Bishop disguised as homeless man teaches lesson in compassion

When Mormon churchgoers in Utah saw a homeless man on Sunday, most of them ignored his well wishes and refused to make eye contact.

They sat down for the service, but these devout Taylorsville members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints failed to miss the real sermon that day, taking place not from the pulpit but from right beside them, according to The Associated Press. The homeless man was their bishop, David Musselman, in disguise.

Musselman had visited a makeup artist and worn a fake beard to see how his congregation would react to a homeless man arriving at their church service, KUTV reported.

"The main thing I was trying to get across was we don’t need to be so quick to judge," he told the television station.

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After gauging the reaction of the congregation, some of whom asked him to leave, Musselman revealed his identity during the service, the AP reported. He said everyone gasped.

The bishop told media he hoped his audience learmed the lesson that it's important to acknowledge those in need, too.

The story echoes another, similar endeavour by a pastor in Tennessee, Rev. Willie Lyle, who spent four days living on the street in Clarksville to experience how it felt to be hungry and without shelter, according to a story by the Tennessean. He later shared the story with his congregation as two of his family members shaved off the beard he grew while homeless and cut his hair.

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