Relief Society callings

I need help. Basically we have a new RS president and she is adamant that we use the current RS callings that are in the handbook. For example MLS has Relief Society Home, Family, Personal Enrichment Specialist which was renamed. Also MLS has Relief Society Visiting Teaching District Supervisor, she says that they no longer use District. I looked at the wiki and the stand MLS callings listed there are what I have. I called CHQ and they said they know and have not made the updates.
So either I make all the changes custom thus the headaches there, or give a better reason why we still use the outdated calling names that are in MLS.
She indicated that when sister's use their smart phones to look up a calling that it should be the current correct version, I found that custom callings are not in the smart phone listings, so they will find no one.
I looked at the other wards in my stake and they all use the callings as they are in MLS.

Any help? What can I give to the bishop to aid in this? Since she has elevated this up to him.

Thank you

ecotim wrote:She indicated that when sister's use their smart phones to look up a calling that it should be the current correct version, I found that custom callings are not in the smart phone listings, so they will find no one.

Seems like that's your strongest argument. Either you use the "wrong" standardized callings, or they're not listed in LDS Tools. Her choice. It's not within your power to do it her way. Nor is it in the Bishop's power. Give her the phone number for CHQ and tell her to take it up with them. They're the only ones that can fix it. If she continues to want to talk to you about it, repeat: It's not within your power, make a choice, call CHQ.

If you do go with the standardized names, it will change automatically when CHQ gets around to catching up.

RussellHltn is correct. Further, with LDS.org's continued use of standard callings to grant permissions to tools, making custom callings makes far more work for a clerk, and adds more potential for error. Calendar editors, for example, can be granted rights based on standard calling, or name. Standard Calling is far simpler, because as one is released and a new person called, the rights now are granted to the new person in the calling transparently. Otherwise, an admin must remove the released people by name, and re-add new people, by name. We had this happen to a new presidency, and the calendar was down for a month during the transition, until all the people involved, the new presidency, the old presidency, and the ward clerks and calendar admins figured out what happened, and how to fix it.

Additionally, the terminology will change again, when a future "general RS presidency" makes a new decision. We had the same issue with primary, when I was the ward clerk. The standard calling listed those instructing as "workers," and the president at the time (my wife) said that they were all to be called "teachers," and pointed to the book "Teaching, no greater call." Of course, the standard calling now is teacher.

For your information the positions for Relief Society and all the other standard positions in local units were just reviewed and updated to match Church policy and standards. The changes will be sent to MLS within the next week or two and will automatically be updated.

kisaac wrote:Further, with LDS.org's continued use of standard callings to grant permissions to tools, making custom callings makes far more work for a clerk, and adds more potential for error.

True, but I couldn't think of any other tools of interest to the RS Councilors, etc. Somehow I get the feeling that RS president isn't interested in the workload of the clerks.

kisaac wrote:Calendar editors, for example, can be granted rights based on standard calling, or name. Standard Calling is far simpler, because as one is released and a new person called, the rights now are granted to the new person in the calling transparently. Otherwise, an admin must remove the released people by name, and re-add new people, by name.

Yes, but as you point out, there is a work around. That's why I stuck with the "best argument".

PartridgeRM wrote:For your information the positions for Relief Society and all the other standard positions in local units were just reviewed and updated to match Church policy and standards. The changes will be sent to MLS within the next week or two and will automatically be updated.

That's good news! - I think. Given how quickly this change happened, I don't want to be in ecotim's shoes the next time his RS President starts pushing for something that can't be done.