[gondramB]

>> Romney was a bishop and a stake president in the LDS church for 12 years. So he certainly is, or should be, a spokesman for his religion.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0809/p01s01-uspo.html <<

Isn’t there a Bishop for every congregation? I’ve read that’s more or less a lay pastor. Do you know what stake president is? That’s not a term I’ve heard.

[Cicero]

This is unfamiliar territory to me, too. Many have said that Romney IS a bishop, which doesn’t seem to be accurate. He was a bishop, if the Christian Science Monitor article is to be believed.

Apparently a bishop is much like an unpaid pastor of a congregation. And here’s what the Monitor says about the other term:

“After that, he served nine years as ‘stake’ president, overseeing about a dozen Boston-area parishes.”

I gather that this job, too, is unpaid. But it would seem to require a certain amount of knowledge and authority concerning the teachings of the LDS church.

Young, unmarried Mormons in their twenties are also usually expected to spend two years serving as missionaries, to spread their faith.

[Elsie]

I’ve read that’s more or less a lay pastor.

Our 'lay pastors' are spokemen for THEIR religion!