Double entries in directory

For at least the last couple of weeks, the directory on LDS.org has shown double entries for certain ward leadership positions. In some cases, it merely repeats the same entry (e.g., there are two identical entries for Ward Secretary, each showing the correct person). In others, there is one right entry and one wrong entry (e.g., the old EQ president and the new EQ president, one listed after another). It is not every position, but it is true for multiple positions. These double entries do not appear in MLS. Here are my questions:

1. Is this a known problem or at least being reported elsewhere?

2. Is this something that can be corrected as a ward clerk or as an lds.org user?

3. How do I fix it?

Thanks!

See Correcting duplicate or missing callings.

RussellHltn wrote:See Correcting duplicate or missing callings.

Thank you for the link. The page you directed me to said:

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1. From MLS request a Unit data refresh (File > Request Unit Refresh Data...); this will include a callings refresh request.
   • Do a Send/Receive to submit the request for a refresh
2. After waiting for CDOL to process the request (usually within 15 minutes), do another Send/Receive to get the refresh.
   • This will remove all of your callings and replace them with the data from CDOL.
3. Clean up any duplicates and incorrect callings.
   • MLS will allow you to see duplicates even in the leadership section.
4. Do a Send/Receive to submit the corrected information to CDOL.

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I got as far as step 2 thus far.

As it turns out, it does not show me the same duplicates that I am seeing on the lds.org directory. Instead, it just erased random entries in MLS. It removed the Bishop. It removed the EQ presidency. Several others. As far as I can tell, it only removed leadership callings, but they don't even correspond to the errors I was seeing on lds.org.

No changes on lds.org yet.

Is my best bet still to re-enter these and then hit send/receive? Please advise.

You need to look at the CDOL. The directory gets its information from the CDOL. MLS syncs with CDOL.

I wouldn't add the missing callings back in just yet. Let's see if we can get the things missing in CDOL entered in MLS and synced.

RussellHltn wrote:You need to look at the CDOL. The directory gets its information from the CDOL. MLS syncs with CDOL.

I wouldn't add the missing callings back in just yet. Let's see if we can get the things missing in CDOL entered in MLS and synced.

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Am I understanding you correctly: we need to make changes in CDOL to correct the first problem we are having on the directory and the subsequent problem with the positions being erased on MLS?

I was not familiar with CDOL before you just referenced it. I am a Ward Asst. Clerk over Membership. Prompted by your post, I found this site: http://tech.lds.org/wiki/Church_Directo ... nd_Leaders. Following its direction, I tried to log in to CDOL. I don't have access. I called the Ward Clerk. He doesn't have access either. We may need help from Stake Leadership to make this happen, it seems. Is that typical?

After reading further, it sounds like at best I would only have view/search permissions even if I had access. Apparently, I don't even have that at this point.

So, I guess I'm still not understanding your suggestion above. You said:

RussellHltn wrote:You need to look at the CDOL. The directory gets its information from the CDOL. MLS syncs with CDOL.

I wouldn't add the missing callings back in just yet. Let's see if we can get the things missing in CDOL entered in MLS and synced.

If I can't make corrections in CDOL and you wouldn't add the missing callings back into MLS, where should I be trying to fix this, please?

jeffbradford wrote:I tried to Sign in to CDOL. I don't have access. I called the Ward Clerk. He doesn't have access either. We may need help from Stake Leadership to make this happen, it seems. Is that typical?

Not really. That would be a sign that you don't have the correct standard callings. Your calling is entered in your ward's MLS. You would need the calling "Ward Assistant Clerk--Membership". If you have any calling other than that, you probably have a custom calling, which will not give you access to clerk and leader-related Church websites.

UPDATE: Ignore the rest of this post; it is incorrect (as a later post will clarify).
The Ward Clerk calling is what is called a Tier 1 calling, and the stake has to enter it in stake MLS. Does your ward clerk have special access to sites, such as administrator for the Calendar on LDS.org? The fact that he can't access CDOL seems to indicate that he hasn't been given the correct standard calling by the stake.

aebrown wrote:The Ward Clerk calling is what is called a Tier 1 calling, and the stake has to enter it in stake MLS.

Are you sure about that? I thought that Bishop was the only Tier 1 calling at the ward level (the wiki supports that too). Assuming the wiki is correct, they should make sure the Ward Clerk is entered as a standard calling in the ward MLS. In fact, if the ward clerk doesn't have access it may be worth removing his existing calling and adding him back (and make sure that it uses the correct standard calling) to ensure that it gets sent back up to CDOL.

aebrown wrote:Not really. That would be a sign that you don't have the correct standard callings. Your calling is entered in your ward's MLS. You would need the calling "Ward Assistant Clerk--Membership". If you have any calling other than that, you probably have a custom calling, which will not give you access to clerk and leader-related Church websites.

The Ward Clerk calling is what is called a Tier 1 calling, and the stake has to enter it in stake MLS. Does your ward clerk have special access to sites, such as administrator for the Calendar on LDS.org? The fact that he can't access CDOL seems to indicate that he hasn't been given the correct standard calling by the stake.

Thank you for your help. You were correct about my custom calling prohibiting my access. I now have access.

As suspected, however, I now have view/search permissions, but I cannot edit CDOL entries. The duplicates that I see on the lds.org directory are also in CDOl, as RussellHtn suggested. They do not, however, reflect the most recent error in MLS. There, the data request deleted entire positions from the organization list, including the Bishop, the EQ presidency, the HP group leader, etc. I am still unclear as to how to remedy these two concerns. Please advise.

I am not sure about my Ward Clerk's permissions. I will check with him and the stake clerk.

aebrown wrote:The Ward Clerk calling is what is called a Tier 1 calling, and the stake has to enter it in stake MLS.

I believe this is incorrect. See the wiki article on Callings: http://tech.lds.org/wiki/Callings#Tier_ ... _positions

When I was called as a ward clerk, the outgoing clerk created an MLS user account for me, and the first thing I did was record my own calling as ward clerk. No stake intervention required.

eblood66 wrote:Are you sure about that? I thought that Bishop was the only Tier 1 calling at the ward level (the wiki supports that too). Assuming the wiki is correct, they should make sure the Ward Clerk is entered as a standard calling in the ward MLS. In fact, if the ward clerk doesn't have access it may be worth removing his existing calling and adding him back (and make sure that it uses the correct standard calling) to ensure that it gets sent back up to CDOL.

Thanks, eblood66. I tried doing that just now to see if it helps with his situation.

Can a Tier 1 calling edit CDOL entries. Will that help me?

jeffbradford wrote:As suspected, however, I now have view/search permissions, but I cannot edit CDOL entries.

No one at the ward or stake level has direct edit access in CDOL. Currently the only way we have to edit CDOL is through MLS. But to remove entries in CDOL they have to first show up in MLS. There is another thread about someone who had problems getting callings from CDOL to MLS. The developers were looking into it but I don't remember what the resolution was (or if there has been a resolution yet). But if a unit refresh doesn't download everything in CDOL then you may be having the same problem.

eblood66 wrote:No one at the ward or stake level has direct edit access in CDOL. Currently the only way we have to edit CDOL is through MLS. But to remove entries in CDOL they have to first show up in MLS. There is another thread about someone who had problems getting callings from CDOL to MLS. The developers were looking into it but I don't remember what the resolution was (or if there has been a resolution yet). But if a unit refresh doesn't download everything in CDOL then you may be having the same problem.

Sounds like. the lds.org directory is currently syncing with CDOL (as it should), but CDOL is not syncing with MLS. I emailed oiservices@ldschurch.org, based on the recommendation in the CDOL user manual. Any other suggestions?

eblood66 wrote:Are you sure about that? I thought that Bishop was the only Tier 1 calling at the ward level (the wiki supports that too). Assuming the wiki is correct, they should make sure the Ward Clerk is entered as a standard calling in the ward MLS. In fact, if the ward clerk doesn't have access it may be worth removing his existing calling and adding him back (and make sure that it uses the correct standard calling) to ensure that it gets sent back up to CDOL.

Sorry about the confusion. I confused the stake clerk (which is indeed a Tier 1 calling) with the ward clerk without checking it out first. I've edited my post so others won't be confused.

And you're certainly right that the Ward Clerk needs to be entered in ward MLS with the standard calling of Ward Clerk.

jeffbradford wrote:Sounds like. the lds.org directory is currently syncing with CDOL (as it should), but CDOL is not syncing with MLS. I emailed oiservices@ldschurch.org, based on the recommendation in the CDOL user manual. Any other suggestions?

Here's the thread for the other unit with a similar problem: https://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.p ... LS-LDS.org

It looks like that problem has not been resolved yet. But you may want to PM JonesRK (he's the CDOL developer) and see if there has been any further progress.

jeffbradford wrote:If I can't make corrections in CDOL and you wouldn't add the missing callings back into MLS, where should I be trying to fix this, please?

Let's wait a bit for our friendly neighborhood CDOL developer to speak up. There is indeed a problem with stake-level callings syncing. But I'd go ahead and try to fix some of the lessor callings by entering them in MLS and doing a send/receive.

While you can't edit things directly in CDOL, the CDOL is your "gold standard" for what is right (according to CHQ) and what isn't.

Well, it looks like the new recommendation is not to do the Correcting duplicate or missing callings procedure until MLS is updated to 3.5. See this post.