Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

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ayoward
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Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

#1

Post by ayoward »

Hi folks,

In the light of LDSCallings.com being shutdown :cry: which I have found invaluable over the years at stake level for keeping track of callings, sustainings etc. does anyone have any tips on spreadsheets or their preferred way of keeping track of callings?

Many thanks,

Andrew
caillines
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Re: Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

#2

Post by caillines »

We use trello at the stake level, but anything that lets you create lists would work (excel etc).

Just set up the lists you need (under consideration, need to pray about, need to call, need to sustain, update LCR, completed, etc), and move people between the lists as the calling progresses.
ayoward
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Re: Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

#3

Post by ayoward »

Thanks for your response. That's really helpful. Does Trello have the ability to trigger an email the High Council for sustaining votes if it gets moved into a certain column?
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sbradshaw
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Re: Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

#4

Post by sbradshaw »

For anyone trying to find the message about LDSCallings.com going away, I found it on this page:
https://www.ldscallings.com/login/login.cfm
Important Notice: Site Shutdown
After consultation and under the direction of Church leadership, the difficult decision has been made to shut down LDSCallings. This site will no longer be available after January 31st 2025.
On this date, all user data and accounts will be permanently deleted.
For support:
• Wards/Branches: Please contact your Stake or District leaders.
• Stakes/Districts: Contact your local Area Office for further assistance, if required.
Samuel Bradshaw • If you desire to serve God, you are called to the work.
russellhltn
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Re: Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

#5

Post by russellhltn »

It would be interesting to know what the issue was. It doesn't seem to scrape membership info like other sites have done. But it does violate my personal advice of not entering things about other people into a non-church website.
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barkeraj
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Re: Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

#6

Post by barkeraj »

Came to ask about a replacement as well. Sure was handy to manage HC approvals assigning to extend callings, etc
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johnshaw
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Re: Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

#7

Post by johnshaw »

As a clerk multiple times over, and an ExecSec in both ward and stake level - it is hard to understand why church resources haven't been dedicated to putting in a system to fix this. As as been said, at the stake level, this is hugely complicated and keeping wards notified where things are in the process is so frustrating at the ward level.

This is my almost 16th year of desiring this to be part of the online tools the church provides... still waiting...
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caillines
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Re: Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

#8

Post by caillines »

ayoward wrote: Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:56 am Thanks for your response. That's really helpful. Does Trello have the ability to trigger an email the High Council for sustaining votes if it gets moved into a certain column?
Haven't looked into it. As stake exec sec I've always done HC approval and calling extending relating messaging myself via email or sms (depending on time requirements) if we can't get it done in a HC meeting soon enough.
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Re: Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

#9

Post by munaish »

ayoward wrote: Sun Dec 22, 2024 5:14 am Hi folks,

In the light of LDSCallings.com being shutdown :cry: which I have found invaluable over the years at stake level for keeping track of callings, sustainings etc. does anyone have any tips on spreadsheets or their preferred way of keeping track of callings?

Many thanks,

Andrew
What service did it provide more specifically? What were all the features it had that you liked? Understanding what benefit you were getting from it might help us understand how to advise you.
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Re: Keeping track of callings - LDSCallings.com being shut down

#10

Post by ayoward »

It was an online tool that allowed you to submit a form for a Stake Calling, a calling that was ward based but approved by stake (e.g. Elders Quorum leadership) etc. or a form for a release. The form would capture the name, the calling being talked about, the Unit the person was in (from a drop down), what the current calling was, whether a release was also needed (check box) which would trigger a release record as well, who was submitting the request as well as their email. This would then trigger an email to me as Clerk with the detail.

Inevitably, this would feed a database and in the admin part of the system, you had a dashboard with callings at various stages. As the system is now offline, I will attempt to list them from memory:

1. Stake Presidency approval - This would enable names to be discussed in Stake Presidency meetings and once prayerfully considered, you would select from a drop down either Approved or Not Approved. If Approved, you had the option to then Send to the High Council for sustaining. You could select the deadline for Votes (default was two days), and also select who would carry out the interview and calling once it had been sustained or not. This would then automatically email all the High Council members who names and email addresses were set up in the system.

2. High Council Approval - HC members would click on the link in their email which would specify the name and the proposed calling. It would take them to the site where they can log in and set their sustaining to Sustained, Opposed and also give them a box to fill in with comments should they wish to. In the admin part, you can view the HC Approval status which listed all of the HC and whether they had voted or not and what they had voted and you could see any comments to relay back to the Stake Presidency. Once you had all the votes in, or the deadline had passed you could mark the "Final Approval" as approved or not as the case may be. If marked as approved, an email was sent out to the assigned person to carry out the interview and click a link to fill in details such as the date interview was scheduled, when it took place, whether they had accepted the calling or not.

3. Interview stage - This would be a list of those who was at interview stage and you can track the progress.

4. For sustaining - List of those that had been interviewed and had accepted the calling. At this point, you could click on the Report section and produce a report of all those that were at this stage that needed sustaining and releasing that could be sent to the High Council and other Stake officers who could then have a calling sustained in the units and conduct the releases from the pulpit. The wording they might like to use was also included. This section also had a place to record the date the sustaining or release was done in each unit and by whom. You could also record a blanket date for the whole stake as necessary.

5. Set apart - This section was for recording the date the person was set apart and by whom.

6. LCR - This section was split into two. One for had it been recorded in LCR , the other had the setting apart been recorded in LCR. Often, the sustaining is done and it can be some time before the setting apart is taken care of for whatever reason. This just helps keep track of who still needs to be set apart.

I may have missed a bit, but the callings section also gave a list of all those that were progressing through the system so that you could amend, cancel or delete a request. The database would also keep a record of any other callings and individual was being considered for and you could report on individuals to see what historic callings might have been recorded years back.

The automation and ease of tracking in this system was what made it great. Emails were automatically generated and sent to those that needed to act on the next stage. It could also track priesthood ordinations from beginning to end too.

It also sent out a weekly email to everyone on the stake presidency to show where callings were in the process.

If the wards were savvy, they could also use this system to track and progress all their callings too and it would dovetail into stake.

I have the email address of the amazing person who set up this system if you would like to get in contact with them and I'm sure they could give you a better run down. I am sure I have missed out loads.
Last edited by ayoward on Mon Feb 03, 2025 8:57 am, edited 2 times in total.
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