Need to create a Combined YW Class in MLS

[Masada44]

Handbook 2 allows for the creation of a combined Young Women Class when there are too few young women to staff the presidencies of the Laurels, MIA Maids and Beehives. Our Bishopric has chosen to exercise this option. However, there appears to be no method in MLS of actually creating such a class. At present I have created the offices of President and 1st Counselor under the Laurels, the 2nd Counselor under the MIA Maids and the Secretary under the Beehives. While this will work as far as a a callings list is concerned, we will certainly experience problems in February when we have Ward Conference and the member of the Stake Presidency who conducts the sustainings is somewhat taken aback by the total absence of any YW class officers!

Does anyone know of a way this Combined Class can be created within the YW organization?

[jdlessley]

Handbook 2 allows for the creation of a combined Young Women Class when there are too few young women to staff the presidencies of the Laurels, MIA Maids and Beehives. Our Bishopric has chosen to exercise this option. However, there appears to be no method in MLS of actually creating such a class. ...

Does anyone know of a way this Combined Class can be created within the YW organization?

A combined class cannot be created. But you can use one of the current classes to become the combined class.

Young Women classes are fixed and so are the membership rules. But this does not mean you cannot use one of the fixed classes to be the combined class. For example you can move the Beehives and Mia Maids into the Laurel class manually. Once a member is manually moved into another class, in this case the Laurels class, their names will be available to fill leadership positions. It would be nice if the name of the class could be changed to reflect it is a combined class but that is not possible. Another affect of manually moving members is that when say a Beehive is eligible for the Mia Maid class she will be automatically moved to the Mia Maid class. To get her back to the combined class, or Laurel class in this case, she will have to be manually moved again. The same is true for all move-ins. All the Beehive and Mia Maid age young women will have to be manually moved to the combined class.

If the only concern is the listing of officers for the combined class then the young women called to the leadership positions in the combined class but who are listed in the Mia Maid and Beehive classes can be moved into the Laurel (Combined) class and the members not holding leadership positions can remain as they are. This reduces the number that need to be moved manually and reduces the manual moving again of Beehive age young women who then become Mia Maid age. This is my preferred method to handle a combined class.

While this will work as far as a a callings list is concerned, we will certainly experience problems in February when we have Ward Conference and the member of the Stake Presidency who conducts the sustainings is somewhat taken aback by the total absence of any YW class officers!

Even when you use the manual method to move class members the Officers Sustained - Ward form will have to be manually adjusted to show that the ward is using a combined class.

[williamjackson]

I would like to dredge up this old thread to ask if anyone has managed to move (for example) a Beehive into the Mia Maids class and then give that Beehive a standard calling in the class presidency?

In our ward we have 8 young women. Some are Beehives, some are Mia Maids, but I moved them all into the Mia Maids class. A Beehive was called as the class president, but MLS will not let me select her when I enter the Mia Maid President standard calling. Only girls that are the correct age to be Mia Maids are in the list to select from.

For the moment I have just made some custom callings for the presidency.

[scgallafent]

I would like to dredge up this old thread to ask if anyone has managed to move (for example) a Beehive into the Mia Maids class and then give that Beehive a standard calling in the class presidency?

In our ward we have 8 young women. Some are Beehives, some are Mia Maids, but I moved them all into the Mia Maids class. A Beehive was called as the class president, but MLS will not let me select her when I enter the Mia Maid President standard calling. Only girls that are the correct age to be Mia Maids are in the list to select from.

It works better if you merge down (move Mia Maids into Beehives) instead of merging up (move Beehives into Mia Maids). MLS enforces two requirements for young women class leadership: (1) the candidate must be a member of the class and (2) minimum age restrictions. There is a minimum age of 12 for a Beehive class president and a minimum age of 14 for a Mia Maid class president.