Creating Limited Use Recommends Online

I saw in an article today on the Deseret News website today that they announced at the RootsTech 2016 conference this past weekend that Bishops can now create limited use recommends online and print them from any printer. Does anyone know where I can find this in Leader and Clerk Resources? And do both the bishop and his counselors have access to this?

bballrob wrote:I saw in an article today on the Deseret News website today that they announced at the RootsTech 2016 conference this past weekend that Bishops can now create limited use recommends online and print them from any printer.

The article is New tools to facilitate work of salvation introduced to priesthood leaders at RootsTech, and the relevant excerpt is this:

A new limited-use recommend can be created online by priesthood leaders and printed from any computer and printer. It is activated when it is printed, and the bishop simply needs to sign it, along with the candidate, Elder Richards said.

I don't know anything beyond what it says, but it does say that it can be created by "priesthood leaders," which seems broader than just bishops, but it mentions only the bishop as an authorized signer.

Since I'm not seeing anything in the LCR (or MLS) Release Notes, I think this is a "coming attraction".

bballrob wrote:I saw in an article today on the Deseret News website today that they announced at the RootsTech 2016 conference this past weekend that Bishops can now create limited use recommends online and print them from any printer. Does anyone know where I can find this in Leader and Clerk Resources? And do both the bishop and his counselors have access to this?

It's in limited beta right now. The bishop, counselors, clerks, and executive secretary have access. Recommends must be signed by a bishop or counselor.

scgallafent wrote:

bballrob wrote:I saw in an article today on the Deseret News website today that they announced at the RootsTech 2016 conference this past weekend that Bishops can now create limited use recommends online and print them from any printer. Does anyone know where I can find this in Leader and Clerk Resources? And do both the bishop and his counselors have access to this?

It's in limited beta right now. The bishop, counselors, clerks, and executive secretary have access. Recommends must be signed by a bishop or counselor.

Any idea when the rollout for all will be since they have now announced it openly?

bballrob wrote:Any idea when the rollout for all will be since they have now announced it openly?

No.

scgallafent wrote:

bballrob wrote:I saw in an article today on the Deseret News website today that they announced at the RootsTech 2016 conference this past weekend that Bishops can now create limited use recommends online and print them from any printer. Does anyone know where I can find this in Leader and Clerk Resources? And do both the bishop and his counselors have access to this?

It's in limited beta right now. The bishop, counselors, clerks, and executive secretary have access. Recommends must be signed by a bishop or counselor.

We are using the beta version of LCR in my Ward so I'm assuming it is a very limited beta, as I don't see the option here in the UK.

There seem to be multiple betas running at the same time. For example, the Finance menu appears for some stakes on the beta but not for others.

Thinking through the process, it might be handy (though not always feasible) to have a printer in the bishop's office. Otherwise the bishop has to run over to the clerk's office in the middle of the interview to print.

sbradshaw wrote:There seem to be multiple betas running at the same time. For example, the Finance menu appears for some stakes on the beta but not for others.

Thinking through the process, it might be handy (though not always feasible) to have a printer in the bishop's office. Otherwise the bishop has to run over to the clerk's office in the middle of the interview to print.

I thought the Finance was past beta and was in full distribution at this point. I received a message on our computer in the clerks office notifying us that it was available. I don't believe it said anything about that being in Beta. And I should add, I love being able to access this information from home now.

As far as a printer in the bishop's office, I don't see a point in that unless you're putting a computer in there too. I see this being able to print a limited use recommend more as a convenience for if I Interview someone someplace besides the church where I don't have access to the recommend books. I can't help but wonder if the ability to print full use recommends isn't far behind, although the fact that they require additional signature and entry into the computer by the stake presidency may be a hurdle that has to be overcome. But who knows.

bballrob wrote:As far as a printer in the bishop's office, I don't see a point in that unless you're putting a computer in there too.

Define "computer". It could be a BYODevice, such as the Bishop's tablet.

bballrob wrote:I thought the Finance was past beta and was in full distribution at this point. I received a message on our computer in the clerks office notifying us that it was available. I don't believe it said anything about that being in Beta. And I should add, I love being able to access this information from home now.

We don't have access to finance online in our Stake in Oklahoma. I am the Assistant Clerk-Finance so I should be able to see it if we have access at this point.

bballrob wrote:

sbradshaw wrote:Thinking through the process, it might be handy (though not always feasible) to have a printer in the bishop's office. Otherwise the bishop has to run over to the clerk's office in the middle of the interview to print.

As far as a printer in the bishop's office, I don't see a point in that unless you're putting a computer in there too. I see this being able to print a limited use recommend more as a convenience for if I Interview someone someplace besides the church where I don't have access to the recommend books. I can't help but wonder if the ability to print full use recommends isn't far behind, although the fact that they require additional signature and entry into the computer by the stake presidency may be a hurdle that has to be overcome. But who knows.

The great thing about these recommends is that they are automatically activated when they're printed. So the bishop may be able to "sign" it digitally in the system, and pass it on to the stake president – like the missionary system – and the stake president could print and sign it.

sbradshaw wrote:The great thing about these recommends is that they are automatically activated when they're printed. So the bishop may be able to "sign" it digitally in the system, and pass it on to the stake president – like the missionary system – and the stake president could print and sign it.

In most cases, the bishop is the only one who signs a limited use recommend. The stake president is not involved if the recommend is for baptisms and confirmations for the dead.

That the recommend will be "automatically activated" is interesting to me. Until now, limited use recommends were not serial numbered or activated at all. Perhaps with the new computer technology, the bishop will be able now to automatically track limited use recommend expiration dates as has been suggested.

I just received a new book today of limited use recommends. They have serial numbers on them, but no bar codes.

sbradshaw wrote:Thinking through the process, it might be handy (though not always feasible) to have a printer in the bishop's office. Otherwise the bishop has to run over to the clerk's office in the middle of the interview to print.

The printer in our Clerks office is connected to the Church network and is AirPrint compatible so our Bishop is able to print from his Windows laptop as well as from his iPhone. Seems like this would be better in most circumstances.

bballrob wrote:I just received a new book today of limited use recommends. They have serial numbers on them, but no bar codes.

Limited use recommends (the current version that you order) do not have bar codes. They are viewed by the person at the recommend desk to check for dates and signatures but are not scanned as are regular use recommends.

There's a March 29th letter from the First Presidency that talks about the limited-use recommends. One thing mentioned in the letter that I think will make the process easier is this paragraph:

"Bishoprics, branch presidents, clerks, and executive secretaries will be able to print the recommends from any computer with Internet access. The new recommends will be activated when they are printed, but they will not be valid until they are properly signed. The temple recommend interview may happen before or after the recommend is printed."

So, an executive can print all of the recommends needed based on the bishop's interview schedule for the evening, and then pass the printed, unsigned recommends to the bishop to have with him in the office as he does the interviews.

sbradshaw wrote:"Bishoprics, branch presidents, clerks, and executive secretaries will be able to print the recommends from any computer with Internet access."

Any computer? Even a laptop that has no printer?
<Snort>
I am just imagining a gathering at the temple, where someone has brought a laptop, but has no printer.

We have really liked the ability to print limited use recommends and record who has one. VERY HANDY. However, kids being kids, and learning to take care of their recommends, it isn't completely uncommon for them to lose their recommend. The bishopric likes the ability to reprint the recommends, but in order to do so, you have to select "cancel" or "lost/stolen", then re-issue the recommend. When using "lost/stolen" as the reason for re-issuing, the re-issue is now updated for a full year. If a youth had their recommend for 6 months and then loses it, the reissued recommend is now good for another full year rather than only for the remaining 6 months. Was it done this way on purpose? Is it expected they should have another interview to get their recommend reissued? It makes sense to re-interview for a canceled recommend, but not necessarily for a lost/stolen recommend.

Handbook 1, 3.3.6, talks about canceling lost recommends, but it doesn't say anything about the process of issuing a new one. I don't know what the policy is, but my inclination would be to go through the interview process again and issue a new recommend. My view is that anyone benefits from meeting with their leaders more frequently. Temple recommend interviews are short. And, it helps teach the importance of keeping track of your temple recommend.

Limited use recommend will not print from my iPhone. I can see the recommend, but can't print. It says "Open In". What ever app is selected, It says that it can't print.

WCB82442 wrote:Limited use recommend will not print from my iPhone. I can see the recommend, but can't print.

Is your iPhone connected to a printer?

I haven't found a way to print them in color, is this an option?

No, the recommends are black and white.

I'm the Executive Secretary at my Ward and I used to be able to print Lmiited-Use recommends for the Bishop. Now when I select a name the option to issue is greyed out and I get a notification that I'm not authorized. Looking on the access matrix it says I'm able to and checking the ward directory I'm still listed as Ward Executive Secretary. Has something changed?

I am having the same issue, and I am the Exec Secretary as well. Please let me know what has changed. Thanks.

I have the same problem as an Executive Secretary.

There is an issue preventing executive secretaries and ward clerks from printing limited use recommends. We are working on it.

araehl wrote:We have really liked the ability to print limited use recommends and record who has one. VERY HANDY. However, kids being kids, and learning to take care of their recommends, it isn't completely uncommon for them to lose their recommend. The bishopric likes the ability to reprint the recommends, but in order to do so, you have to select "cancel" or "lost/stolen", then re-issue the recommend. When using "lost/stolen" as the reason for re-issuing, the re-issue is now updated for a full year. If a youth had their recommend for 6 months and then loses it, the reissued recommend is now good for another full year rather than only for the remaining 6 months. Was it done this way on purpose? Is it expected they should have another interview to get their recommend reissued? It makes sense to re-interview for a canceled recommend, but not necessarily for a lost/stolen recommend.

My bishopric desires all youth recommends to expire after three months. So they back-date all such recommends by nine months. I wonder if some day the interface will allow the creation of such recommends with a shorter lifetime.

I want to print a new recommend

pls we need to print out a recommendation endorse for the youths

drepouille wrote:My bishopric desires all youth recommends to expire after three months. So they back-date all such recommends by nine months. I wonder if some day the interface will allow the creation of such recommends with a shorter lifetime.

I do not think so. That is the same way a mission president issues a recommend to a returning missionary. Their recommends are supposed to be valid for only two or three months to give them a chance to visit with their bishop and stake president again.

The mission president backdates the issue date of the recommend to make it work, and I suspect that the same method will be the only way to cause a limited-use recommend to expire early, as well.

how does The Bishop access limited use temple recommends

chipunga wrote:how does The Bishop access limited use temple recommends

Are you asking how does he create them or how does he get a list of those who has one?