Actual Policy on Putting Church Information In Outside Applications

[tonynocchi]

So many times I have been told that most of what (at least some) bishoprics are doing to better minister to their congregations (due to the severe limitations of LCR) is against church policy but what policies specifically (yes I've looked at the handbook).

If the YW President and I (Ward Clerk) construct a Google Sheet that is limited access to just the two of us and that Google Sheet contains youth member names and MRNs in order to efficiently/effectively conduct a 5th Sunday youth class on family history, what specific policy have we broken?

If the bishopric in a ward constructs Google Sheets/Docs in order to track ministering efforts in the bishopric and within the ward council, and those online documents are limited in being shared to only ward council members who could look up that information anyway but the Sheet/Doc allows us to add notes, make assignments, and add myriad other useful information LCR doesn't allow for, what policy has been broken?

Also, if none of this is allowed, and others are following policy in it's 'pure' form, what are you doing to effectively minister in your wards because I can say that about 90% of the work we do is off some external collaboration medium and it is supported by the information in LCR...not the other way around.

[russellhltn]

Technology Standards

I found it by going to clerksupport.churchofjesuschrist.org > Expand Meetinghouse Technology > Standards - Technology.

The document is dated as it still talks about MLS instead of LCR, but given it's still linked to current pages, I'd consider it to still be a current policy.

4.8.3  The use of MLS data and membership information in third-party software is prohibited, whether obtained from inside or outside a meetinghouse.  

4.8.4  The use of cloud-based services for storing and/or backing up MLS or any membership-related data is prohibited.  

I think that last one would certainly go against having a Google Docs sheet with MRNs. What age group are we talking about? If it's Juniors and Seniors and it was my ward, I'd start asking questions about how long you'll keep padding the corners of life. Perhaps the best lesson to give is that action (or perhaps in this case, inaction) has consequences. They're old enough to start taking responsibility for themselves.

I'll also note that while FamilySearch is a separate account from one's Church Account, you can log into FamilySearch with a Church Account. Just click on the Church logo first. If they already have their church account memorized, they're good to go.

[jdlessley]

If the YW President and I (Ward Clerk) construct a Google Sheet that is limited access to just the two of us and that Google Sheet contains youth member names and MRNs in order to efficiently/effectively conduct a 5th Sunday youth class on family history, what specific policy have we broken?

This would be contrary to General Handbook, 38.8.3, which states;

Ward and stake leaders should not store or share confidential Church information outside of Church-provided applications, systems, or internet services. Examples of confidential Church information include a person’s:

• Membership status.
• Temporal needs.
• Other personal information that is not publicly available.

The membership record number falls under the first and third bullets.

The YW President does not have access through any authorized Church system to any member's MRN. General Handbook, 33.8, states;

Leaders and clerks are to safeguard Church records by handling, storing, and disposing of them in a way that protects the privacy of individuals. Leaders ensure that information that is gathered from members is:

• Limited to what the Church requires.
• Used only for approved Church purposes.
• Given only to those who are authorized to use it.

It is that last bullet that tells me that if anyone does not have access to MRNs through approved Church systems that as a clerk you are obligated to not provide that information to them.

Since I am not the authority on handling member MRNs I recommend following General Handbook, 0.4. If your bishop does not have the answer, then he can counsel with your stake president.

[tonynocchi]

Okay, I stand corrected. The church would rather drown in administrative burden instead of use tools to effectively minister to several hundred members in a ward.

[tonynocchi]

I'd love to see what other wards are doing to follow policy and be efficient/effective, because none of the last five I've been in are following policy.

[lajackson]

The church would rather drown in administrative burden instead of use tools to effectively minister to several hundred members in a ward.

I think it is more a matter of privacy and legality. Protecting personal data is not always as easy as it seems. And there may be consequences to letting that data escape that I do not believe are understood by most members.

[tonynocchi]

The church would rather drown in administrative burden instead of use tools to effectively minister to several hundred members in a ward.

I think it is more a matter of privacy and legality. Protecting personal data is not always as easy as it seems. And there may be consequences to letting that data escape that I do not believe are understood by most members.

It's a matter of legality so that the Church doesn't get sued. But rather than provide solutions or alternatives the Church provides a system that is severely flawed and leaders at various levels resort to using other tools (in violation of church policy) to make the best of what limited time they have away from their jobs and families. If the Church wants us to reduce our efficiency by quite a bit, I'm sure not the one to get in the way.

[russellhltn]

I think it is more a matter of privacy and legality. Protecting personal data is not always as easy as it seems. And there may be consequences to letting that data escape that I do not believe are understood by most members.

It's a matter of legality so that the Church doesn't get sued. But rather than provide solutions or alternatives the Church provides a system that is severely flawed and leaders at various levels resort to using other tools (in violation of church policy)

I suspect the issue is if the church did propose any options, and it ended up going sideways, the church would still be sued because they suggested it.

[ambldsorg]

The church would rather drown in administrative burden instead of use tools to effectively minister to several hundred members in a ward.

I'm sure that's not true. Unfortunately it's all to easy to sacrifice information security for the sake of convenience. Whenever someone wants to put sensitive information somewhere other than their own computer, I remind them that "the cloud" is just surrendering your data to someone else's computer and you effectively relinquish any control of it once it's there. I'm actually impressed that the Church has guidelines in the handbook that actually attempt to keep a lid on it, even though I'm sure it's almost an impossible task to enforce.

[sbradshaw]

The main way I've seen information about specific members shared to support ministering is during in-person conversation in ministering interviews and ward council meeting. But I have been in some wards that keep spreadsheets of various types.