Today, updates were made to the Leader and Clerk Resources (LCR) (online at lds.org/lcr) to support the management of ministering assignments and the recording of ministering interviews. An updated version of the LDS Tools app is also available so you can update your app and re-sync the data for your ward.

As announced in April 2018 general conference, home teaching and visiting teaching have been replaced by a coordinated effort called “ministering” (see ministering.lds.org). The following adjustments to reporting tools and quarterly reports support this effort.

Managing Ministering Assignments

The following functions have been enhanced or are new:

• Create companionships.
• Organize companionships into districts.
• Assign a presidency member to each district.
• Make ministering assignments.
• View ministering assignments on a map (in LDS Tools).
• Assign Mia Maids and Laurels as companions to Relief Society sisters, teachers and priests as companions to elders quorum brothers, and husbands and wives as companions to each other.
• View unassigned households/sisters.
• View unassigned ministering brother/sisters.
• Email assignments to ministering brothers/sisters.
• Print assignments for ministering brothers/sisters.
• Expanded access to ministering information to include stake presidencies, stake clerks, stake executive secretaries, high councilors, and stake Relief Society presidencies.
• Enhanced the Ministering Assignments report by adding a tab for individuals.
• Added a Ministering tab to the Young Women organization page, with assignment information for Mia Maids and Laurels.
• Added the ability for ministering brothers to see the ministering sisters of those to whom they are assigned, and vice versa.

Organizations and Callings

• Added an organization page for the stake high priests quorum.
• Discontinued the callings of ministering coordinator and ministering supervisor.
• Added the calling of ministering secretary with access to LCR.

Ministering Interviews

• Elders quorum and Relief Society leaders can record the months an interview is held and who participates. A companionship is counted as interviewed for the quarter if at least one member of the companionship participates in an interview.
• View the last interview date for ministering brothers and sisters.
• Track if only one or both people in the companionship attend the interviews.
• Note: The ability to enter or view the number of visits or contacts with individuals and families was removed in April.

Adjustments to Quarterly Reports

• The quarterly reports for 2017 and before continue to show the percentage of families and sisters visited during the last month of each quarter.
• The quarterly reports for the first two quarters of 2018 do not include any statistics about home teaching and visiting teaching.
• The quarterly reports for the third quarter of 2018 and beyond will show the percentage of companionships interviewed at least once during each quarter.
• Updated the Quarterly Report to show a 12-month total instead of a quarterly total for the following statistics:
  • Prospective elders advanced to the Melchizedek Priesthood (line 5).
  • Adults and youth who submitted ancestor names for temple ordinances (line 9).
  • Converts age 12 and older who have submitted ancestor names for temple ordinances (line 25).