Excess Come Follow Me manuals

My clerks' office has a lot of unused Come Follow Me manuals from 2020 and 2021. To prevent things from being too cluttered, I'd like to get rid of most of them (I'll keep a small stack on hand and offer them to any ward members who would like one, otherwise most of them need to go). Is there anything I need to be aware of on disposing of extra manuals, or do I just deal with them as I will?

Also, for future reference, how do I know how many boxes of Sunday School manuals we should be expecting at the new year, and is there any way for me to adjust that number? I've already received our 2022 Come Follow Me manuals, but it would be good to know this for the future.

mabersold wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:53 pm I've already received our 2022 Come Follow Me manuals, but it would be good to know this for the future.

2022 is the last year Come Follow Me manuals will be shipped without placing an order. 2023 and later years will need to be ordered and paid for by the unit. You will have to determine the number of manuals to order.

Edit: The payment policy has reverted to "at no cost to the unit" as stated in the Instructions for Curriculum 2025. See post 7.

In years past, units were allowed to return excess manuals if they returned them early (don't wait until the end of the year when they are no longer needed). I don't know if it applies to these, but it might be worth a shot asking at the online store if you can return some of the 2022 manuals that you have already determined are excess. In our ward, about half the families want a paper copy of the manual and about half don't (prefer the one on the Gospel Library app)...

davesudweeks wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:34 am In years past, units were allowed to return excess manuals if they returned them early (don't wait until the end of the year when they are no longer needed). I don't know if it applies to these, but it might be worth a shot asking at the online store if you can return some of the 2022 manuals that you have already determined are excess. In our ward, about half the families want a paper copy of the manual and about half don't (prefer the one on the Gospel Library app)...

Since the 2022 manuals were no charge to the units, returning them will be a net cost to the units. Shipping charges on heavy manuals will be quite high. Better to see if other units in the building or the stake need some, or offer them to the full-time missionaries to give to investigators. It is also doubtful that distribution would issue a refund on items which were no charge.

The moderator had stated that units would not have automatic shipments. What happened with that?

DevinParry wrote: Thu Sep 26, 2024 11:51 am The moderator had stated that units would not have automatic shipments. What happened with that?

Are you asking what the plan is for the 2025 Come Follow Me manuals? If I remember correctly, last September the Church automatically sent our unit a quantity of 2024 CFM manuals based on our attendance, and we ordered more on our own after that. I don't have access this year to any Church communications about the curriculum orders, so perhaps another Forum member can share that info.

BrianEdwards wrote: Fri Sep 27, 2024 7:51 am Are you asking what the plan is for the 2025 Come Follow Me manuals?

The answer is in the June 13, 2024, Instructions for Curriculum 2025 notice sent to members of stake and ward councils. It states:

Instructions for Curriculum 2025 wrote:Materials sent at no cost to wards and branches for 2025
Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Doctrine and Covenants
Wards and branches will receive one copy for each participating (attending)household at no cost to the unit. They will also receive a few additional copies to give to nonattending members. Young single adult wards will receive a total of 10 copies, not one per individual.

The information I provided in my 2021 post was from the Instructions for Curriculum 2022 notice. That information became obviated by later years' curriculum notices.

garystroble wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:56 am

davesudweeks wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:34 am In years past, units were allowed to return excess manuals if they returned them early (don't wait until the end of the year when they are no longer needed). I don't know if it applies to these, but it might be worth a shot asking at the online store if you can return some of the 2022 manuals that you have already determined are excess. In our ward, about half the families want a paper copy of the manual and about half don't (prefer the one on the Gospel Library app)...

Since the 2022 manuals were no charge to the units, returning them will be a net cost to the units. Shipping charges on heavy manuals will be quite high. Better to see if other units in the building or the stake need some, or offer them to the full-time missionaries to give to investigators. It is also doubtful that distribution would issue a refund on items which were no charge.

I am not looking for a refund (as I know manuals were sent to us at no charge), but we are sent about 7 cases of manuals each year… we only need about 2-3 of those, as 80% of our ward uses the electronic versions… I recently dumped a couple cases of each of the last couple years manuals (brand new/unused) in the dumpster to make room in our clerks office for all the 2025’s just received. I feel guilty trashing brand new unused manuals, but they are not reusable in future years (they’ve changed formats)… so, I was told by the stake to just toss them. I wish there was some kind of recycling option (i.e. take to church distribution center, or Deseret Book, Deseret Industries, etc. vs just trashing them…).

Michaelwhitecpa wrote: Sun Oct 20, 2024 12:18 pmI recently dumped a couple cases of each of the last couple years manuals (brand new/unused) in the dumpster to make room in our clerks office for all the 2025’s just received. I feel guilty trashing brand new unused manuals, but they are not reusable in future years (they’ve changed formats)… so, I was told by the stake to just toss them. I wish there was some kind of recycling option (i.e. take to church distribution center, or Deseret Book, Deseret Industries, etc. vs just trashing them…).

I believe many places have "community" recycling available, either at a central location, or often in dumpster-style bins located throughout a city. We have used ours a lot in recent years, as we purged our library and clerk's office of a ton (not literally, but it sure seemed like it!) of manuals, books, and other materials that were not ever going to be used.

In 2023 our ward received 5 cases of 2024 “Come Follow Me” manuals. Our ward council printed labels and labeled one manual for each household. We distributed less than 10 with members saying “Thanks, but no thanks.” I called Church HQ regarding a return and was cheerfully informed that “…but there’s no cost to your ward.” as if that were the issue. The mass distribution of hard copy manuals is not good stewardship over resources. It’s a financial waste for both printing and shipping, a waste of time for ward resources, and a needless environmental blight for my local community. I just received 5 cases of 2025 manual, with the added benefit that our ward budget was charged. I plan to contact Church HQ again, with little hope for a quick resolution, but hopefully someone in a position to communicate to those with authority to intervene will do so.

Yes, we need a way to reduce the number of manuals that are delivered. Most of my ward uses the electronic version, and we end up putting several boxes in the dumpster. It is frustrating see resources wasted.

Thank you for your post on manuals. I am the stake executive secretary, and we have many boxes left over. Did you resolve with the church what to do with them? Thanks!

No. After several attempts to reach SLC and the local LDS books stores, we were basically told to just throw them away... so we dumped old manuals (prior years) into a recycling center, and we are still sitting on several boxes of the 2025 manuals... which we are striving to give away to as many members as will take them off our hands. Good luck.

budgthom wrote: Sun Nov 17, 2024 11:50 am Yes, we need a way to reduce the number of manuals that are delivered. Most of my ward uses the electronic version, and we end up putting several boxes in the dumpster. It is frustrating see resources wasted.

Has anyone tried calling SLC in early Q4, and trying to modify their automated curriculum order to contain less? There's a few of us that have tried to increase the auto-generated number of manuals prior to the shipment, and the response has been that additional copies must wait until the automatic shipments are made. But I've never tried decreasing that amount.

I know there's other Forum threads that have included discussion about CFM manuals, but I don't remember anyone mentioning if they've tried to adjust downward the number of manuals that are being shipped (SLC might be more open to that option, maybe. Or not)

I don't have anything more to add except my own +1 to this request. We received three boxes and I managed to distribute half of one, despite having them ready in Gospel Doctrine and sitting on a table outside the chapel each Sunday. Most people don't want a hardcopy anymore.

Michaelwhitecpa wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2025 10:02 am No. After several attempts to reach SLC and the local LDS books stores, we were basically told to just throw them away... so we dumped old manuals (prior years) into a recycling center, and we are still sitting on several boxes of the 2025 manuals... which we are striving to give away to as many members as will take them off our hands. Good luck.

You can try having ministering brothers/sisters take them to the less active families, or members in nursing homes that might want to do the study but can't use tech etc.