The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Nothing official. The question in the quarterly report is about as close as it gets. Lines 14, 15, 16, 17 are about how many attended their meetings at least once during the last month in the quarter. By that metric, active membership would exceed average sacrament meeting attendance by some (small,...

I agree-- the notes in the handbook are not very explicit that the YM presidency (advisers) and assistant advisers are adults. It can be inferred, though, as their roles are to help the youth (presidencies and quorum members) learn and fulfill their duties. Here are some references to support that p...

For YM, Chapter 8 repeatedly refers to the adults as "advisers" and the youth as "quorum leaders". In our ward, the objective is to have the youth make the decisions, lead the implementation, and own their own program. The adults then only serve the role of mentor or coach, and h...

For our ward, I have found the most productive sources to be a combination of: *Google *WhitePages.com *Facebook *Local Property records online (public) Between the four of those, you uncover some significant clues about where people have gone. Sifting through current and out-dated information is so...

There was an official notice sent out on June 21, 2013 to Bishops and Clerks about members whose address is unknown (accessible at the Official Communications Library). Here's a snippet: Beginning with the third quarter of 2013, up to 20 membership records previously moved from your unit into the ad...

Indeed. I guess my point is that the paper rolls shouldn't be assumed obsolete. They are just as useful as primary or secondary tools for checking math.

Our ward still has and uses an adding machine. Yes, it's unfamiliar in our modern age, but it is very transparent what is being added and totaled. In Excel, the inputs to the cells doesn't show along with the outputs to the cells. Not that it is likely, but Excel could help someone hide some voodoo ...

Bishops have the responsibility of discretion when it comes to the use of fast offering funds. It's tough to just give a sweeping statement on what should and should not be approved, when the Handbook 1 section 5.2 details are not very specific. There are a few good nuggets, like "The bishop provide...

A personal choice, guided by local tradition. I once heard someone say that they have a white button up shirt that they only wear in the temple. Therefore they distinguish between "street clothes" and "temple clothes." I, for one, don't consider my white shirt as everyday wardrobe, so I don't adhere...

Great point. With an editable format, the ward clerk could include entries for the temple phone number, the cannery, the stake center, family history library, etc all on the same page. Even still, making corrections for non-member spouses (or separations that haven't been supressed) should be motiva...