Clerk Training

[warnerv]

Does the church provide online, step by step, training for the various things that a clerk might be asked to do? I have searched the leader and clerk website and found very little other than videos that stress the importance of clerk work and lists of what their duties might be. Is there a place we can go online to get specific, step by step, for various clerk duties? I wonder why so little specific training is provided.

[jdlessley]

There is no single consolidated source of clerk duties and training - yet. In development is the calling related Church website > Resources > All Resources | Tools for My Calling tab. Hopefully that will consolidate links to the the number of resources for training and task specific articles.

For now a new clerk should look to the primary source of guidance in the General Handbook. The unit clerk should become intimately familiar with that document. In a way, he will function more effectively if he is the subject matter expert in using and researching the GH.

Once a clerk understands his responsibilities outlined in the GH then he can find task specific articles in the Resources > All Resources | Search feature. Another method to access task help is through the LCR > Help > Help Center articles. The Help Center articles can be found for a specific topic/task by using the Search feature.

Once a clerk is called and permissions have been granted to online resources his My Home page on the Church website will have links in the links bar to calling specific responsibilities.

While not a good source for training articles, the mobile app Member Tools does have a number of tools tiles that allows the clerk to accomplish actions and functions found in Leader and Clerk Resources (LCR). By looking at what is available at those tiles a clerk can research the online Help Center his responsibilities for that function.

One of the purposes of the Church Tech Forum is to discuss clerk duties and responsibilities. When a clerk runs into a situation, task, or problem not addressed in the Help Center articles he can search here for any possible topic thread discussions addressing the issue. He can also start a discussion if nothing is found. He just needs to read and adhere to the Code of Conduct.

[sbradshaw]

There are also some good resources in Gospel Library, under Handbooks and Callings > Ward or Branch Callings (or, Stake or District Callings).

I suspect the lack of step-by-step training is in part because the online tools are constantly changing (it's difficult to keep documentation up-to-date). It's easier to publish guidelines and principles, which don't go out of date as quickly.

[BrianEdwards]

GHB 33.3.2.2 also states that "the stake clerk meets with each new ward clerk soon after he is called," and then at least twice a year afterwards. That section also outlines some of the things that can/should be covered in those meetings. In the absence of digital training materials, this seems like the best approach.

I agree with @sbradshaw that given everything the Church is trying to keep up-to-date, constantly changing tech items are likely quite challenging. But I also understand that as a new clerk, this is exactly the type of specific information you require to perform your calling! So I'd suggest taking all your questions to your stake clerk, asking him to walk through each aspect, and taking a copious amount of notes.