Do Not Contact List/Visibility

Discussions about the Ward Directory and Map tool on churchofjesuschrist.org.
kalinbh
New Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2017 6:15 pm

Do Not Contact List/Visibility

#1

Post by kalinbh »

There has been tension for some time between some of the active members of the church and some of those members who no longer wish to receive contact from the church or be "ministered" to. In my mind, people deserve the right to "unsubscribe." I don't wish that people leave the church or cease contact, but I honestly think it does more harm than good to accentuate the rift that can exist between people who don't want to be contacted by the church and those who want them to return.

My recommendation is to allow Individuals and/or households to indicate, either via lds.org or LDS Tools, that they wish to cease contact. Or, at least provide a way for the local leadership to add individuals or households to be added to a "Do Not Contact" list.

Then, individuals or households on a "Do Not Contact" list will NOT be available for callings or ministering assignments (both companionships or assignments). Nor will their personal or contact information be made readily available on LDS Tools.

(I also don't think ANY individuals or households should be fully visible on LDS Tools without the end user's explicit making it so.)

I hope this spurs some conversation about how to respect the personal information of all members, whether active or not.
davesudweeks
Senior Member
Posts: 2637
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 9:16 pm
Location: Washington, USA

Re: Do Not Contact List/Visibility

#2

Post by davesudweeks »

Members can do this today. They have the ability to set their information "Private - Leadership only." Two active members in our ward have done this.

The clerk can also make these settings for them. I have done so for the handful of members in our ward who have requested no contact but choose to not remove their names from the records of the church. Yes, the Bishopric and Stake Presidency can still see them, but no else can.

As far as requiring members to "opt in" to LDS tools, it functions according to the local laws of the land. Some countries require personal information remain hidden unless members specifically make it visible. That is not a requirement in the US.

The church does have pretty stringent requirements on how personal information is handled and I see the biggest problem being members who ignore it and think nothing of posting personal information on google docs, cloud services, etc. to make it easier for them in their calling.

But bear in mind that this is a user-to-user help forum. No one who makes these decisions will likely see your post. You would be better served to give feedback through the various apps/web sites where you have concerns. You will likely not receive a personalized answer, but I understand all feedback is read and forwarded to the organizations best equipped to review it.
russellhltn
Community Administrator
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Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
Location: U.S.

Re: Do Not Contact List/Visibility

#3

Post by russellhltn »

davesudweeks wrote:Yes, the Bishopric and Stake Presidency can still see them, but no else can.
Nit-pick, I believe members of the ward council can as well. However, if it's functioning properly, they should have some idea of the member's desire.

I've asked before if anyone has has heard of a large organization that allows people to call themselves members, but also allows them to demand having no contact from organization leaders. So far, no one has been able to name one.

But then, my opinion doesn't count. That's all decided at a level far above the pay grade of anyone who visits this forum.
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davesudweeks
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Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 9:16 pm
Location: Washington, USA

Re: Do Not Contact List/Visibility

#4

Post by davesudweeks »

I stand corrected. Members marked 'Private - Leadership only" do show in LDSTools for at least the EQ President (and I assume the ward council members). There is apparently no indication in LDSTools of their status, but their information is marked with orange text and a lock icon on the ward Map so anyone who has access and checks there will be alerted of the status.

We have a couple of members married to non-member spouses who are unfriendly to the church and they request no contact in order to keep peace in their marriage. We have some who stopped attending years ago and believe their non-attendance means they are no longer members (this mindset is common in the bible belt) - thus they don't see the need to write a letter. We have some who claim to have written letters multiple times in the past and the bishop/stake president never acted on them so they are now unwilling to go down that path again.

The way to make the OP's concerns heard is with feedback and speaking with his/her Bishop/Stake President. There is little we can do here in the forum about the concern.
kalinbh
New Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2017 6:15 pm

Re: Do Not Contact List/Visibility

#5

Post by kalinbh »

As far as I am tracking, people say "Private-leadership only" still show up on Ministering Assignments as without assignment. Which creates a problem when you are trying to see who you should assign minsters to and who you should not.
russellhltn
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Location: U.S.

Re: Do Not Contact List/Visibility

#6

Post by russellhltn »

kalinbh wrote:As far as I am tracking, people say "Private-leadership only" still show up on Ministering Assignments as without assignment. Which creates a problem when you are trying to see who you should assign minsters to and who you should not.
Typically, what's done is the EQ president (or RS President) creates a separate district (with themselves as the teacher) for adding those people who do not want Ministering visits. That way, they don't show up as "unassigned".

While that's a separate step, it's entirely possible that a member wants no contact for sister Ministering. So, by being separate, it allowes some flexability instead of a "one size fits all" situation.
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eblood66
Senior Member
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Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Cumming, GA, USA

Re: Do Not Contact List/Visibility

#7

Post by eblood66 »

kalinbh wrote:As far as I am tracking, people say "Private-leadership only" still show up on Ministering Assignments as without assignment. Which creates a problem when you are trying to see who you should assign minsters to and who you should not.
Setting someone to "Private-leadership only" is may be one appropriate step for someone who doesn't want contact but it should not be considered equivalent to not wanting contact. It is very possible that someone wants to keep their information private but still wants or is willing to have a ministering assignment. They might even be fully active but has specific concerns about their information.
chriswoodut
Member
Posts: 417
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:42 am
Location: Utah

Re: Do Not Contact List/Visibility

#8

Post by chriswoodut »

The problem with the current tools is lack of flexibility. It seems like an 'all or nothing' approach. You can put them in their own ministering group or you don't. You lock their contact info on the directory, but it's still visible to leaders that have no context to that lock.

In our example, we have one family that does not want to be contacted for tithing settlement. So far, that's the only restriction they've requested -- they have ministering people assigned. The above options are too restrictive or don't work in this situation. Even if the record is locked, as a clerk I will still be able to see their contact info and may still contact them for tithing settlement. I don't know why and for what they don't want to be contacted. Callings turn over too. If we have new clerks next year, they won't know and may call. Removing their contact info leads to lost info. In Utah, our emergency response for the cities often is geographically aligned with stakes/wards.

I get the problem with having a note field in LCR (free form notes would lead to poor choice of things being put in) but it does seem we need some check boxes for contact options. I don't know how that would work as the options needed seem endless.
chriswoodut
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Location: Utah

Re: Do Not Contact List/Visibility

#9

Post by chriswoodut »

I should add..... I am starting to see a trend (does 2-3 cases make a trend?) where members request their adult children's records to be pulled back into the ward. I later find out that they don't live at home and they wanted the records moved so the ward they actually live in would not contact them. This makes a mess for my annual membership audit. Sometimes the parents don't want to give me the address of their child. I've also had the situation where the adult child actual does live in the ward but the parents don't want to move the record IN because they know the adult child doesn't want any contact from the local ward -- not having the records lets them be invisible.
mevans
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Location: California, USA

Re: Do Not Contact List/Visibility

#10

Post by mevans »

Regarding those who do not want to be contacted for tithing settlement, but otherwise seem to be involved: I suggest that you let them know that you will try to remember their request and not bother them, and ask forgiveness in advance should someone contact them. Let them know that we can't keep records of such preferences.

Regarding moving records around for people who don't want to be contacted: All I can think of is to follow the Move Records instructions: https://www.lds.org/help/support/move-r ... t?lang=eng. If you've followed the steps and can't get a new address, then ask the bishop to authorize sending it to the address unknown file. It's up to the bishop to receive revelation regarding how to handle situation. I've seen some bishops keep the record and others try to move them out. I don't know the specifics.

We've had family members who don't want to be contacted and don't want the church to know where they are. Some family member has probably given the information to the church and it wasn't well received by the family member. We honestly don't even know if some family members have requested name removal. There has been talk of it by some, but I think it's better not to stir the pot and make things worse. There are other situations over the years where I've known the locations of church members, but if the individual didn't authorize me to give it to the church, I haven't done so. I don't want to make matters worse.
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