Ward Clerks - Can They Call Salt Lake?

A Ward Clerk said that he had been told by the old Stake Clerk that Ward Clerks were NOT to call Salt Lake Membership Support, but should always go through the Stake Clerk. However, MLS has a message function; and, I assume that since the function is in MLS, that Ward Clerks can use that method to get answers to their questions. Does anyone know if Ward Clerks are not supposed to call Membership Support by phone as this Ward Clerk had been told and that they must run their questions through the Stake Clerk or Stake Membership Clerk (me)?

BradWeech wrote:A Ward Clerk said that he had been told by the old Stake Clerk that Ward Clerks were NOT to call Salt Lake Membership Support, but should always go through the Stake Clerk. However, MLS has a message function; and, I assume that since the function is in MLS, that Ward Clerks can use that method to get answers to their questions. Does anyone know if Ward Clerks are not supposed to call Membership Support by phone as this Ward Clerk had been told and that they must run their questions through the Stake Clerk or Stake Membership Clerk (me)?

The correct procedure is to contact the stake clerk with questions. If he cannot provide an answer, then he would contact SLC and get back to you. In this manner both receive an answer and the stake clerk is more knowledgeable for the next go around.

Now with that said, there may be situations where you might be instructed to contact SLC directly, but I would always begin with the Stake Clerk.

BradWeech wrote:A Ward Clerk said that he had been told . . . that Ward Clerks . . . should always go through the Stake Clerk.

In addition to Techgy's answer, you will find that if a ward clerk sends a request through the MLS message function that CHQ thinks the stake clerk could answer, they will refer the message back to the stake clerk for a response.

I have found that the most common reason for a ward clerk to send a message directly will be for a specific membership record correction or financial correction that cannot be done through the regular MLS program. If it is a how to do it question, the stake clerk will become involved.

Remember that a ward clerk can also send a message to the stake clerk through MLS when needed.