Although someone can interpret the policy however they want, the Church provides policy manuals and statements with the intent that they will be followed and not ignored or rationalized away. The Church Handbook of Instructions makes it very clear that only the bishop and those authorized to handle contributions should have access to confidential tithing information (see p. 156). So it seems pretty clear to me that granting broad MLS administrative access (which includes access to all financial records) to those who do not have a need to know financial information is contrary to policy.RussellHltn wrote:But I stand by what I've stated - I don't know of anything in the policy manual that would prevent someone from interpreting it the way they want.
However, I certainly agree that the policy statements should be used as opportunities for the appropriate leaders to teach those for whom they have stewardship. So in the case at hand, the stake president should meet with the ward leaders and help them understand Church policy and how he wants such issues handled in his stake.