jdlessley wrote: I can see your frustration. I do, however, read those four weeks as being the lead time the people at Chruch headquarters would need to process the requests. There may be delays any number of places along the way. You really don't know when your stake's request was sent from the Area offices to Church HQ.
The point I am trying to make is that I do not believe our request has been sent on to Church HQ, at least not yet. All they said was that they would enlighten us as to the procedure we would be required to follow once it was available. We are still waiting on an application form or something to fill out to initiate the process. It seems to have taken a very long time to come up with a procedure, especially as there would have already been procedures in place in other areas that they could copy.
jdlessley wrote: To have a policy such as this is their perogative. It does mean that some of the responsibilities normally in the perview of the STS are now in their hands. There are both benefits and drawbacks to this.
While I respect your opinion, I do not believe this is true. It is the role of the men with priesthood keys to decide on policies and access issues. It is the role of the support offices to support these men in their responsibilities, not to dictate to them how things should be run, unless their priesthood leaders have instructed them in some way that contradicts or makes impossible the stake president's request. I do not believe that a area wide policy by the support offices to deny access to any internet equipment anywhere shows the respect to these men that they deserve, nor do I believe it is within the scope of their delegated authority. If a stake president requests a key, he should be given it, as it is his decision. This request should be followed without undue negotiation and without turning the whole thing into a political game to test jurisdictions. Priesthood keys govern the church, not support offices, and if somebody with priesthood keys requests a physical key within the scope of his calling, he should be given it. Full stop, end of story.