When Can Ward Clerk Start

We had a Ward Clerk called by the Stake Presidency, but he has not been sustained or set apart yet. Last week he was asked to print a check and take care of donations with the bishopric. He was told by the bishop that as long as the he had been called by the Stake he could perfrom the duties even though he had not been sustanied or set apart yet. What say ye....

sgtbrown26 wrote:We had a Ward Clerk called by the Stake Presidency, but he has not been sustained or set apart yet. Last week he was asked to print a check and take care of donations with the bishopric. He was told by the bishop that as long as the he had been called by the Stake he could perfrom the duties even though he had not been sustanied or set apart yet. What say ye....

I'd say it's a question we in the forum can't or shouldn't answer. I would advise you to consult with your Stake President.

• Post solution-oriented responses. (If you find a problem, take the next step and suggest a solution when you document the problem.)
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You will find a possible answer on page 46 of CHI.

oregonmatt wrote:I'd say it's a question we in the forum can't or shouldn't answer. I would advise you to consult with your Stake President.

$clerk wrote:You will find a possible answer on page 46 of CHI.

Great Advice from both.

I was the new ward clerk in question and just wanted to know If I had done the right thing or not. At first, I thought it was fine because the bishop authorized it. The outgoing ward clerk was upset and said that I should never have started until I was sustained and set apart. The issue has been clarified as I spoke with the stake clerk and I was sustained and set apart this past Sunday by the stake president.

Thanks for the comments.

I'm glad it's resolved. You serve in the Ward and assist the Bishop, but the calling and training comes from the Stake. I've been fortunate to have a stake clerk I could chat with when questions came up.

sgtbrown26 wrote:I thought it was fine because the bishop authorized it.

You can (almost) never go wrong doing what your bishop asks you to do. At worst, since this was a stake calling, your bishop would receive some training, and it would be suggested that you get to know the Handbook (which you could not have done in advance anyway, so you needed to trust your bishop.)

Around here, the outgoing ward clerk would have been asked to help you with your new responsibilities (i.e., some training), and that could easily and quietly happen before you are sustained and set apart.

The Handbook (which we have been asked not to quote in this forum, but are allowed to briefly paraphrase) says that you should be sustained and set apart before you begin to serve. Based on that principle, the stake president can decide how much you should or should not do before that happens.

We have a slightly different challenge in our stake. Because of great travel distances, we have cases where a person is sustained, but some time passes before the proper person is available to set them apart. In these cases, the person usually begins to serve and the setting apart comes later.