Gary_Miller wrote:
Seems like a lot of unnecessary work on the side of the membership clerk having to attend all these ordinances just to ensure he has the paper work.
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The forms is designed to be filled out mostly by the Bishop during the interview process the signed by him when the ordinance is accomplished.
Hummm... Perhaps you are right. Here is how it works for us:
On Friday or Saturday, I get an email from my executive secretary with the interviews I have Sunday or later in the week. The Ward Clerk also gets a copy of this email.
When we meet Sunday Morning for bishopric meeting, the ward clerk will hand me forms for the ordination interviews. They are all ready filled out except for the name of the person who will do the ordinances and my signatures and date. I don't know how he gets all that information. I guess I always assumed it was automatically all there in MLS someplace. I guess, based on your comment, I am wrong.
I go ahead and interview the people and make arrangements. If I am sustaining them in Sacrament meeting that day, I will keep the form, otherwise, I toss it. I know there is a place in MLS where the clerk can save this form.
The Priesthood ordinations are all done right after the block on Sunday, so I guess I am burdening the clerk by making him stay 15 minutes after the block to witness these ordinations and get the membership numbers if an "outsider" does the ordination.
The next Sunday, he brings me the form with all the dates filled out and I sign them. I don't know if he reprints it or just fills out a copy and hands it to me.
So you are saying it is more of a hassle to attend the ordination and get the proper information first hand than it is to hassle the bishop or whatever counselor is presiding at the ordination for the paperwork?
Gary_Miller wrote:Funny I always thought that making sure the ordinance was accomplished properly was the Bishopric responsibilities which would include making sure they had the correct information on the paper work.
I believe I am fulfilling my responsibility to make sure the ordinance is accomplished properly. I am just doing it differently than you are. In 3 years, we have not had a single ding in a membership audit for not having the forms to match the ordinances. If asking a clerk to stay fifteen minutes after the block a dozen or so times a year, or missing elders quorum for a few minutes to attend an ordination in the priest quorum (where we invite all the priests to participate in the ordaining), gets that accomplished, then I would think it would be okay.
In fact, you also said this: "We don't put anything in MLS without the proper form it gets frustrating at times trying to get the form but its necessary that nothing happens without the paper work."
As for attending baptisms, yeah. That could be a burden. I will talk to them about it and see what they want to do. But one of the clerks wife is in the primary presidency, so he is there most of the time anyway.