Can MLS be accessed from home?

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
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s_brady
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Can MLS be accessed from home?

#1

Post by s_brady »

Hello,

Is there a name or acronym for the online membership-management software at LDS.org to distinguish it from Member and Leader Services (MLS), the software installed on meetinghouse computers?

Also, can the MLS software be installed on a non-meetinghouse computer for use elsewhere (i.e. outside of a meetinghouse)?

The reason for this question is that I was recently called as an assistant clerk for membership but due to quadriplegia from a spinal cord injury, I am not able to work on the meetinghouse computer. (I have a large and bulky wheelchair which precludes me from getting into the meetinghouse computer and even if I could, I cannot use a traditional keyboard or mouse due to paralysis in my hands and arms.)

The system I have at home however, is a different story. Thanks to a variety of adaptive hardware & software, I can use it with close to the efficiency of an able-bodied user. For this reason, I am looking for the best way to accomplish the various tasks included in my calling and do it using my own system.

After I was called, our Ward Clerk did something on the MLS which gave me access to the clerk section on LDS.org and I have spent quite a bit of time there. However, many of the options and much of the functionality of the MLS has not yet been added to the LDs.org system. I believe I read somewhere that all of the functionality is anticipated to be included at some point but in the meantime, at least in my case, it would be helpful to have full access now.

Thanks
russellhltn
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Re: Can MLS be accessed from home?

#2

Post by russellhltn »

s_brady wrote:Is there a name or acronym for the online membership-management software at LDS.org to distinguish it from Member and Leader Services (MLS), the software installed on meetinghouse computers?
No, it can't. The software only supports one install for a ward. It's against policy to install it with live data on anything but a church-owned administrative computer.
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
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Re: Can MLS be accessed from home?

#3

Post by lajackson »

s_brady wrote:I was recently called as an assistant clerk for membership
Congratulations on your new calling.

The Clerk Resources at LDS.org are the only tools presently available online. It is anticipated that at some point most or all of the MLS functionality will be online. But that is not presently the case, and we do not know when additional functions will be added.

MLS is run only on a single administrative computer in the clerks office. The database is unique to that computer, and the program was not designed to be accessed by other computers.

So, for the present, if you are not able to access that computer, you will only be able to help with those functions that are available online at LDS.org.

Many of the membership functions are online, though, so it sounds to me as if you should be able to function well in your calling as an assistant clerk with the membership assignment. And it seems that you have the computer setup at home so you readily will be able to access LDS.org and fulfill that part of your calling.

Access to leader and clerk resources at LDS.org is based on your calling as recorded in MLS. It appears that your clerk recorded your calling on the administrative computer correctly, allowing you to access LDS.org and begin work in your new calling.

There is nothing anyone at the ward or stake can do about the online availability of membership or other functions, but certainly your leaders should have been aware of that as they considered you for your new calling. And I imagine there are other things you will be able to help with that do not require the computer or the website to accomplish.
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aebrown
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Re: Can MLS be accessed from home?

#4

Post by aebrown »

s_brady wrote:Is there a name or acronym for the online membership-management software at LDS.org to distinguish it from Member and Leader Services (MLS), the software installed on meetinghouse computers?
The membership management system on LDS.org is called "Clerk Resources" (which is the menu item under the Tools menu you use to access it).
s_brady wrote:Also, can the MLS software be installed on a non-meetinghouse computer for use elsewhere (i.e. outside of a meetinghouse)?
As RussellHltn indicated, MLS can only have one live installation per unit, and that is on the unit's administrative computer.
s_brady wrote:After I was called, our Ward Clerk did something on the MLS which gave me access to the clerk section on LDS.org and I have spent quite a bit of time there. However, many of the options and much of the functionality of the MLS has not yet been added to the LDs.org system. I believe I read somewhere that all of the functionality is anticipated to be included at some point but in the meantime, at least in my case, it would be helpful to have full access now.
Yes, the roadmap for Clerk Resources calls for all non-financial functionality of MLS to be available in the next year or so, with finance capabilities sometime after that. I can certainly see how it would be useful for you sooner, but we'll all just have to be patient. New features appear every few months, so it will gradually get better over time.
lejohn31
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Re: Can MLS be accessed from home?

#5

Post by lejohn31 »

I have recently been called as an Stake Assistant Clerk with the responsibility of training ward finance clerks. It would be great to be able to access the MLS system at home to prepare for these training sessions. Would this be possible? I would appreciate any help you can give me? Thank.
eblood66
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Re: Can MLS be accessed from home?

#6

Post by eblood66 »

lejohn31 wrote:I have recently been called as an Stake Assistant Clerk with the responsibility of training ward finance clerks. It would be great to be able to access the MLS system at home to prepare for these training sessions. Would this be possible? I would appreciate any help you can give me? Thank.
You can install MLS using test data but the data is out of date and it doesn't actually interact with CHQ. As a result you can't actually do anything finance related with the test data. So the practical answer is that, no, you can't access MLS at home for training purposes.
russellhltn
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Re: Can MLS be accessed from home?

#7

Post by russellhltn »

eblood66 wrote:You can install MLS using test data but the data is out of date and it doesn't actually interact with CHQ.
Worse, I believe that the test data is pre-CUBS, so it's worse than out of date. It would be misleading.
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.
eblood66
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Re: Can MLS be accessed from home?

#8

Post by eblood66 »

russellhltn wrote:
eblood66 wrote:You can install MLS using test data but the data is out of date and it doesn't actually interact with CHQ.
Worse, I believe that the test data is pre-CUBS, so it's worse than out of date. It would be misleading.
The last time I tried a fresh install you can't even get into any of the finance options because you can't get a CUBS finance download. It just gives you an error message saying you need to do a send/receive.
ronaldharrison
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Re: Can MLS be accessed from home?

#9

Post by ronaldharrison »

my tithing
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