Bishop's Schedule added to LDS tools /LDS.org

Wondering how I can help.

The idea -
lds tools mobile app /lds.org has a scheduling tool so the bishop can set up what days/times he is available to meet. Members can log in and chose a time and get reminded day before and 30 mins before the appointment. The idea came when I was researching ways to do electronic sign ups for tithing settlement. I realized that every ward in the world has this same problem and every ward does something different. It makes sense for this to live in lds.org/ldstools. I don't think this replaces the executive secretary by any means but helps him be better at his job.

I am wondering if there is anything I can do to help this idea come to fruition. I am a software engineer and willing to help build this tool. If lds.org had public API's that we could use then I would have already built this tool/website. It makes the most sense for this to be part of lds.org/ldstools and not some 3rd party website. Anyways just curious if this is even on the road map or something that is even possible.

Looking for feedback and or collaborators .

Thanks

Not speaking from any semblance of official position, just from personal observations:

That sounds like a great idea. However, in my observation and what I have heard from others, the only way that your idea has any possibility of being realized would be for enough bishops to tell their stake presidents they need such a tool, and for enough of the stake presidents to pass that along to their area authorities and on up the chain of command. Even then, development resources are stretched very thin, and there are a ton of ideas that would be beneficial but cannot be done for lack of resources. (... and please don't even mention public APIs--already discussed elsewhere in the forums.)

A couple of decades ago, our temple had a security system that was causing enormous grief. The temple engineer gave me a little information about the problems. I suggested a way to solve the problems and produce a much more useful system at lower cost than the current (failing) system. He liked the idea but explained that the problem was the idea was coming from the wrong place--that ideas need to come from top, not from the bottom.

However, if you would like to help with something else, there used to be some projects where the Church did accept volunteer help. At one time, the calendar and directory web applications were being done partially with volunteer effort. I don't know whether any of that sort of thing is still being done. You might try here to see if this is still active: http://tech.lds.org/contribute Back in the day, there was also a LinkedIn group (which still exists but may not be active) titled "LDS Volunteers Around the World". You might try pinging the group to see if it's still active.

My man awesome thank you for responding and glad you didn't sugar coat it.

Thank you for the link, I'll check it out and see if there is anything on there I can help with/ if its still active.

Sounds like rather than using my development skills I need to use my marketing skills (which I don't have) and convince bishops to complain - stinks the idea has to come from the top, and there isn't a process for ideas to bubble up from the bottom. But it is what it is.

Thank you again!

Our bishop has a google calendar that he has shared with his Executive Secretary. He instructs the days/times he is available and his Exec Sec puts appointments on his calendar. He sees them on his phone. It is only used for his interviews/appointments, as I understand. This allows all the reminder options standard with Google Calendars.

There was a scheduling feature on lds.org a few years ago and then it disappeared. It didn't allow for members creating appointments, but could have developed that and other features as time went on. How I wish this could happen! I'll keep an eye on this topic.

I can't really answer the question but I'm wondering if anybody besides the Executive Secretary and the Bishop can see this calendar. I just discovered it today. I want to be able to protect the privacy of those asking for interviews.

mmaynor wrote:I can't really answer the question but I'm wondering if anybody besides the Executive Secretary and the Bishop can see this calendar. I just discovered it today. I want to be able to protect the privacy of those asking for interviews.

It all depends on how it's been set up. To "the system", it's just another calendar. Hopefully it's been set to private and the only viewers are those who should have access to the calendar.

I second, third, and fourth this idea. Please make this happen! As an Exec Sec, this would be extremely helpful and allow me to focus on other important parts of my calling.

njperry wrote:... Please make this happen! ...

To whom are you addressing your request? Did you read the second paragraph of the second post in this thread/topic? If you want to influence this feature to be developed, that paragraph describes how to make the attempt. The process is described elsewhere in the forums by others much more knowledgeable about the processes involved.

This is a user-to-user mutual-support forum. Nobody here has any authority to make decisions as to what software features get developed. Even if a developer happens to see this thread, the decisions about what features to develop get made above the level of the developers--if I understand correctly at least a few levels above the developers.

Did I misunderstand the post that said the bishop’s calendar is in LDS tools? I looked all over and can’t find it. Is there anything better than google calendar? The mobile version is terrible.

romdos wrote:Did I misunderstand the post that said the bishop’s calendar is in LDS tools?

There is no bishops calendar in Member Tools. The discussion was about the online Calendar tool at the churchofjesuschrist.org and using that tool to create a calendar for the bishop's schedule.

We use a paid Calendly subscription at least for tithing settlement and are exploring using it as our permanent solution for now. They have special pricing for non-profits at $72/calendar/year, but for the ease of scheduling the bishop and his two counselors it is worth the $216/year. We have also pushed it up the chain to strongly encourage the church to do an enterprise license just like they did with Zoom. Can’t say if anything will come of it, but I highly recommend it to add efficiency to your bishopric. This will also massively streamline your annual tithing settlement as well as simple temple recommend renewals because for those you can let people self schedule. It also lets you set up where the meeting will take place so for us we can specify if it is via phone, in-person, or via Zoom, which auto-schedules and sends the link through the integration.

we use Calendly the same way it is super awesome... it would be awesome if there was functionality defined by calling and custom calendars that integrated into the member tools and gospel living app calendars so that bishoprics can really have a single pane of glass for their schedule. especially with the added Young Men activity responsibilities etc.

Hello all. I am reading the different messages. What truly are all the responsibilities of executive secretary?

lloydquinn wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 2:16 pm Hello all. I am reading the different messages. What truly are all the responsibilities of executive secretary?

See General Handbook, 7.3, as a starting point. Then speak with your bishop to see if he has any changes to those listed.

You can also review the online resources for the Executive Secretary that can be found here (similar online resources are available for most callings). These resources are really helpful for members like yourself looking for instruction on a new calling:
Executive Secretary