I am a new TFH Consultant in my ward. My husband is the TFH Leader. If I understand correctly, we wo
Specifically, are they called, sustained, and set apart in the traditional fashion? Or is this a less formal calling? The ward council has named several people, which is great, but we're not sure how to tell them to proceed. Thank you. (Also, I'm not seeing a search feature specific to this group - if there is one someone point me in the right direction?)
Answers
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@Suzanne Reese
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Suzanne
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I have never, seen; or, heard of, a 'Calling' of "Ward, Temple and Family History, Advisor", certainly not of late.
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Is the 'Calling' of "Ward, Temple and Family History, Advisor" a NEW 'Calling' recently instituted?
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The ONLY 'Official' Church 'Callings' for "Temple and Family History" Work within a Ward that I am aware of are:
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- Ward, Temple and Family History, Leader
- Ward, Temple and Family History, Consultant
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of which your Husband and you are.
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What do you mean by "... a search feature specific to this group ..."?
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Do you mean this "Group" in the "Community.FamilySearch"?
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Or, are you talking about the "Temple and Family History Network" in your Stake of Ward?
(ie. https://www.familysearch.org/help/helper/planner/workwith )
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Brett
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Hey Brett, I guess I'm trying to reconcile my training with what I've read on here, which is where I saw mention of fh advisors, in a different thread. The training referred to gathering a team, to build enthusiasm, and my ward council is proposing many people be on the team (as in six ward missionaries, several newly-returned missionaries, and all the youth that aren't in a presidency.) What I don't know is if all of those people would be formally called and sustained as consultants, or if there's a less official calling? And is it the bishopric that makes those calls? Or can we or a member of the RS or EW pres just ask them to join us?
(Also, I found the search feature I was looking for).
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@Suzanne Reese
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Suzanne
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Do not take what you read here in this Forum as definitive, so to speak ...
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There were "Area, Family History, Advisors" for "Temple" District a while back.
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They are now part of "Area Family History Council" being "Area Temple and Family History Consultants"
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But, that is beyond the Ward level.
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The "Team" is the Ward 'Leaders' (Bishopric) and 'Auxiliary Leaders' with support from the "Ward, Temple and Family History, Leader" and "Ward, Temple and Family History, Consultants". The "Team" is basically the Ward Council supported by the Ward, Temple and Family History, Leader; and, Consultants
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As far as I am aware, a Ward can 'Call' as MANY "Ward, Temple and Family History, Consultants" as it wishes, there is no limit.
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But, 'Yes', if a Ward so desires it can "Assign" Members as "Ward, Temple and Family History, Advisors; whereas, just not 'Call'.
Whereas, 'Yes', on the other hand, if a Ward so desires it can 'Call' Members to a position of as "Ward, Temple and Family History, Advisors"; but, that is for that Ward only (User Defined); and, not an 'Official' Generic Church 'Calling', they would not have the access level like the "Ward, Temple and Family History, Consultants" or above.
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I hope this makes sense.
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Brett
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I was called as a Temple and Family History Advisor in my ward and basically I provide the "Rah Rah Rah Woohoo" for the Consultants. It isn't a real calling that my Bishop extended but it is taking me down a beautiful path of service.
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The T&FH Leader and consultants are called, sustained and set apart by the Bishop in consultation with the Ward Council. I have never heard of "advisors" and have not found that title in the handbooks. I think that is something someone made up but is not Church sanctioned. Incorrect ideas keep showing up when the handbooks are not consulted. Each organization should have Consultants to champion T&FH work. These individuals should be trained in using the multitude of tools provided and should feel confident in performing research on multiple websites; not just FamilySearch. As the T&FH Leader in our Ward we have a training program for newly called Consultants to enable to be truly a help to our members. For newly called T&FH Leaders and Consultants I suggest that they avail themselves of the training that can be found on the following websites:
BYU Family History Library:
https://fh.lib.byu.edu/classes-and-webinars/online-webinars/
FamilySearch Help Center Lessons:
https://www.familysearch.org/ask/landing?search=Getting Started&show=lessons&message=true https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Family_History_for_Beginners
Ancestry.com Academy: https://www.ancestry.com/academy/courses/recommended
Family Tree Magazine (lots of free stuff)[I also recommend subscribing to this magazine]:
https://www.familytreemagazine.com/family-tree-freebies/
Family History Daily (list of Podcasts, General Tutorials and guides, free resources: very informative): https://familyhistorydaily.com/free-genealogy-resources/genealogy-podcasts/
There lots of other sources for training available. This blog is also a great source for assistance as there are many experienced individuals who are willing to share.
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@Cobus Ruby1
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Ruby
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It might not be a real (Official) 'Calling'; but, it is a REAL 'Assignment' given to YOU, by your Bishop.
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The Service you are providing is worthwhile and appreciated.
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And, as long as you are enjoying what you are doing; then, that is all that is what it is about.
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Enjoy.
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MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU IN THIS IMPORTANT WORK.
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Brett
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@Cobus Ruby1, there is much experienced wisdom above, particularly including the post by @Kenneth Jon Larson. He and Brett are correct - Handbook 2 has no such calling as an "advisor" in the temple and family history area - either in Section 5.4.xx or in the Chart of Callings in Section 19.7. I suspect some of this is just an inadvertent hold-over from previous ways temple and family history leadership was set up. Just make sure that callings are not entered into the computer with commas, such as what Brett listed above (see final paragraph below).
With that said, a bishop is free to create assignments that aren't listed callings in the Handbook, and those would be manually entered in the computer by the clerk as whatever name the bishop assigns to the position. However, I'm wondering why the bishop decided not to use the ward temple and family history leader as the "rah rah" person - that would make perfect sense! And you'd be of great assistance to him as a set-apart ward temple and family history consultant, with all the blessings that would come as a result of being sustained and set apart in that calling by your bishop or one of his counselors. This is just personal opinion, as someone said above - don't take what you see here to be "gospel" unless a person has provided a specific reference to the Handbook or some other official pronouncement from the Church hierarchy that you can then go reference for yourself.
Personally, I almost don't think a ward can have too many temple and family history consultants, since they are the people who are (or should be) doing the motivating and detailed work with individual members and their families. T&FH consultants should be well trained, and the "rah rah" aspect of it would become almost an automatic part of the spiritual experiences that are generated when T&FH consultants are working one-on-one with individuals and families, helping them to have spiritual experiences related to this work. Then the member(s) have essentially been provided their own "rah rah" moments, which become self-reinforcing.
The ward T&FH leader is really the focal person (under the direction of the bishop of course), since he is the one who directs ward T&FH consultants (Handbook 2 para. 5.4.4). A good, motivated T&FH leader can make a huge difference in the ward since he has direct access to the EQ and RS presidencies, as well as the bishop and his counselors, while also training and supervising (directing) the consultants. See the official letter that is very specific about this. [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/letters?lang=eng&id=16737&inline=true] But again - if a bishop understands all of the above and how it's supposed to be structured, he's still free to create a local ward assignment of temple and family history advisor. You'd just need to get full clarification from him as to who you report to, and how you're assignment differs from (or supports) the other official callings. Without regular bishopric promotion of gathering (which President Nelson said is "the most important thing taking place on earth today"), members won't perceive the importance.
I'd strongly recommend (re)watching the 2019 Temple and Family History Leadership Training from a year ago. There is tremendous clarification on all of this, particularly by Elder Renlund, and then by Elder Bednar as he led a discussion (unscripted and unrehearsed) with a real ward council on the stage as part of the instruction, helping them (AND us) understand how the roles fit together, and helping to reduce the confusion that existed/exists over this new way of approaching T&FH work.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/miscellaneous-events/2019/02/13mendoza?lang=eng
Then be certain to watch this year's live broadcast on Thursday, 27 February from 7:00-8:00 p.m. mountain standard time for further clarification and updates. Last year six of the twelve Apostles were at that meeting, which should be a significant clue as to the importance placed on it by the First Presidency.
Finally, it is critical that clerks enter callings accurately, using the provided lists of authorized callings, rather than manually typing them into the computer. If they're not exact, then it will mean the difference between having access to certain things (such as the FHAR) or not having access to certain things that are essential to leaders in their callings. Elder Bradley Foster, Executive Director of the Family History Department, was invited by Elder Bednar at the end to "express the wish of his heart." It's a "must-listen" moment related directly to the need for proper recording of callings and begins at the 52:35 point in the video.
-- Chris
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To the excellent list of resources above, I'd also add "The Family History Guide," a resource that is listed as a Church-approved resource.
-- Chris
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