Comments on: Why Hide the Handbook?

By: Ziff

Ziff — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:29:06 +0000

Thanks for your comment Malinda. That’s a very interesting way of framing the issue that I hadn’t thought of.

By: Malinda

Malinda — Tue, 05 May 2009 08:31:58 +0000

All I can say is that, in THIS CENTURY, most companies make “technical support” available online to reduce human resource expenses. MAYBE, since LDS clergy work for free, AND since they are more likely to remain loyal to the church than a general member (give a man a little power and it becomes hard to turn away, give him a lot of power and it becomes almost impossible), there is no motivation (and arguably DISINCENTIVIZATION) on the part of LDS leadership to circumnavigate their “downline” (so to speak). In wholesale/retail distribution, an “online priesthood keyholder source” would definitely constitute a channel conflict.

By: Woodhead

Woodhead — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:39:20 +0000

Bishops (and stake presidents are fallible. Members or wards are fallible.

While there is not ‘dark conspiracy’ to keep members in the dark about what is in the book, there probably are some in leadership positions who feel they MUST keep the ‘secret recipe’ a secret. There are probably others who feel the secrecy gives them power.

Others probably have not ‘read’ the manual and only refer to it as needed. They might feel insecure with members ‘reading’ the manual and ‘pointing out flaws’ or mistakes in the leadership. (It happens).

At least in part, the manual cosists of guidelines (hence the word instructions, not church handbook of LAW) This reduces the legalistic quibbling that could occur.
Some would read – the church discourages as the church prohitis at all times, rather than it is situationally dependent (pray about it). So meeting could devole into
You should not have done that becuase the instructions state on page…
But I can because on page…

People are people even if we are all supposed to be guided by the same spirit.

By: LDS Anarchist

LDS Anarchist — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 09:09:14 +0000

I’ve gone to my bishops many times to read from the handbook. Some bishops are fine with the request and just whip it out, allowing you to read the section you are interesting in. But recently I had a control freak of a bishop who refused to let me look at it. He instead asked to know what topic I was interested in and read it to me! I guess he figured I’d never read it before (I had, many times with previous bishops who weren’t such control freaks.) Some bishops get pissy when they tell you something and then you want to confirm that they are telling the truth by a perusal of the handbook. I’ve pissed off many a bishop. But don’t you believe you have no access to it. You do. If you want to see it, demand to see it. It is your right as a member. The only thing you can’t do is take it.

By: Emily M.

Emily M. — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 03:52:45 +0000

Once I mentioned to my previous bishop that I’d always wanted to read the handbook. He offered to let me come and read it in his office anytime I wanted. I never took him up on his offer, but I appreciated his openness. Now that DH is in the bishopric, he’s been reading it, and he reads me interesting sections aloud every so often. I’ve never felt that it was so protected that I couldn’t find out what it said if I really wanted to or needed the information; people have offered to look things up for me on various occasions.

By: claire

claire — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 20:59:32 +0000

That is bizarre… what were his reasons? What a strange gift.

By: Janet

Janet — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:26:37 +0000

I still have huge chunks of the handbook given to me by my bishop when I was in the RS presidency. Of course, I cannot find them anywhere.

Y’all have responded quite well to Ziff’s query, I can add no new insight, but I’ll add a little anecdote: when my BIL was a bishop he gave every single unit of the extended family a CD-ROM of the handbook for Christmas. And DH’s family is uber conservative.

By: Stephen M (Ethesis)

Stephen M (Ethesis) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 01:58:07 +0000

Two Steve Ms …

I have to say that I’m impressed at the GAs’ trying to counter our common Mormon tendency to want to set everything in stone as a law forever.

But that is human nature, which means it is probably part of the natural man.

By: Ziff

Ziff — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 20:41:01 +0000

they do not want to quench the Spirit by having the handbook become too institutionalized.

Thanks for making this point, Stephen. That possibility had never occurred to me. If this is indeed the reasoning, I have to say that I’m impressed at the GAs’ trying to counter our common Mormon tendency to want to set everything in stone as a law forever.

I guess keeping the Handbook secret would also make it easier to make changes because very few people are looking at it at any one time, so no hue and cry will arise when it gets changed.

Julie and Starfoxy, your example is interesting. I can see that there may be circumstances in which it would be better to have the priesthood leader be the mediator between the member and the counsel in the Handbook. Still, I tend to agree with Jacob J and Steve M that it’s likely more common that knowing the handbook would be helpful to members in general, and we’re put in an awkward position when we’re kind of supposed to know this book that’s used to regulate our religious lives, but technically we’re not.

When the secrecy of Church finances is discussed on the bloggernacle, Jusice Brandeis’s comment that “sunshine is the best disinfectant” is often quoted in support of the idea that Church finances should be open. I wonder if it might not also apply to the Handbook.

By: Steve M

Steve M — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:19:06 +0000

Oh, and another quick comment. Having taken a cursory look over the CHI that’s posted on the Internet, I was actually impressed (granted, I was looking at an old edition, but I doubt that the current edition is radically different). The instructions seem quite clear and equitable, but there is also substantial room for the local leaders to exercise their discretion. I really see no reason why this shouldn’t be in the hands of ordinary members. I think it would be a wonderful resource for them.