YSA and Multiple Stake Boundaries

Use this forum to discuss issues that are not found in any of the other clerk and stake technology specialist forums.
gtrimble
New Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:15 pm

YSA and Multiple Stake Boundaries

#1

Post by gtrimble »

Hi,

First time posting here. I haven't seen anything quite like my issue so I figured I'd post here about it. I'm an assistant clerk for a YSA branch in a stake that recently was split into two stakes. Now we are being asked by one of the stakes if we can generate a list of people in the branch that are in their stake boundaries and give them that list monthly along with attendance.

Now I do know that the meetinghouse locator on mormon.org will give you the assigned ward for an address, but I'd rather not constantly go and manually enter all those addresses. My next step was going to be to get the csv file from the directory exported and then somehow script it on mormon.org. However, I wanted to see if anyone knew of some simpler method or where that info is that is already available? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
User avatar
aebrown
Community Administrator
Posts: 15153
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:48 pm
Location: Draper, Utah

#2

Post by aebrown »

gtrimble wrote:First time posting here. I haven't seen anything quite like my issue so I figured I'd post here about it. I'm an assistant clerk for a YSA branch in a stake that recently was split into two stakes. Now we are being asked by one of the stakes if we can generate a list of people in the branch that are in their stake boundaries and give them that list monthly along with attendance.

Now I do know that the meetinghouse locator on mormon.org will give you the assigned ward for an address, but I'd rather not constantly go and manually enter all those addresses. My next step was going to be to get the csv file from the directory exported and then somehow script it on mormon.org. However, I wanted to see if anyone knew of some simpler method or where that info is that is already available? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

One idea that comes to mind is to use maps.lds.org:
  1. Go to maps.lds.org and sign in.
  2. Go to the My Ward and Stake tab to see your branch boundaries with the households. This idea depends on the addresses being verified, but there are lots of good reasons to make sure that is done, anyway.
  3. Move your mouse over the bottom of the map to display the menu/navigation control.
  4. Click on the Print button (fourth from the left) to display the Print-friendly screen.
  5. Under Display Options, choose Map Numbers (map and list). You might be able to choose Name Tag, but that takes more room, so it gets pretty crowded on a typical display.
  6. Print the map and associated list.
  7. Note the boundary between the stakes on your map, and note which markers are in which stake.
  8. To ease this process in the future, you might use the Ward Geo Code field in MLS to record the stake for each household, perhaps using a system like S1-CV for the Canyon View neighborhood in Stake 1 (start all the Geo Codes for Stake 1 with S1-).
There are a couple of manual steps in this process, but it's probably a bit quicker than writing the script you mentioned (although the script would then automate the process for all future iterations).
Questions that can benefit the larger community should be asked in a public forum, not a private message.
gtrimble
New Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:15 pm

#3

Post by gtrimble »

Thanks for the quick reply!

I didn't think about the geo code field, though I would need to update that, and as we are can get quite a few people coming/leaving weekly I'd need to update that often. Also, part of the issue is that the stake boundary line is all over the place and all I was given was a basic pdf map that I can barely tell what the roads are (it's a fairly large area covered). Would be nice if a little more boundary data was available, but I'm not sure where to find that.
User avatar
aebrown
Community Administrator
Posts: 15153
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:48 pm
Location: Draper, Utah

#4

Post by aebrown »

gtrimble wrote:Thanks for the quick reply!

I didn't think about the geo code field, though I would need to update that, and as we are can get quite a few people coming/leaving weekly I'd need to update that often. Also, part of the issue is that the stake boundary line is all over the place and all I was given was a basic pdf map that I can barely tell what the roads are (it's a fairly large area covered). Would be nice if a little more boundary data was available, but I'm not sure where to find that.
I'm not sure exactly what permissions various clerks have, but I know that I as an assistant stake clerk can see the stake boundaries on maps.lds.org, as well as the ward boundaries (and households) for each unit in my stake. I can also the boundaries for all wards and stakes. So if your ward were in my stake I could do the entire project I described just from maps.lds.org -- I wouldn't need your PDF map at all. So you may want to consult with your stake clerk for assistance if you can't see the necessary boundaries.
Questions that can benefit the larger community should be asked in a public forum, not a private message.
User avatar
Mikerowaved
Community Moderators
Posts: 4734
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2007 12:56 am
Location: Layton, UT

#5

Post by Mikerowaved »

Can't the stake clerk also download ward/stake boundaries in KML format?
So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
gtrimble
New Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:15 pm

#6

Post by gtrimble »

aebrown wrote:I'm not sure exactly what permissions various clerks have, but I know that I as an assistant stake clerk can see the stake boundaries on maps.lds.org, as well as the ward boundaries (and households) for each unit in my stake. I can also the boundaries for all wards and stakes. So if your ward were in my stake I could do the entire project I described just from maps.lds.org -- I wouldn't need your PDF map at all. So you may want to consult with your stake clerk for assistance if you can't see the necessary boundaries.
Ah, no I don't see any stake boundaries on maps.lds.org. I will check with the stake clerk. The stake that wants the data is not the stake our branch is in (they just have members from there in it) so it may be that they just don't have access.
russellhltn
Community Administrator
Posts: 34417
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
Location: U.S.

#7

Post by russellhltn »

gtrimble wrote:I'm an assistant clerk for a YSA branch in a stake that recently was split into two stakes. Now we are being asked by one of the stakes if we can generate a list of people in the branch that are in their stake boundaries and give them that list monthly along with attendance.

You may want to talk with your Branch President about the workload this request entails. Particularly since they are asking for it on a monthly basis. While cooperation is good, if I understand the request correctly, unless this is coming from the Area Authority I'm not aware of anything that obligates you to fulfill this request. You might want to talk to them and see if there's another way to take care of the underlying concern.

One possibility is to simply supply a list of all the names and let them figure out who is in their boundaries. They want the data, let them do the work. :D
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.
User avatar
greenwoodkl
Member
Posts: 288
Joined: Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:59 am
Location: Orem, Utah, Utah, United States
Contact:

#8

Post by greenwoodkl »

A few thoughts:

1. Is this YSA branch solely made up of YSA who grew up in the local stake? If not, I don't know why the local stake has any vested interest or stewardship over any members except those with family ties to their stake since the Priesthood responsibility and leadership lies with the branch and the stake within which the branch is a part.

2. I would worry about sending a blanket export or list of all attendance due to privacy and confidentiality issues with records. If it is going to the stake to which the branch is assigned, they should be getting regular reports anyway and be able to have the data to make an analysis themselves of which YSA members live outside their boundaries in the other stake. If it is going to the "other" stake, then they have no stewardship and it is merely a courtesy and they should have no ties to anyone but those YSA in their boundaries with family or other ties, all others would be out of their purview.

3. In general I believe that the tools available for YSA unit administration within the Church have a large opportunity for growth and development and far too much manual and localized effort is going towards administration that could be better spent on more weightier matters. I hope that some resources within the LDSTech community and perhaps within the Church development teams themselves can be dedicated towards developing useful, standardized, and effective tools to meet the challenges and opportunities unique to the YSA environments both in highly-concentrated areas (Utah, Idaho, Arizona, YSA stakes) and less-concentrated areas (wards and branches within family/traditional units elsewhere).
russellhltn
Community Administrator
Posts: 34417
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
Location: U.S.

#9

Post by russellhltn »

GreenwoodKL wrote:Is this YSA branch solely made up of YSA who grew up in the local stake? If not, I don't know why the local stake has any vested interest or stewardship over any members except those with family ties to their stake since the Priesthood responsibility and leadership lies with the branch and the stake within which the branch is a part.

My understanding is that conventional units have responsibility for all who live in their boundaries - member and non-member. I think their interest is in ensuring that any members living in their area are active in a unit and not falling though the cracks. (Or if the YSA is saying "Oh, I'm attending the other ward" and attending neither one.) When a member identifies another member living in the neighborhood, they want to know if they're attending the YSA ward.

I see the coordination effort as valid, but like you I'm concerned about the workload of the proposed method.
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.
idjeeper2
Member
Posts: 162
Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:39 pm
Location: Boise, Idaho, USA

#10

Post by idjeeper2 »

gtrimble wrote:Thanks for the quick reply!

I didn't think about the geo code field, though I would need to update that, and as we are can get quite a few people coming/leaving weekly I'd need to update that often. Also, part of the issue is that the stake boundary line is all over the place and all I was given was a basic pdf map that I can barely tell what the roads are (it's a fairly large area covered). Would be nice if a little more boundary data was available, but I'm not sure where to find that.
It is extra work, but I find that 9 times out of 10 the address needs to be formatted anyway. I just add the geocode as part of the process. A long time ago I made a map of my ward showing all of the geocode boundaries. It's hanging on the wall next to the computer for easy reference.
Post Reply

Return to “General Clerk Discussions”