Tithing Settlement - Its That time of year

Discuss basic duties of stake and ward clerks, including where to begin.
lajackson
Community Moderators
Posts: 11460
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:27 pm
Location: US

#11

Post by lajackson »

lajackson wrote:In most wards where I have lived, the signup on the door to the clerks office was the method. In one ward, though,
I failed to mention that in the one ward where the president and group leader invited everyone to tithing settlement, signup sheets never appeared on the clerks office door.
greggo
Member
Posts: 286
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:36 am
Location: Battle Creek, MI

#12

Post by greggo »

lajackson wrote:It was November 15th last year, I think. Haven't seen anything different for this year, but if there is going to be a letter, it should show up at any moment now.

Is this a new process in that bishops receive a letter stating when interviews can start?

When I was the clerk in an English ward in a foreign country a few years back, we started as early as the end of Oct. With so many families out of the country for the last half of Dec (the bishop included), this was the only way we could fit everyone in (fortunately, it wasn't a large ward).
User avatar
aebrown
Community Administrator
Posts: 15153
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:48 pm
Location: Draper, Utah

#13

Post by aebrown »

Greggo wrote:Is this a new process in that bishops receive a letter stating when interviews can start?

When I was the clerk in an English ward in a foreign country a few years back, we started as early as the end of Oct. With so many families out of the country for the last half of Dec (the bishop included), this was the only way we could fit everyone in (fortunately, it wasn't a large ward).
No, it's not a new process. It has has been happening for many, many years. A letter comes out sometime in October detailing all the deadlines: when to send out donor statements, when Titithing Settlement starts, when it ends, when the Tithing Declaration report is due, when Tax statements need to be delivered.
russellhltn
Community Administrator
Posts: 34418
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
Location: U.S.

#14

Post by russellhltn »

According to the Clerk's Calendar, Tithing Settlement starts on Nov 14th and ends on Dec 30th.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
lajackson
Community Moderators
Posts: 11460
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:27 pm
Location: US

#15

Post by lajackson »

Greggo wrote:Is this a new process in that bishops receive a letter stating when interviews can start?

The Handbook used to say the tithing settlement (the actual visit with the bishop and member) was to be conducted in December. In recent years, bishops have been authorized to start the interviews November 15th.

So, the formal tithing settlement interview that used to be held in December may now be held from November 15th through December 31st.

In reality, a bishop wants to visit with all of his members, and will usually do what it takes to accomplish that, as long as the members are willing and cooperative. If a member was going to be gone for the entire month of December, if he came up to me in late November or the first week in January and told me he was a full tithepayer, I never had any trouble recording that on the annual tithing report as member-declared, even though we had not conducted a formal interview in December.
jbh001
Senior Member
Posts: 856
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV

#16

Post by jbh001 »

Alan_Brown wrote:No, it's not a new process. It has has been happening for many, many years. A letter comes out sometime in October detailing all the deadlines: when to send out donor statements, when Titithing Settlement starts, when it ends, when the Tithing Declaration report is due, when Tax statements need to be delivered.
Wow! This is the first I have ever heard of such a letter and authorization from the First Presidency. And I've been in clerking for several years in addition to being in several bishoprics. As a clerk it seems like Tithing Settlement started when I reminded the bishop that it was probably about time to start getting things in place for it, again.
jbh001
Senior Member
Posts: 856
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV

#17

Post by jbh001 »

kmalone wrote:I am all ears to suggestions.
I hope you were prepared for an earful. :)

I would usually print-out the donor statements and hand them out personally to the members, telling them to 1) compare the statement with their records, 2) make me aware of any discrepancies, 3) sign up for tithing settlement, and 4) bring that printout with them to tithing settlement. If they forgot #4, I would simply reprint it for them when they showed up for their tithing settlement appointment.

I assume one could do something similar with the IOS's, but that seems like a lot of extra paper to shred if you can't hand deliver them. Instead, I wait for them to actually show up for tithing settlement, print out the IOS's, and then have them review them while they were waiting for their turn to see the bishop.

I also printed out one copy of the Enter Tithing Declarations report (Finances > Tithing Settlement > Enter Tithing Declarations > Print) for the bishop to use, mark-up, and keep track of, throughout the tithing settlement process, since this is really the only paperwork he needs. Then when all is said and done, he would bring his marked up copy and sit next to me at the computer and tell me what to enter into MLS for each person on the report. This process was much simpler that what they where doing before I became a ward clerk, and it makes the bishop's job much easier because he has fewer papers to shuffle throughout the process.
User avatar
aebrown
Community Administrator
Posts: 15153
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:48 pm
Location: Draper, Utah

#18

Post by aebrown »

jbh001 wrote:Wow! This is the first I have ever heard of such a letter and authorization from the First Presidency. And I've been in clerking for several years in addition to being in several bishoprics. As a clerk it seems like Tithing Settlement started when I reminded the bishop that it was probably about time to start getting things in place for it, again.

The last one was dated 5 Oct 2007, and I know I've seen many of them over the years. They are sent to both bishops and stake presidents.

The dates were:

On or after 15 Nov 2007: Begin tithing settlement
31 Dec 2007: End tithing settlement
1 Jan through 31 Jan 2008: Bishop sends Tithing Declaration Report
1 Jan through 31 Jan 2008: Ward clerk transmistsTithing Declaration Report
One week before TS begins: clerk distributes Donation Summaries

Interestingly, they didn't mention the Tax statements (although other communications did).
User avatar
Mikerowaved
Community Moderators
Posts: 4734
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2007 12:56 am
Location: Layton, UT

#19

Post by Mikerowaved »

jbh001 wrote:4) bring that printout with them to tithing settlement. If they forgot #4, I would simply reprint it for them when they showed up for their tithing settlement appointment.
For step 4, you should always print out the Tithing Settlement statement for either the individual, or family, as needed, for them to bring into the Bishop's interview.
So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
znauga
New Member
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2008 3:46 pm

#20

Post by znauga »

kmalone wrote:Okay, this is my first time doing tithing settlements and I wanted to get some points how to effectively set this up to maximize the number of participants.

I plan on printing Tithing Settlements and reviewing IOS reports with members as well..
.
Members of the ward are to have the opportunity to receive and review their IOS. It is a common practice to do this in conjunction with tithing settlement. Unfortunately a relatively small percentage of members actually come to tithing settlement.

In wards where I have been the membership clerk I have taken a different approach. When new families come into the ward I provide copies of the IOS and ask the family to review and identify errors and omissions. After corrections are made I provide a corrected copy of the IOS to the family. During the year if changes occur due to births or ordinances the information is updated and new copies are again given to the member. If a family is not active the IOS is mailed to them. During the year I audit membership records and eventually all members will have received their IOS.

It may seem time consuming but I believe it is a more thorough method of providing the information to which members are entitled. It also simplifies tithing settlement in that tithing and finances are the only issue of concern for the Bishop and clerk.

znauga
Post Reply

Return to “Getting Started for New Clerks”