Posted in councils Leadership Policies The Church

Tip for Unit Leaders: When Multiple Organizations Request the Same People for Callings, Have a Meeting with Leaders to Explore Options

Today my wife praised our recently released bishop’s method of handling conflicts in calling requests. She just learned about this technique and was thrilled at the simple beauty of it….

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Two Words that Finally Helped Me Grasp the Genius of the New Ministering Program

I have to admit that I was a little puzzled by the new ministering program in the Church, where home teachers and visiting teachers have been replaced with “ministering brothers”…

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Preparing for Disruption in Sacrament Meetings

In my past post, “My Take on the Joseph L. Bishop Scandal, and Steps We Can Take to Better Help Victims and Reduce the Threat of Abuse in the Church,”…

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The Least Religious Book on Ministering that Church Leaders and Members Ought to Read: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Some time ago in a complex corporate setting, I made the CEO of a large company quite angry and now he had me come in his office where he was…

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An International Church with More Visibly International Apostles

A familiar face for longtime members of the Church in Shanghai and the Asia Area in general has just been called as an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ…

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The Church’s New Policy on Personal Interviews in the Church and New Guidance on Preventing Abuse: Welcome Steps in a Messy World

The Church just announced important new steps taken to reduce the risk of abuse in the Church, including an important change in the way interviews are done. I think it’s…

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My Take on the Joseph L. Bishop Scandal, and Steps We Can Take to Better Help Victims and Reduce the Threat of Abuse in the Church

I’ve struggled with grief and anger for the past couple of days after reading reports regarding a former mission president of the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, Joey L….

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Ward Council Thinking, Fast and Slow

At a recent branch council meeting for the Shanghai Branch, one of three branches for foreign passport holders meeting in Shanghai, I was asked to conduct some brief training in…

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“Don’t Rob Your Employers”: A Valuable Reminder to Priesthood Leaders

In recent training for priesthood leaders from China and Hong Kong, Elder Quentin L. Cook’s guidance included a valuable reminder to be fair to our employers and not disappoint them….

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Dumpster Diving with a New LDS Area Authority in Hong Kong

My wife and I had the pleasure of attending a multi-district youth conference in Hong Kong over the three-day weekend we just had in China. On Sunday night at the…

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