No calling falls through the cracks.
Everyone can see where each call and release stands and what comes next. Wardzen knows how each calling is worked, so nobody has to look it up.
A calling has a lot of moving parts
Approval in one meeting, the interview in another, the sustaining on Sunday and the record after that. Most of it lives in someone's head.
“Where is that calling now?”
We approved it two Sundays ago. Has anyone extended it? Is it ready to be sustained?
“Does this one need the high council?”
Someone opens the Handbook again to check who approves it and where it's sustained.
“Has anyone told her yet?”
Her release is on Sunday's list, and no one is sure she's heard it in person.
From approval to recording
Each change follows the steps the General Handbook gives for that calling, and shows the step it's on.
Who uses it
Each leader sees the part that's theirs, and what they can do follows their calling.
Bishopric
Starts the ward's callings and releases, decides on each presidency's request, works every step and records the finished change.
Ward clerks and executive secretaries
Keep each change moving through its steps. The clerks also record the finished change.
Ward organization presidencies
Elders quorum, Relief Society, Young Women, Primary and Sunday School presidencies ask the bishopric for callings and releases in their organization, and follow each request to the end.
Elders quorum presidency
Extends the quorum's other callings, has the quorum sustain them, and sets them apart. The bishopric approves, and the clerks record.
Stake presidency and stake clerks
Run stake callings and the ward callings the stake issues, like bishopric counselors and the elders quorum presidency, from approval to recording.
High council
Works the stake's calling changes and presents stake business at each ward's pulpit, one ward at a time.
In a ward, and across a stake
The ward and the stake each do their own part, and both can see where each calling stands.
A ward on its own
Your ward tracks every calling, including the ones the stake extends, like bishopric counselors, so none are forgotten. The stake presents those, and your ward marks the sustaining from the calling's page. When your stake joins, it takes them over.
A ward linked to its stake
Ask the stake for a bishopric counselor, a ward clerk or an elders quorum presidency member, and the stake runs it from the first step. The ward follows along read-only and is emailed when the person is set apart and when the calling is recorded. Stake business shows on the ward's pulpit for the stake to present.
At the stake
Stake callings go through approval and the high council, then each ward's sustaining, and the step completes when the last ward is in. For a ward not on Wardzen yet, the stake marks that ward's sustaining itself.
It knows the process, so you don't have to look it up
Wardzen is built around the General Handbook's process for callings and releases. It knows where each calling is sustained and who takes the next step.
Sustained in the right place
Most callings are sustained in sacrament meeting. Other elders quorum callings are sustained in the quorum, deacons and teachers quorum presidencies in their quorum, and Young Women class presidencies in their class.
(General Handbook 30.8.1)
Releases where they were sustained
A release is announced in the same place the calling was sustained. On the pulpit, releases are read before the new callings.
(General Handbook 30.6, 30.3)
Told in person first
A release is presented only after the person has been told in person.
(General Handbook 30.6)
The high council where it's required
Bishopric counselors, ward clerks and executive secretaries, the elders quorum presidency and most stake callings get the stake presidency and high council's approval. Other ward callings are approved by the bishopric.
(General Handbook 30.8.1, 30.8.3)
Presidencies recommend, the bishopric approves
A presidency recommends its counselors, secretaries and teachers, and the bishopric decides. The bishopric recommends organization presidents itself.
(General Handbook 30.1.5, 30.8.1)
Elders quorum counselors start with the bishop
When the quorum president asks for a counselor, the bishop is consulted first. Then the stake presidency and high council take it from there.
(General Handbook 30.8.1)
Wardzen is an independent product. We cite the General Handbook so you can check our work. It doesn't mean the Church has reviewed or endorsed Wardzen.
Questions about callings
Does Wardzen follow the General Handbook?
Calling changes are built around the Handbook's process: who recommends and approves each calling, where it's sustained, and how a release is announced. The sections are cited on this page so you can check them. Wardzen is an independent product, not made or endorsed by the Church.
Can organization presidencies use it?
Yes. Elders quorum, Relief Society, Young Women, Primary and Sunday School presidencies ask the bishopric for callings and releases in their organization, other than their president. They can withdraw a request until the bishopric acts on it, and they're emailed when it's decided.
Our stake isn't on Wardzen. Can our ward still use Callings?
Yes. Your ward runs its own callings and keeps track of the ones the stake extends. When your stake joins and you link with a code, the stake takes those over.
What if we need a calling that isn't on the list?
Add a custom calling for your unit. A ward's custom callings are sustained in sacrament meeting, and a stake's always go to the high council. If you remove one later, its past changes keep their record.
What happens when a change is finished?
Recording the last step updates the org chart. The new person is added, and for a calling one person holds, whoever held it comes off. Finished, declined and canceled changes stay in the calling history.
Give every calling a clear path
Start with your ward or your stake. Add your leaders, and the next calling already knows its steps.
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