Birthday Calendar

Can I somehow transfer the information in MLS regarding a member's birthday to create a "Birthday Calendar" on our ward website?

You should not release that personal information on the ward website.

grovsand wrote:Can I somehow transfer the information in MLS regarding a member's birthday to create a "Birthday Calendar" on our ward website?

In the U.S. the only information about members that can be released to the membership of a ward are the member's name, address and telephone number. Any further information publicly displayed (display on a limited access ward website is considered public) must have the individual member's approval. For minors that approval must be given by the parents/guardians. Members who put their e-mail address on the ward directory and have the "Show in ward directory" option checked have given that approval for their e-mail address.

Birthdays or birth dates are privacy information and must have individual member approval to be displayed publicly. Once you have that approval you can export the information from MLS using a custom report. Just remember to exclude information from members who have not given their approval.

The guidance in Handbook 2, 21.1.15 & 21.1.31, apply. Further guidance is found in Handbook 1 for confidential information.

Please help me:

Point specifically to where it says you cannot have a birthday calendar. There are at least 4 songs in the Primary Song book that I can think of for birthdays. If you cannot announce that "Suzie Smith is having a birthday this Tuesday, let's sing to her from the songbook," then why are the songs there? Most weeks, one of the primary children bring a paper with their name and birth date on it where I sing to them and give them a treat. Are we violating some privacy policy by not having their parents sign a release to sing to them or receive a treat from the bishop on their birthday?

For years, the young women have had on their calendar that sticks to the fridge, all the girls birth dates on it along with the monthly activities. Our monthly ward newsletter lists who is having a birthday that month. The Relief Society acknowledges birthdays that are coming up that week.

Ages are never listed as I agree, they are private. But the actual day?

If this is the policy, we have been violating it since, well forever. And I don't think my ward is the only ward that does this. Where is the actual guideline for use of birth date? If I can put them in the ward newsletter or in the weekly bulletin, why can't I have them on a birthday calendar?

grovsand wrote:Can I somehow transfer the information in MLS regarding a member's birthday to create a "Birthday Calendar" on our ward website?

It's not clear where you want to create this "Birthday Calendar". If your intent is to create an actual calendar on your ward's LDS.org Calendar, you may want to consider the request from the Calendar developers that we not do this. See this post. But if it's in a Newsletter item or some other format, that particular restriction would not apply.

jdlessley wrote:In the U.S. the only information about members that can be released to the membership of a ward are the member's name, address and telephone number. Any further information publicly displayed (display on a limited access ward website is considered public) must have the individual member's approval.

That's a very narrow reading of Section 21.1.15. It appears you are assuming that because only those particular pieces of information are specifically mentioned in that section, that it is impermissible to include any other information (even though such a restriction is neither mentioned nor hinted at). If your narrow reading were accurate, it would also be true that no information about callings could be posted without that specific approval.

Although I certainly agree that we need to be careful with private data, and I would note that privacy laws and policies may vary in different countries, I would not agree with this narrow interpretation as a blanket policy. I would say that the local bishop and stake president can make a decision regarding publishing of birthdays (not birthdates, of course), as long as they respect the request of any particular member to be excluded from that list.

This is a very interesting thread - thank you. I have an additional problem. Can I put in a request to fix the Birthday List under Leader Resources? Technically, the way it works is "valid", but in my mind it isn't logical: It shows the age of the person on the birthday list as-of-today, not the age that they will-be on that birthday.
Example:
John Doe, birthday is April 1st. He'll be turning 12, a very important birthday. But on the report, it will show age 11. After April 1st, it will show 12. Is this something that we can fix?

bcpalmer60 wrote: Technically, the way it works is "valid..." Is this something that we can fix?

I think that we probably need to stay with "valid" to avoid confusion. After all, we are the age we are "as-of-today," until after our birthday. Use MLS "custom reports" to generate the reports you need of people approaching those important birthdays.

kisaac wrote:I think that we probably need to stay with "valid" to avoid confusion. After all, we are the age we are "as-of-today," until after our birthday. Use MLS "custom reports" to generate the reports you need of people approaching those important birthdays.

Or the Action and Interview List

kisaac wrote:I think that we probably need to stay with "valid" to avoid confusion. After all, we are the age we are "as-of-today," until after our birthday. Use MLS "custom reports" to generate the reports you need of people approaching those important birthdays.

I think that if you polled 100 average members of the Church, 95 would find the way it works today confusing: one would expect a birthday list to show how old a person will be on their birthday. If the Action and Interview list is preferred, then I would suggest removing the ages from the report altogether, so as to avoid the assumption that it works the same way as that report.

Another simple solution is to add a note to the header or footer that says "Ages are as of March 15th, 2012" (date the report was generated). More work for the programmers? Sure. But we're talking user requirements here...

bcpalmer60 wrote:I think that if you polled 100 average members of the Church, 95 would find the way it works today confusing:

I'm in the other 5%! (always the "odd man out," so I'm used to it....)

I used custom reports to make many "projected" lists that the action and interview lists don't highlight. Projected Cub scouts, projected scouts, advance notice of Ordination to Priesthood (for priesthood preview and for PEC, because action and interview only shows PAST DUE events for priesthood advancement,) Achievement days, etc.

Action and Interview lists, detailed for each organization, would be very helpful for an MLS enhancement

bcpalmer60 wrote:I think that if you polled 100 average members of the Church, 95 would find the way it works today confusing:

I don't entirely disagree with your point, but this change would break some of my custom lists. For example, I provide a list of Cub Scouts to the leader including the ones who will be entering Cub Scouts this year. Their birthday is listed so if your recommended change were implemented, it would be difficult for the leader to tell which boys were currently in and which were coming in.

I'm just saying that there are sometimes unintended consequences for a specific change and fixing it for one group of people may break it for others. Prehaps that is one of the reasons that modifications to MLS appear to be very slow - CHQ has to consider the worldwide and cultural effects as well.