Members who request no contact

[jstout1]

We have a few members who have requested no further contact with the church. What I am looking for are the "best practices" for people in leadership positions.
In several cases the members are hostile to visitors from the church, and we would like to prevent well-meaning but unwelcome contact.

There is a setting in the members profiles that allows them to be viewed by leadership only. Is it possible and appropriate for a leader to adjust this property for members that have requested no contact?

I don't want to force people into removing their records, or specify who to not visit when we do ward-wide visits, letters, or other broadcast efforts. It seems like the privacy setting should allow us to know about but not bother people until they are ready to reach out to us.

Thoughts? I haven't found anything in the handbooks about this topic yet.

[Mikerowaved]

There's been quite a bit of discussion in the forum regarding how to handle such cases. Here are a few of the topics:

This weekend's tip: No "DNC" on membership records
Eliminating no contact letter
How to keep track of "do not contact" members?
Do Not Contact on Membership Records
Do Not Contact List/Visibility

If you still have questions, please feel free to post them below.

[BrianEdwards]

All I would add to the excellent links, is my thought that this is definitely a tender subject for many, with equally valid points for not having a "DNC List", or for having such a list.

As this is His Church, the Lord asks us to care for His members. Ideally leaders would know enough about each member to understand what type of contact, if any, was best. But given the directives, I'm left with seeking the Spirit to guide my efforts for each individual. While lists, notes, annotations, spreadsheets and the like are helpful, in the end only the Spirit can direct us truly in the Lord's way.

[Scotty6969]

Do not contact me!!! Please remove me from all listings you have. Remove me.

[russellhltn]

Do not contact me!!! Please remove me from all listings you have. Remove me.

No one here has the power to do that. You'll have to speak with your local ward.

Note that "do not contact" is not a formal policy of the church. There is no such list although some units try to implement something like that.

As far as I'm aware, you have two choices: Either you remain a member and can expect to be contacted from time to time, or you can have your name removed from the membership of the church. However, that cancels all ordinances and blessings. This is a formal process but not hard. The request needs to be in writing and signed. Details are in the General Handbook 32.14.9

Regardless of your decision, you need to make contact with your local bishop.