Non-attenders on Quarterly Report
Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 1:38 pm
I'm trying to find official documentation that explains the correct way to count people on the Quarterly Report who do not attend priesthood and auxiliary meetings. I'm surprised how difficult it is to find this.
Both the Handbook (Handbook 1, 13.5.1) and the MLS Software Manual (page 20) simply say to "count each person who attended at least once during the last month of the quarter."
But the unofficial wiki article Quarterly Report says to "provide the number who attended at least one Sunday that month - to Relief Society, Priesthood, Young Women, or Primary, from among those counted in the total - or would have except they were serving in a capacity that prevented it."
It's that last clause that I seek official documentation for. It makes perfect sense, and is the long-standing practice of our stake and every other stake that I know of, to count attendance for those who are not physically present at these auxiliary meetings if they are serving in a calling that prevents their attendance. That could include stake presidency members, high councilors, full-time missionaries, those serving in leadership callings in other units, etc. It also could include those who may be out of town for the entire reporting month, but faithfully attend their meetings in another unit.
Referring to proper recording of sacrament meeting attendance, the MLS Software Manual on page 20 explicitly says "Do not count any members not in attendance, such as members serving missions, on other Church assignments, or attending other wards." That's interesting because that's pretty much the list of people who we do count as attending quorum and auxiliary meetings. One might infer that those situations were mentioned as not applying to sacrament meeting precisely because they do apply to the other meetings. But that's a rather weak link.
By no means am I suggesting that we should discontinue the common practice of counting such people. But does anyone know of a current official source that documents this practice?
Both the Handbook (Handbook 1, 13.5.1) and the MLS Software Manual (page 20) simply say to "count each person who attended at least once during the last month of the quarter."
But the unofficial wiki article Quarterly Report says to "provide the number who attended at least one Sunday that month - to Relief Society, Priesthood, Young Women, or Primary, from among those counted in the total - or would have except they were serving in a capacity that prevented it."
It's that last clause that I seek official documentation for. It makes perfect sense, and is the long-standing practice of our stake and every other stake that I know of, to count attendance for those who are not physically present at these auxiliary meetings if they are serving in a calling that prevents their attendance. That could include stake presidency members, high councilors, full-time missionaries, those serving in leadership callings in other units, etc. It also could include those who may be out of town for the entire reporting month, but faithfully attend their meetings in another unit.
Referring to proper recording of sacrament meeting attendance, the MLS Software Manual on page 20 explicitly says "Do not count any members not in attendance, such as members serving missions, on other Church assignments, or attending other wards." That's interesting because that's pretty much the list of people who we do count as attending quorum and auxiliary meetings. One might infer that those situations were mentioned as not applying to sacrament meeting precisely because they do apply to the other meetings. But that's a rather weak link.
By no means am I suggesting that we should discontinue the common practice of counting such people. But does anyone know of a current official source that documents this practice?