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Ward clerk
A ward clerk is called to lighten the administrative burden of the bishop in order to free him up to perform tasks only he can perform. The Church produced training session The Role of the Ward Clerk provides an overview of the duties and responsibilities of the ward clerk.
General responsibilities
The ward clerk has three general responsibilities: record keeper, administrator, and trainer.
Record keeper
As the ward record keeper, the ward clerk is responsible for creating and maintaining ward records including:
| Record Type | Responsible to | Assisted by |
|---|---|---|
| Membership records | Maintain accurate and up-to-date records on each member of the ward. Also maintain the ward directory | Membership clerk |
| Financial records | Maintain accurate financial records of all donations and expenses. | Financial clerk |
| Statistical records | Keep accurate statistical records and compile the Quarterly Report. | Statistical clerk |
| Historical records or annual history | Compile the annual ward history and submit it to the stake. | Historical clerk |
| Minutes of meetings | Keep minutes of ward leadership and other meetings as the bishop requests. |
While these duties may be delegated to assistant clerks, the responsibility remains with the ward clerk to ensure they are complete and accurate.
Administrator
As a ward administrator, the ward clerk should provide the following support to ward leaders:
- Provide reports directly to the bishop such as these derived from statistical records
- Analyze trends, strengths and weaknesses
- Supervise the work of assistant clerks and quorum and auxiliary secretaries
Trainer
As the ward record keeping expert, the ward clerk is responsible for ensuring that all members in record keeping callings such as following receive the proper training. He should respond to their record-keeping questions and requests for help.
- Bishopric
- Assistant clerks
- Quorum secretaries
- Auxiliary secretaries
- Class secretaries
The ward clerk should make sure that assistant ward clerks and secretaries understand:
- Their record-keeping responsibilities.
- How to use the Church record-keeping software (MLS).
- The value and importance of their work.
- The confidentiality of records.
Getting help
If the ward clerk has questions about MLS that are not answered in the wiki or other MLS instructions, he may contact the stake clerk or the stake technology specialist. He may also post questions on the LDSTech Forum.
The ward clerk may also send questions about MLS using the MLS messaging system. MLS support will respond to these messages within two working days.