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Add Bishop Councilor in Student Ward that is a Elder
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:09 am
by ebastow
How do you add a Ward member to serve in the Bishopric in a Student Ward were he isn't ordained a High Priest?
Once we have added the position (like 1st Councilor) then try to add the member, it defaults to Office "High Priest", if we select "All" or "Elder" the only name that appears is the Bishop....
Re: Add Bishop Councilor in Student Ward that is a Elder
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:58 am
by russellhltn
In cases like this, the first step I like to do is consult the Handbook to make sure what's being requested is proper. I do remember in special cases that a councilor doesn't have to be a High Priest. But for some reason, I'm not finding the section that covers the requirements.
Given what you are describing, you might verify that there are membership records in the ward who show Elder as the priesthood. I say that only in case you have a new ward.
Re: Add Bishop Councilor in Student Ward that is a Elder
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 11:21 am
by ebastow
We are a BYU Idaho Stake and in our Wards the Bishopric Councilors don't have to be made High Priests (similar to the guidelines for Young Single Adult Wards in the Handbooks.)
Re: Add Bishop Councilor in Student Ward that is a Elder
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 1:05 pm
by russellhltn
Handbook 1:9.1.6 says that councilors of YSA wards in YSA stakes can be Elders, but I see no such exemption for married student wards.
We need to show this is permitted by the Handbook before this can be considered a MLS bug. I can't tell you the numbers of times someone has come here about a MLS bug only to find what they wanted to do wasn't allowed.
Re: Add Bishop Councilor in Student Ward that is a Elder
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 1:26 pm
by ebastow
There are 4 Married Student Stakes here at BYU Idaho and 8 to 10 Wards in each Stake. All of the Wards use a Bishop from support Stakes (that is a High Priest and then ordained as a Bishop) and then all of the councilors come from married students - none of them are made High Priest - per Church HQ... I think this may just be a computer that needs a refresh from SLC to fix the error, since we have 7 other Wards that are making the entries as I outlined... (I serve as the Stake Clerk)
Re: Add Bishop Councilor in Student Ward that is a Elder
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 5:07 pm
by russellhltn
The creation of a married student stake is governed by Handbook 1
9.1.8. By in large, it refers to the creation of normal wards. The only exception I can find for councilors is for YSA wards in YSA stakes.
On the other hand, there's Handbook 2:
7.1.1 "Brethren are ordained high priests when they are called to a stake presidency, high council, or bishopric or when otherwise determined by the stake president."
If you want to pursue this, I suggest you call Local Unit Support. The forums are a good place to check, but not the most reliable when it comes to having changes made in software. But be forewarned: no change will be made if it's not found to be in compliance with
current policy - regardless of any historical practice. It's possible the people you talked with had a different interpretation of things then the ones doing to the software.
Re: Add Bishop Councilor in Student Ward that is a Elder
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:03 am
by scgallafent
This is an issue that is fixed in MLS 3.7.0. For now, call Local Unit Support.
Re: Add Bishop Councilor in Student Ward that is a Elder
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 2:35 pm
by ebastow
Here is what Local Unit Support had us do to work around this:
In the Bishopric Organization:
- Add them to the bishopric as a custom calling with the same calling name (so like Bishopric First Councilor, and Bishopric Second Councilor.)
-Then go to Organizations, Reports/Tools, and then pick Customs Positions Review. Click to review the custom callings and then click to match to the closest standard calling (so you would pick the Bishopric First Councilor, and Bishopric Second Councilor) and it will move the person to be in the standard calling as a councilor.
This worked.