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moving family to not assigned home teachers

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 8:14 pm
by bwmcmullin08
We have numerous families who have requested that they not have home teachers. When I try to add them to the unassigned family list, the name comes up in red and it will not search for and add it to the list. How do I get this done?

Re: moving family to not assigned home teachers

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 9:43 am
by lajackson
If you really wish to do this, go to the Home Teaching Companionships tab and edit the companionship currently assigned to home teach them. When you delete the family, they will return to the unassigned list because they are no longer assigned to a home teaching companionship.

Make sure your bishop is aware of the situation and concurs with the "unassignment". Just because a family requests that they not be home taught does not automatically mean priesthood leaders will unassign home teachers. It normally means that the bishop will give special instructions to help quorum leaders and members handle the situation.

Re: moving family to not assigned home teachers

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 10:58 am
by aebrown
bwmcmullin08 wrote:We have numerous families who have requested that they not have home teachers. When I try to add them to the unassigned family list, the name comes up in red and it will not search for and add it to the list. How do I get this done?
One option that some wards have used is to assign all such families to the Elders Quorum President or High Priests Group Leader. Or you select the best companionship to keep some contact; even if they don't function as traditional home teachers, they could remember family members' birthdays or share an invitation to special ward or stake activities, etc.

Making sure that such families are assigned to some home teacher has at least two benefits:
  • These families will have someone with responsibility to be aware of them and perhaps make occasional contact, even if it is in non-traditional ways.
  • They will not be on the unassigned list. That way you can better use the unassigned list as a tool to make sure that all families are assigned, and no one is inadvertently left without assigned home teachers for very long. The unassigned list should always be short with a constant goal to have no one on those lists.