High Priest Ordination

We recently had an ordination to HP take place when the stake issued a call to the High Council. The call and ordination occured entirely at the Stake level, without coordination to the ward. Our ward was informed after the ordinance had been effected.

In recording the ordinance:
1. Who should originate the ordination record, Stake or Ward? Can Stakes even originate this document in Stake MLS?

2. What signatures must be present on the recommendation form? The bishop did not interview the candidate, an interview only occured at the Stake level.

Thanks, this will help me understand the paperwork flow back to the Ward so we can record the ordination.

kekamper wrote:We recently had an ordination to HP take place when the stake issued a call to the High Council. The call and ordination occured entirely at the Stake level, without coordination to the ward. Our ward was informed after the ordinance had been effected.

In recording the ordinance:
1. Who should originate the ordination record, Stake or Ward? Can Stakes even originate this document in Stake MLS?

2. What signatures must be present on the recommendation form? The bishop did not interview the candidate, an interview only occured at the Stake level.

Thanks, this will help me understand the paperwork flow back to the Ward so we can record the ordination.

The stake can originate the ordination record and, in this case, it would be appropriate for them to do so. The stake president (usually, unless a counselor interviewed him) can sign the form. They can then send the form to the ward and ask the ward to record the ordinance on the membership record.

The stake can also prepare the ordination certificate.

I would ask the stake clerk to get the form to the ward so the membership record can be updated. If the ward was notified in a manner that included the date of the ordination and the name of the person performing it, I would use that information, update the record, and not worry about the form.

The instructions for the ordination are on the form. Since some readers do not have access to the form I have included those instructions below.

Melchizedeck Priesthood Ordination Record
Complete this form when recommending a male member to be ordained to an office in the Mechizedek Priesthood. The interviewing priesthood leaders should use the questions on the lower half of this form. The assigned stake or district representative brings this form to the ordination. After the ordination, the completed form is given to the ward or branch clerk, who uses the MLS program to transmit the information to the Church administration office and to print a certificate for the member.

The process for recommending, interviewing, etc. are on page 44 of the CHI, Book1.

kekamper wrote:What signatures must be present on the recommendation form? The bishop did not interview the candidate, an interview only occured at the Stake level.

Two signatures are required on the form: one from the bishop and one from a member of the stake presidency. As jdlessley pointed out, the procedure is detailed in the CHI. That procedure does say that the bishop is to interview the candidate and then the stake president. I suppose one could argue that the order is not critical (I wouldn't argue that, though), but it seems hard to make any reasonable argument that the bishop doesn't need to be involved.

Alan_Brown wrote:Two signatures are required on the form: one from the bishop and one from a member of the stake presidency.

In my own personal experience with high priest ordinations, they work a little differently than elder ordinations. For an elder ordination, I would agree that the bishop should interview first (after receiving permission from the stake presidency) and then the stake presidency should interview.

For an ordination to high priest, I would change your first sentence to read, there is a place for two signatures on the form. A wise stake president will usually have consulted with the bishop before ordaining a high priest, because in many cases, he will need to be sustained in his own ward beforehand.