Form for Worthiness

I had a new thing pop-up that I'd like to share.

A family in my ward is traveling to another stake, where the father and his son will participate in a baby blessing for a family member.

The father is a temple recommend holder. The son is 18 and just received the Melchizedek Priesthood, but has no temple recommend.

The bishop in the ward they will be attending for the blessing has requested that all those standing in the circle to bless show their temple recommend as a sign of worthiness.

This bishop has been contacted and told that the 18 year-old has a limited use temple recommend that he obtained from our bishop 2 weeks ago. The bishop in the other ward has rejected this as a proof of worthiness.

As the ward clerk, I suggested to my bishop that he write a short letter certifying this young man's worthiness, and that is what he did.

Is there a form on MLS for this kind of thing? I have never run into this situation before.

Thanks.

bhead wrote:Is there a form on MLS for this kind of thing? I have never run into this situation before.

What you want is the Recommend to Perform an Ordinance (item 32595000). Follow the link to see the item on store.lds.org, where you can download a PDF, or order the form (I think it comes in a pad of 50).

Too bad the Limited Use Recommend was not viewed as sufficient, especially if he is not acting as voice - but I agree the Recommend to Perform an Ordinance should work. That is what it is meant for.
T.

troywo wrote:Too bad the Limited Use Recommend was not viewed as sufficient, especially if he is not acting as voice - but I agree the Recommend to Perform an Ordinance should work. That is what it is meant for.
T.

I'm not entirely certain that's true. The Recommend to Perform an Ordinance is shown by the one who will be acting as voice. To my knowledge, there is no "worthiness" card for those who stand in the circle.

allenjpl wrote:I'm not entirely certain that's true. The Recommend to Perform an Ordinance is shown by the one who will be acting as voice. To my knowledge, there is no "worthiness" card for those who stand in the circle.

The Recommend to Perform an Ordinance does seem to be designed to meet the requirements of Handbook 2, Section 20.1.3, which speaks only of the one acting as voice for the ordinance of naming and blessing a child. But then again, the bishop who presides does have a responsibility to make sure that "Only brethren who hold the necessary priesthood and are worthy may perform an ordinance or blessing or stand in the circle," as specified in Section 20.1.1. I would think that he has a fair amount of flexibility in just how he fulfills that responsibility that he has as presiding officer; a Recommend to Perform an Ordinance for someone standing in the circle may be a reasonable way for the worthiness to be communicated.

I have been "carded" before when visiting a foreign ward to participate in an ordinance. This seems to be a practice that is gaining popularity, though Bishoprics should realize that it's not much of a guarantor of 'worthiness' - only really that someone is (or at least was at some point) an ordained Melchizedek priesthood holder. A limited use recommend does not indicate the person has been ordained to the MP. (AP holders can have a limited-use recommend)

A Recommend to Perform an Ordinance is more appropriate for an ordinance that a priesthood holder will perform (act as voice) outside his unit that needs to be recorded at the unit. (These are ordinances that still need to be overseen by a local authority no matter where it is performed, i.e. baptism and confirmation) Given this particular Bishop's stringent requirements, it is probably the right form to use as it is a dated indication from the priesthood holder's bishop that he is worthy. A simpler way would be to have the Bishop simply call or email the other Bishop where he can directly confirm that the member is a Melchizedek priesthood holder.

According to the handbook, a Bishop should only bar someone from participating (standing in a circle) if they have "unresolved serious sins." (Book 2 - 20.1.2) As it's impractical and a little awkward to ask this of every out-of-unit member who participates in an ordinance, it's probably best make sure this is taught in the quorums of the church and let ordained priesthood holders police themselves.

sammythesm wrote:A simpler way would be to have the Bishop simply call or email the other Bishop where he can directly confirm that the member is a Melchizedek priesthood holder.

Assuming this is being arranged in advance and not "the day of" if not "just before the meeting" type of thing.

Another thought...a baby blessing is not a saving ordinance. I'm a ward clerk and we don't record a baby blessing in a person's church record. As all in the circle should necessarily be worthy, it's shouldn't prohibit anyone from participating that certainly aren't going to be voice. A Bishop who is that overly concerned and needs to have worthiness clearance of this nature is really overstepping in my estimation. A limited use recommend is totally sufficient in this case. There really is no need to check everyone's worthiness that has been asked in advance to stand in the circle. They will know between them and the Lord if they are worthy and would most likely have worked that out with themselves and the Lord ahead of time. The Bishop need not overly concern himself with that issue as it might disturb the spirit of the occasion to do so.

movieguy wrote:I'm a ward clerk and we don't record a baby blessing in a person's church record.

It is true that the blessing is not recorded in the permanent record, but it can be recorded in MLS. And it is typically the trigger for creating the child's record. Hopefully you are doing that or letting the home ward know they need to do it.