What do you wish someone had told you when you were new?

[mcallaghan]

Hi there! I'm a new stake clerk in a brand new stake. Most of our ward clerks have been in their callings much longer than I have, but we also have some new ones. I'm trying to pull together a list of things that that they should be aware of, especially things that might not be in the handbook. Hence the subject: What are some things you wish someone had told you when you were new? Thanks!

[jdlessley]

There are resources available online that can get new clerks going, as well as answer veteran clerk questions. The Tech Wiki has articles that address the technology used in the Church. There are getting started help articles available for clerks when signed into the Church website and by clicking My Home and then the My Calling tile. Then, as questions arise, the Help Center has articles on just about anything clerk related. By using the Resources menu and clicking the All Resources button the Help Center articles can be perused by scrolling or going directly to a specific topic by entering key word(s) in the Filter Search Results text box. Another search method is to log onto Leader and Clerk Resources (LCR) and click the Help Center link in the Help menu. From there a clerk can scroll to the articles listed there for their calling or use the Search textbox to enter key words.

As I have talked to new clerks locally about finding information most were surprised there was a Tech Forum where they could go to find discussions on topics relevant to them and the Tech Wiki for tech information. If they are not directed to those resources by local leaders, or are not already aware of those resources, they have to stumble across them since there are no links to them - or at least none that I can find. There was years ago when there was a tech website. But when that was discontinued so was the visibility and easy directed access.

[russellhltn]

A couple of other important resources. The General Handbook which is the high-level book of instructions.

There's also Clerk Support which in some cases will direct you to the Wiki.

[stevenhaddox]

Thanks for starting this thread. I've been involved with Church technology in some form or another for years (I once had the opportunity to help update the Rails app that ran the DC Temple's informational website for the Christmas lights a decade or so ago). I've recently been called to be the Assistant Ward Clerk for Finance and I have no doubt that the advice offered here will be invaluable.

One thing I've already noticed is that the instructions on the tech Wiki are very oriented towards Windows systems, but we were just issued a Chromebook with our newly created ward. There's a bit of guidance on initial setup for a Chromebook, but anything outside of that seems to be very Windows OS oriented (understandably). I'm hoping I can make edits / suggested changes to the pages I come across on the wiki as I discover these gaps to ensure we account for both OSes in our guides.