First, presiding high priest and father of the ward. From the Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy, we have a description of the requirements of a bishop: "A bishop. . . must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine. . . no bully, not a brawler, not covetous, one that ruleth well his own house. . . . Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without." In his letter to Titus, Paul states: "A bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry. . . Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers." As of May 31, 2004, there were 18,641 bishops in the Church. One of the titles of these bishops is presiding high priest. As such, he presides at sacrament meeting, priesthood meeting, ward council meetings, and at all other ward services and activities. By these and other means, he watches over both the spiritual and temporal affairs of the ward. He is also responsible for the doctrine which is taught in the ward. A bishop must know his people--their names, their circumstances, their challenges and goals, their abilities. A wise bishop knows the names of the children in the ward as well, and he remembers them on their birthdays. He also is mindful of the widow and those who, for whatever reason, are not found as regular attenders in the meetings. He leads with kindness, patience, and genuine love. By so doing, the Lord magnifies him in the eyes of his people and brings forth opportunities for the less active to return to Church activity and to the fellowship of the ward family. Frequently, the children will lead their parents back to Church activity and service. In reaching out to his ward members, a bishop finds the heavenly virtue of patience is required. As a bishop, I felt prompted one day to call on a man whose wife was somewhat active, as were the children. This man, however, had never responded. It was a hot summer's day when I knocked on the screen door of Harold G. Gallagher. I could see Brother Gallagher sitting in this chair reading the newspaper. "Who is it?" he queried without looking up. "Your bishop," I replied. "I've come to get acquainted and to urge your attendance with your family at our meetings." "No, I'm too busy," came the disdainful response. He never looked up. I thanked him for listening and departed the doorstep. The Gallagher family moved to California shortly thereafter. The years went by. Then as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, I was working in my office one day when that same Brother Gallagher came to see me. We had a pleasant conversation together concerning his family. He told me, "I've come to apologize for not getting out of my chair and letting you in the door that summer day long years ago." During the conversation, I asked him if he were active in the Church. With a smile he replied, "I'm second counselor in my ward bishopric. Your invitation to come out to church and my negative response so haunted me that I determined to do something about it." Harold and I visited together on numerous occasions before he eventually passed away. The Gallaghers and their children have filled many callings in the Church. The seeds of testimony frequently do not immediately take root and flower. Bread cast upon the water returns at times only after many days, but it does return.