Membership Clerk Handbook?

As a new membership clerk, I appreciate the help I have found on this forum and the clerk wiki but I would still like to have a manual to refer to on occasion. The only one I can find in the office was printed in 1991 which pretty much makes it useless. I cannot find a manual listed in the catalog. Does this mean we don't have a manual to refer to, except for the online versions?

At this point, I think the Wiki is it.

There's also the Clerk Training which includes handouts.

And let's not forget the CHI.

While that 1991 manual may be outdated as far as exact procedures, from memory, I think you'll find the underlying principles unchanged. Same goals, same needs, just different software.

By far the best reference is the "Record Keeping Information" button on your ward's home page in LUWS. It's located just below the "Administrator Options" button. Perhaps because it's always there people don't realize it actually does something for those who could benefit from it.

I believe this page is limited to those listed on the "Bishopric" page in LUWS.

oregonmatt wrote:I believe this page is limited to those listed on the "Bishopric" page in LUWS.

I wish this were true but the LUWS has not evolved to take advantage of the standardized callings from MLS yet. Currently both the "Administrator Options" and "Record Keeping Information" buttons require LUWS administrator privileges.

jdlessley wrote:I wish this were true but the LUWS has not evolved to take advantage of the standardized callings from MLS yet. Currently both the "Administrator Options" and "Record Keeping Information" buttons require LUWS administrator privileges.

You are right in that it doesn't use callings from MLS, but I thought it used the calling information from the LUWS.

zaneclark wrote:As a new membership clerk, I appreciate the help I have found on this forum and the clerk wiki but I would still like to have a manual to refer to on occasion. The only one I can find in the office was printed in 1991 which pretty much makes it useless. I cannot find a manual listed in the catalog. Does this mean we don't have a manual to refer to, except for the online versions?

Don't forget the MLS Software Manual, which is accessible from the training page. Although it's labeled as a "Software Manual" it actually does a good job of documenting all sorts of procedures, and also has 16 pages of policies. I think it is the best single manual we have. If you really want a printed manual, it is formatted nicely for printing purposes. Then the wiki fills in a lot of useful details.

RussellHltn wrote:You are right in that it doesn't use callings from MLS, but I thought it used the calling information from the LUWS.

You're right, it does. I just tested this using my wife's credentials after giving her a calling on the Bishopric page (and removed shortly after the test).

oregonmatt wrote:By far the best reference is the "Record Keeping Information" button on your ward's home page in LUWS. It's located just below the "Administrator Options" button. Perhaps because it's always there people don't realize it actually does something for those who could benefit from it.

I believe this page is limited to those listed on the "Bishopric" page in LUWS.

I have to disagree with this recommendation. The "Record Keeping Information" information on LUWS is in every case superfluous or out of date and superseded by other documents. The entire page should have been removed years ago. We should never recommend that anyone look at these old documents.

Here are the items available on that page:

1. 23 Sep 2005: Clerk and Auditor Training Lessons
2. 19 Oct 2007: Computer Transfer and Disposal Instructions
3. 19 Oct 2007: Local Unit Security Policies
4. 12 Aug 2004: MLS Reconciliation Instructions
5. 16 Dec 2004: Emergency Check Procedures
6. 19 Oct 2007: MLS Membership Supplement
7. 19 Oct 2007: MLS Finance Supplement
8. 19 Oct 2007: Record Keeping FAQ's

The Training Page is of course where #1 links to. From that publicly available page, you can see:

• MLS Reconciliation Instructions (dated 2006, 2 years later than #4)
• MLS Software Manual (dated 2008, containing all the information in #6 and #7)
• Record Keeping FAQ (dated 2008, 1 year after #8)

#2 is out of date and contains incorrect instructions that should not be followed at this point. See the thread Computer Disposal Instructions.

#3 has been superseded in large part by the latest Policies and Guidelines for Computers Used by Clerks for Church Record Keeping and the new computer disposal instructions.

#5 is old and incomplete. Much better information is on the wiki at Emergency check writing procedures.

So it really doesn't matter who can access that Record Keeping Information on LUWS. Do not rely on it and do not recommend that anyone seek information from that source.

Just a folllow-up as to why I was looking for a manual and how I resolved the problem. We have man who was called as an assistant in the High Priests who is not a HP. The program would not allow his name to be listed in this position and that was what I was trying to find in manual or online. Finally I opened the Elder's group, and noticed the word "remove" by each name. I was a little hesitant to click on this, not sure exactly what this meant,but I did click it after his name and the screen opend allowing me to place him in a different organization. I did this and he is now listed in his proper place in HP leadership. I am sure this is really basic to most of you, but it is this kind of detail that seems to be lacking in the online help screens for us novices.

zaneclark wrote:Just a folllow-up as to why I was looking for a manual and how I resolved the problem. We have man who was called as an assistant in the High Priests who is not a HP. The program would not allow his name to be listed in this position and that was what I was trying to find in manual or online. Finally I opened the Elder's group, and noticed the word "remove" by each name. I was a little hesitant to click on this, not sure exactly what this meant,but I did click it after his name and the screen opend allowing me to place him in a different organization. I did this and he is now listed in his proper place in HP leadership. I am sure this is really basic to most of you, but it is this kind of detail that seems to be lacking in the online help screens for us novices.

If you are only talking about a manual for MLS help, than the Help system built into MLS itself would certainly have told you what that "Remove" link was for and even why you couldn't find that particular individual to add to the HP Group leadership.