Liahona, Feb. 2024.
4 Principles We Can Learn from the Way the Presiding Bishopric Works
The Presiding Bishopric follows spiritual principles as they oversee the temporal affairs of the Church.
In 1831, one year after the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Edward Partridge was called to be the first bishop. He received two primary responsibilities: to administer the temporal affairs of the Church and to care for those in need. (See Doctrine and Covenants 42.)
These responsibilities still apply today, said Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé. “The Church has grown, but we still do the same thing: administer the temporal affairs and care for the needy.”
The Presiding Bishopric performs these duties for the Church under the direction of the First Presidency. Bishops perform these duties in their wards, Bishop Caussé explained.
A bishop coordinates the work of salvation and exaltation in the ward, including caring for those in need. He also oversees records, finances, and the use of the meetinghouse.1
The bishop delegates much of the work of seeking out and caring for those in need to the Relief Society and elders quorum presidencies.2 This responsibility also applies to all members of the Church as they minister to one another.3
The Presiding Bishopric’s responsibility for the temporal affairs—or physical aspects—of the Church includes managing tithing and fast offerings, humanitarian aid, welfare and self-reliance programs, building and maintaining meetinghouses and temples, and producing and distributing gospel resources, such as scriptures and hymnbooks.
“Everything belongs to the Lord—it doesn’t belong to us. And so we administer these resources in His way,” Bishop Caussé said.
The Presiding Bishopric shared some of the many principles that guide their work and how these principles might apply to ward and stake members.
All Things Are Spiritual to God
The Lord declared: “All things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:34).
This principle is one of the many things Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, First Counselor, has learned while serving in the Presiding Bishopric. “Although we are responsible for the temporal affairs of the Church and preparing the way, the scripture comes back to all things are spiritual to the Lord—never has He given a temporal commandment. All things are spiritual. And I have seen that. For us to do what the Lord wants us to do, we have to rely on Him,” he said.
This applies to all members of the Church as we intentionally strive to magnify our callings—whether as a ministering brother or sister, Sunday School teacher, nursery leader, or ward building representative.
Bishop L. Todd Budge, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, explained: “What I’ve found in my own life is that I can pray over my temporal affairs as well. I can pray over my finances. I can pray over whether to buy this house or that house or whether to make this investment or that investment. We should involve the Lord in not only the spiritual part of our life but in the temporal things in our life as well because all of these things contribute to our ability to love and serve other people.”
The Presiding Bishopric—Bishop Gerald Caussé (center); Bishop W. Chistopher Waddell, First Counselor (right); and Bishop L. Todd Budge, Second Counselor (left)—visits the bishops’ storehouse at Welfare Square in Salt Lake City. It is one of 124 bishops’ storehouses in operation worldwide, donating food to those in need.
Photograph by Laura Seitz, courtesy of Church News
Work in Unison
When Bishop Budge was called to the Presiding Bishopric in October 2020, he assumed he would have his own assignments and didn’t realize the bishopric would work together so closely. He said he has felt the Lord’s guidance as they work in unison, frequently praying together, attending the temple together, and counseling together.
“When I first came to the bishopric, I thought we would divide the world into thirds or something and take responsibilities and divide them up amongst us,” Bishop Budge said. “But we don’t do it that way. We do everything together in unity as a bishopric. And I’ve learned that there’s great power in councils. There’s great power in the unity that comes as we work together with a common objective and common purpose.”
As they participate in different executive councils and committees at Church headquarters and counsel together as a bishopric, they each bring unique talents, backgrounds, and life experiences—just as any presidency in a ward or stake.
“It’s not that you take one plus one plus one and get the combined abilities of three people. But we work in unity together. And by working together in unity, we accomplish more than the sum of the three parts,” Bishop Budge said.
After a typhoon hit the Philippines in 2013, Church members not only helped with the cleanup but also helped rebuild, which taught them useful skills.
Build Self-Reliance
A year after Typhoon Haiyan—one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded—devastated the Philippines in 2013, Bishop Caussé visited the city of Tacloban. The Church had provided materials after the storm to help Filipinos rebuild their homes. While rebuilding, many learned skills such as carpentry, plumbing, and construction management.
A newly called counselor in the Presiding Bishopric at the time, Bishop Caussé visited a vocational school in Tacloban and saw firsthand the impact of the Church’s aid. “We had hundreds, literally hundreds, of our members receiving vocational training to acquire job skills to find a job or develop their own businesses,” he recalled.
In October 2021 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple would be constructed in Tacloban.4 “Just think of everything that happened in the past few years and how the welfare system of the Church and the principles of welfare have helped people get ready for a temple to be built,” Bishop Caussé said.
Each humanitarian project the Church is involved in has a goal of self-reliance, he said. “For us self-reliance is a principle of salvation. It’s a spiritual principle. Every time, we ask the question: ‘How are we helping people help themselves?’”
Similarly, as ward and stake leaders seek out and care for those with temporal and emotional needs, they strive to help members strengthen their self-reliance. One way leaders can do this is by inviting them to participate in one of the Church’s self-reliance groups. These groups teach people spiritual principles as well as practical skills. Groups are focused on one of five areas: employment, education, personal finances, emotional resilience, and starting and growing a business.5
With the help of these groups, members worldwide have applied doctrinal principles and faith in the Lord to help themselves and others become more spiritually and temporally self-reliant. They have found greater hope, peace, and progress.6
Focus on People
The Church is about people, Bishop Caussé emphasized. “I’m always humbled by the faithful members we meet in every country, on every continent. The Church is all about people.”
God’s work and glory is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39), and He wants all of His children to choose to return to Him. Jesus Christ established His Church to enable individuals and families to do so.7
“The gospel is really in the life of other people,” Bishop Caussé said. “It is about someone being baptized. It’s about a young man receiving the priesthood or a young woman going to the temple for the first time and being baptized for one of her ancestors. It’s about families gathering together, congregations gathering together, and partaking of the sacrament every Sunday.
“At the end of the day, it is about the simple things of life—the reason why we are here and where we are going and how we can return to our Heavenly Father and receive all the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I’m grateful for the simplicity of the gospel. I testify it is true.”