Clerk and
Auditor Training
On Fast Sunday each month we hear testimonies from church members. We often hear expressions of sincere gratitude for the Prophet and General Authorities. We hear gratitude expressed for Stake, District and Mission Presidents. We hear members state their appreciation for their Bishops and Branch Presidents. We even hear testimonies of thanks for home teachers and visiting teachers. When is the last time you heard a member say, “I am so thankful for my dear Ward Clerk, or Stake Auditor?” How important are these callings? I want to discuss the principle of recording and reporting.
In December, 1833, during a time of great hardship in the
newly restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when the members
were split with some still in
43 And now, I will show unto you a parable, that you may know my will
concerning the redemption of
44 A certain nobleman had a spot of land, very choice; and he said unto his
servants: Go ye unto my vineyard, even upon this very choice piece of land, and
plant twelve olive–trees;
45 And set watchmen round about them, and build a tower, that one may
overlook the land round about, to be a watchman upon the tower, that mine
olive–trees may not be broken down when the enemy shall come to spoil and take
upon themselves the fruit of my vineyard.
46 Now, the servants of the nobleman went and did as their lord commanded
them, and planted the olive–trees, and built a hedge round about,
and set watchmen, and began to build a tower.
47 And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say
among themselves: And what need hath my lord of this tower?
48 And consulted for a long time, saying among themselves: What need hath my
lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace?
49 Might not this money be given to the exchangers? For there is no need of
these things.
50 And while they were at variance one with another they became very
slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord.
51 And the enemy came by night, and broke down the hedge; and the servants of
the nobleman arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the enemy destroyed their
works, and broke down the olive–trees.
52 Now, behold, the nobleman, the lord of the vineyard, called upon his
servants, and said unto them, Why! what is the cause of
this great evil?
53 Ought ye not to have done even as I commanded you, and—after ye had
planted the vineyard, and built the hedge round about, and set watchmen upon
the walls thereof—built the tower also, and set a watchman upon the tower, and
watched for my vineyard, and not have fallen asleep, lest the enemy should come
upon you?
54 And behold, the watchman upon the tower would have seen the enemy while he
was yet afar off; and then ye could have made ready and kept the enemy from
breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the
destroyer.
55 And the lord of the vineyard said unto one of his servants: Go and gather
together the residue of my servants, and take all the strength of mine house,
which are my warriors, my young men, and they that are of middle age also among
all my servants, who are the strength of mine house, save those only whom I
have appointed to tarry;
56 And go ye straightway unto the land of my vineyard, and redeem my
vineyard; for it is mine; I have bought it with money.
57 Therefore, get ye straightway unto my land; break
down the walls of mine enemies; throw down their tower, and scatter their
watchmen.
58 And inasmuch as they gather together against you, avenge me of mine
enemies, that by and by I may come with the residue of mine house and possess
the land.
59 And the servant said unto his lord: When shall these things be?
60 And he said unto his servant: When I will; go ye
straightway, and do all things whatsoever I have commanded you;
61 And this shall be my seal and blessing upon you—a faithful and wise
steward in the midst of mine house, a ruler in my kingdom.
62 And his servant went straightway, and did all things whatsoever his lord
commanded him; and after many days all things were fulfilled.
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 101:43 - 62)
To better understand this parable, let’s consider what and who it represents.
Who is the Nobleman? Servants?
What is the vineyard? The olive trees?
Who are the watchmen? The enemy?
What is meant by the fruit? Planting a tree? Building a tower?
In 1
Nephi 19:23, we are instructed to “liken all
scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit
and learning.”
Following this counsel, I will read again the
parable from D&C 101. But this time,
I will substitute some words: Jesus for
the nobleman, clerks and auditors for servants, stake for vineyard, ward for
olive tree, Bishop for watchmen, Stake President for watchman on a tower, devil
for enemy, members for fruit, and keeping records/submitting reports/doing
audits for planting or building.
43 And now, I will show unto you a parable, that you may know my will
concerning the redemption of
44 Jesus had a stake, very choice; and he said unto his clerks
and auditors: Go ye unto my stake, even upon this very choice stake,
and keep records for the twelve wards;
45 And support the Bishops round about them, and submit the
reports, that one may overlook the stake round about, to be a Stake
President, that mine wards may not be broken down when the devil
shall come to spoil and take for himself the members of my stake.
46 Now, the clerks and auditors went and did as Jesus commanded
them, and kept records of the wards, and supported Bishops,
and began to submit the reports.
47 And while they were yet auditing the records thereof, they
began to say among themselves: And what need hath Jesus of this report?
48 And consulted for a long time, saying among themselves: What need hath Jesus
of these audits, seeing this is a time when all is well in the church?
49 Might not our effort be given to missionary work or family
history? For there
is no need of these things.
50 And while they were at variance one with another they became very
slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord.
51 And the enemy came by night, and the clerks and auditors of Jesus
arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the devil destroyed their
works, and broke down the wards.
52 Now, behold, Jesus, the lord of the stake, called upon his clerks
and auditors, and said unto them, Why! what is the cause of this great evil?
53 Ought ye not to have done even as I
commanded you, and—after ye had kept the ward records, and supported
the Bishops thereof—audited the records also, and supported the
Stake President, and watched for my stake, and not have fallen
asleep, lest the devil should come upon you?
54 And behold, the Stake President would have seen the devil
while he was yet afar off; and then ye could have made ready and kept the devil
from breaking down the Bishops thereof, and saved my stake from
the hands of the destroyer.
55 And Jesus said unto one of his clerks and auditors: Go and
gather together the residue of my clerks and auditors, and take the
best Priesthood Leaders, which are my warriors, my young men, and they that
are of middle age, who are the strength of mine house, save those only whom I
have appointed to tarry;
56 And go ye straightway unto my stake, and redeem my stake;
for it is mine; I have bought it with my life.
57 Therefore, get ye straightway unto my stake;
break down the walls of mine enemies; throw down their tower, and scatter their
watchmen.
58 And inasmuch as they gather together against you, avenge me of mine
enemies, that by and by I may come with the residue of mine house and possess
the stake.
59 And the clerks and auditors said unto the lord: When shall
these things be?
60 And he said unto his clerks and auditors: When I will; go ye straightway, and do all things whatsoever I have
commanded you;
61 And this shall be my seal and blessing upon you—a
faithful and wise steward in the midst of mine house, a ruler in my kingdom.
62 And his clerks and auditors went straightway, and did all things
whatsoever Jesus commanded them; and after many days all things
were fulfilled.
What is the principle the Lord is teaching
us? Obedience, faithfulness, do not question the instructions of the Lord.
If all saints would fulfill their callings, no
matter what the calling, as counseled in this parable, the church would
progress at a pace we can hardly imagine.
Let me tell you about a faithful stake clerk in
1920, serving in Arizona where there were not many members of the church, the
wards were very spread out, the roads were bad, and there were very few
telephones (no cell phones.) Does this
sound like
I quote:
“Soon after Spencer's marriage his father called him as clerk of the St.
Joseph Arizona Stake. In those days the clerk’s position was about a half-time
job, since nearly all the services now provided by the Presiding Bishop's
Office (MSR) were then handled by the clerk….
At the end of the year, with the annual reports
due, it burgeoned into a full-time job, consuming every evening from the time
Spencer got off work until well after midnight. "The house was completely
taken over by reports," said Camilla….
Part of the job was an annual audit of the ward
records of all twenty-one congregations in the stake, which then included units
as far away as
(Edward
L. Kimball and Andrew E. Kimball, Jr., Spencer W. Kimball: Twelfth President
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1977], 102.)
I wonder, if during the
times of this very heavy workload, this clerk was tempted to think, “Are all
these reports really needed? Do they
need to be exact? Why do I have to
travel so far to train the clerks in all the wards and branches?”
Who was this faithful Stake Clerk? He was Spencer W. Kimball. The same person who would announce 58 years
later, a most wonderful revelation:
In early June of this year (1978), the First
Presidency announced that a revelation had been received by President Spencer
W. Kimball extending priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy male members
of the Church. President Kimball has
asked that I advise the conference that after he had received this revelation,
which came to him after extended meditation and prayer in the sacred rooms of
the holy temple, he presented it to his counselors, who accepted it and
approved it. It was then presented to
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who unanimously approved it, and was
subsequently presented to all other General Authorities, who likewise approved
it unanimously.
Would this revelation have come if,
in 1920, Spencer Kimball had not been not faithful in his calling as a clerk? The answer is, “Yes, it would have come, but
likely through a different person, and at a different time.” The Lord’s plans will always prevail, but our
faithfulness can affect the timing.
(Other examples: Saul and Samuel,
116 pages)
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