MLS 3.0 Issue: Standardized calling names

[greggo]

There's no Assistant Executive Secretary at the ward or stake level, but that's not a calling in the handbook, so maybe that's the reason.

My understanding is that only one Exec. Sec. may be called. If an Asst. Exec. Sec. is desired, an additional Asst. Clerk may be called (as far as I know there is no limit on the number of clerks).

[mkmurray]

My understanding is that only one Exec. Sec. may be called. If an Asst. Exec. Sec. is desired, an additional Asst. Clerk may be called (as far as I know there is no limit on the number of clerks).

I'm not so sure this is true, although I have no source on the matter. Our ward had two Exec. Secretaries for a span of a year.

[aebrown]

There's no Assistant Executive Secretary at the ward or stake level, but that's not a calling in the handbook, so maybe that's the reason.

My understanding is that only one Exec. Sec. may be called. If an Asst. Exec. Sec. is desired, an additional Asst. Clerk may be called (as far as I know there is no limit on the number of clerks).

Aside from the fact that the handbook refers to "the executive secretary", I see no specific prohibition on calling an assistant.

In any case, the new update to MLS 3.0 (called 3.0.0b6 or 3.0.0_15703) shoots down both these theories -- there is now a standard position called Stake Assistant Executive Secretary.

[jbh001]

I ran through my list this morning and found many improvements that can be made:

1. There is an internal conflict in the list, there is a Primary Pianist, a Choir Accompianist, and Priesthood Pianist/Organist, but nothing for Relief Society. We need to agree what to call this position, Pianist or Accompianist, and add one for the Relief Society.

I found it listed as Relief Society Accompanist.

I noticed that there is a Primary Chorister, but I think it needs to be changed to Primary Music Leader.

More generally, the music callings in MLS need to match those found on lds.org or vice versa.

Similarly, Sunday School Instructor - Gospel Essentials should probably be changed to Sunday School Instructor - Gospel Principles, Teacher Development Instructor should be changed to Sunday School Instructor - Teaching the Gospel, in addition to adding callings for Marriage and Family Relations, Family History, and Temple Preparation.

[jbh001]

Pianist and accompanist are not one in the same. A pianist *plays* the piano, while an *accompanist* follows the music director. These assignments require differing skills.

A more practical interpretation for within the Church is that a pianist plays the piano, but an accompanist can play both the piano AND the organ. Playing the organ requires a substantially different skill set than playing the piano.

I don't know about your ward, but in every ward I've been in, everyone mostly ignores the chorister and follows the accompanist/pianist/organist/whatever regardless.

[jbh001]

Scoutmaster came up in the list in my ward under "Boy Scouts - Scoutmaster"

I would add that it would be nice to have the Scouting position names consistent with the names BSA has for them. I'm not referring the position name of scoutmaster, which is the correct BSA name. I'm talking about, for one example, using BSA's "Pack Committee Chair", instead of "Cub Scout Committee Chairman".

Curious. I found Cub Scouts - Committee Chair, but no Cub Scouts - Committee Member.

There might be good reasons for having MLS list things as Cub/Boy Scout Committee Chair/Member instead of Pack/Troop Committee Chair/Member. I recall that due to a dwindling number of young men in one stake I was in, the stake decided to have the entire stake become the scout "troop" and the individual wards would be organized as "patrols." This was because 3 of the wards wards were having to combine scouting activities for the 5 young men between them. I don't know what became of that experiment since we moved out of that stake and out of Utah a year or two after that.

[greggo]

Curious. I found Cub Scouts - Committee Chair, but no Cub Scouts - Committee Member.

There might be good reasons for having MLS list things as Cub/Boy Scout Committee Chair/Member instead of Pack/Troop Committee Chair/Member. I recall that due to a dwindling number of young men in one stake I was in, the stake decided to have the entire stake become the scout "troop" and the individual wards would be organized as "patrols." This was because 3 of the wards wards were having to combine scouting activities for the 5 young men between them. I don't know what became of that experiment since we moved out of that stake and out of Utah a year or two after that.

I agree that it might make sense to call them Cub/Boy Scout Committees instead of the BSA terms of Pack/Troop Committees, but I doubt it was intentional. I would assume it was just due to misunderstanding of the proper terms. They should normally use the proper BSA terms unless wards have combined committees.

The church scout handbook (or possibly other official document) specifically says that scout units are to be organized at the ward and not the stake level. Sometimes due to low numbers, wards may combine for scout meetings, etc. but they are to remain as separate chartered units in the BSA. I suspect this is what your former stake was doing.

But I can think of another reason for having a Boy Scout instead of Troop Committee. If a ward is properly chartered in the BSA, they would have a separate Boy Scout Troop (for ages 11-13), Varsity Team (for ages 14-15) and Venturing Crew (for ages 16-18). But in the cases that I am aware, the ward only had one Scout Committee covering all of them.

[jbh001]

Since MLS first came out, I've been trying to understand why the Cub Scout organization is rolled up into the Primary organization, yet the Boy Scout organization is not similarly included under the Young Mens organization.

[RossEvans]

Since MLS first came out, I've been trying to understand why the Cub Scout organization is rolled up into the Primary organization, yet the Boy Scout organization is not similarly included under the Young Mens organization.

Just guessing, but it may be that the reason is that the Boy Scout program is split between Young Mens and the Primary. The 11 year old scouts are part of Primary.

[lajackson]

Sometimes due to low numbers, wards may combine for scout meetings, etc. but they are to remain as separate chartered units in the BSA. I suspect this is what your former stake was doing.

This is true, although in rare cases a ward does not have enough youth to form a troop, and has to combine with a neighboring unit. BSA requires a minimum number of five scouts to charter a troop, and LDS troops can get a waiver (4, I think). But even with that, we have to combine some wards into one troop in two of the cities in our stake because there are not enough youth of Scout age.