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MLS/Web/LDS Tools permissions and sync'ing

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 7:04 am
by edwin@ecphilips.net
I have a Bishopric counselor who is experiencing two potentially related problem:
1) He is able to request membership records from MLS, but not via the web.

2) LDS Tools appears to be out of sync with MLS, and the Web, We have at least one person who still shows a calling in LDS tools which they have been released from, and which is properly reported by MLS.

Any ideas where I should start looking to help him? Do I just have him call support?


Thanks in advance.

Re: MLS/Web/LDS Tools permissions and sync'ing

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 7:26 am
by eblood66
edwin@ecphilips.net wrote:I have a Bishopric counselor who is experiencing two potentially related problem:
1) He is able to request membership records from MLS, but not via the web.
Rights in MLS are not connected to rights on the web. Bishopric counselors do not have rights to request records using Clerk or Leader Resources on the web.
edwin@ecphilips.net wrote: 2) LDS Tools appears to be out of sync with MLS, and the Web, We have at least one person who still shows a calling in LDS tools which they have been released from, and which is properly reported by MLS.

Any ideas where I should start looking to help him? Do I just have him call support?


Thanks in advance.
The first thing to do is to see if CDOL is correct or not. If CDOL is not correct then the unit needs to do a Unit Data Refresh which should make MLS match CDOL. The problem can then be corrected in MLS and then sent to CDOL with a Send/Receive. If CDOL is correct then the person's LDS Tools app has probably not been sync'd recently.

Re: MLS/Web/LDS Tools permissions and sync'ing

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:43 pm
by edwin@ecphilips.net
eblood66 wrote:
edwin@ecphilips.net wrote:I have a Bishopric counselor who is experiencing two potentially related problem:
1) He is able to request membership records from MLS, but not via the web.
Rights in MLS are not connected to rights on the web. Bishopric counselors do not have rights to request records using Clerk or Leader Resources on the web.
Since I will get asked.... is there a reason counselors aren't allowed rights to request records via the web, but are via MLS?

Re: MLS/Web/LDS Tools permissions and sync'ing

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:52 pm
by aebrown
edwin@ecphilips.net wrote:Since I will get asked.... is there a reason counselors aren't allowed rights to request records via the web, but are via MLS?
MLS has limited flexibility in the permissions it gives to people, and they are not determined by calling (except for one obscure feature accessible only by bishops and the ability to authorize finance batches).

So a counselor will have the permissions in MLS the bishop authorizes, which may or may not include the Edit Membership permission. If a counselor doesn't have the Edit Membership permission in MLS, then he won't be allowed to request membership records. I'm guessing from what you said that in your ward they've been given those permissions, but that's a local decision. In other wards, counselors may not have that permission.

But on LDS.org, everyone has exactly the permissions that have been determined should be associated with their callings. With few exceptions, there is no way to override those. Certainly there is no way to override those permissions in Leader and Clerk Resources.

Re: MLS/Web/LDS Tools permissions and sync'ing

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 1:35 pm
by eblood66
aebrown wrote:
edwin@ecphilips.net wrote:Since I will get asked.... is there a reason counselors aren't allowed rights to request records via the web, but are via MLS?
MLS has limited flexibility in the permissions it gives to people, and they are not determined by calling (except for one obscure feature accessible only by bishops and the ability to authorize finance batches).

So a counselor will have the permissions in MLS the bishop authorizes, which may or may not include the Edit Membership permission. If a counselor doesn't have the Edit Membership permission in MLS, then he won't be allowed to request membership records. I'm guessing from what you said that in your ward they've been given those permissions, but that's a local decision. In other wards, counselors may not have that permission.

But on LDS.org, everyone has exactly the permissions that have been determined should be associated with their callings. With few exceptions, there is no way to override those. Certainly there is no way to override those permissions in Leader and Clerk Resources.
Also note that the permissions on lds.org are generally based on the policies in the handbook. In this case in particular, Handbook 1 section 13.6 indicates that membership records should never be given to anyone other than the bishop or a clerk. As a result, lds.org does not allow bishopric counselors access to the full membership record or other related functions. In MLS this is not enforced and it is ultimately up to the bishop, but an argument can be made based on the handbook policy that counselors should not have Edit Membership rights. However, because the MLS rights are more course-grained (as aebrown pointed out) there could be valid reasons to grant them that right (although they should not use those rights to view the full membership record).

Re: MLS/Web/LDS Tools permissions and sync'ing

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 3:49 pm
by russellhltn
aebrown wrote:Certainly there is no way to override those permissions in Leader and Clerk Resources.
If there is a need for the councilor to be able to request records (perhaps there's a shortage of leaders), then I'd suggest a discussion with the stake about calling the councilor to Assistant Membership Clerk.