LCR 3.0 and out-of-unit membership for children

[lajackson]

Can the child be given a calling in the unit where there is only an out-of-unit record?

Yes.

So the rationale for being able to extend a calling is that an out-of-unit membership record is a membership record in the ward, so it's okay? I assume both bishops will have communicated about it.

Actually, the out-of-unit record is not required at all. The rationale for being able to extend the calling is item (2) of Handbook 2:19.1.1 because the bishop [with the out-of-unit membership record, the IOS, or even no record at all] has contacted the member’s previous bishop [or in this case the current bishop who holds the actual membership record] to determine that the member is worthy for the calling and to verify that his or her membership record does not include an annotation or a comment about unresolved Church discipline.

Those are the same things the bishop with the membership record checks before he extends a calling. So the bishop without the record relies on the bishop with the record to clear the member of any calling restrictions and also verify prior worthiness, and is then able to extend a call using the normal procedures.

It is the communication between both bishops that makes the calling in the unit without the record possible.

[mevans]

The thing that seems strange about item (2) is that it discusses the "previous" bishop not the "current" bishop. It makes me wonder what they mean. I agree if it said "current" bishop that it would make a lot more sense.

[lajackson]

The thing that seems strange about item (2) is that it discusses the "previous" bishop not the "current" bishop. It makes me wonder what they mean. I agree if it said "current" bishop that it would make a lot more sense.

In the case being discussed, it would. But I think most often a member has moved from a ward to a new ward, and so the "previous" bishop is letting the new bishop know about the status of the member.

In today's age of almost immediate membership record transfers, the record is usually in the new ward, whereas before the instant electronic era, it often took some time for the record to arrive, so the process of visiting with the previous bishop was acceptable as part of calling a member in a new ward. This was always helpful in situations where the member was active and the membership record had not yet arrived.

[mevans]

In today's age of almost immediate membership record transfers, the record is usually in the new ward, whereas before the instant electronic era, it often took some time for the record to arrive, so the process of visiting with the previous bishop was acceptable as part of calling a member in a new ward. This was always helpful in situations where the member was active and the membership record had not yet arrived.

OK, that makes more sense. I was a ward clerk back in those days where it took weeks to get the records. I've kind of forgotten how long it took. It's so nice that I can move people in instantly now. I love it!