Preparing Bishop’s Orders

The bishop has a divine mandate to seek out and care for those with temporal needs. As part of this responsibility, bishops have the option to provide members in need with a bishop’s order for food, clothing, or other basic goods, as well as certain professional services.

The bishop generally assigns the Relief Society president to meet with members and fill out the online order forms for food, clothing, or other goods. However, he may also assign the elders quorum president. A counselor in the Relief Society or elders quorum presidency may be assigned if the president is unavailable. The assigned leader submits the completed form to the bishop for his approval.

Church leaders represent the Savior as they care for those with temporal and emotional needs. In doing so, they strive to help members strengthen their self-reliance. Leaders seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost so they can assist with sensitivity and compassion.

When providing Church assistance, leaders follow the principles and policies outlined in the Handbook sections 22.4 and 22.5. Below is a summary of those principles.

Principles for Providing Church Assistance

• Encourage personal and family responsibility.
• Provide temporary assistance for essential needs.
• Provide resources or services rather than cash.
• Offer work or service opportunities.
• Keep information about Church assistance confidential.

ACCESSING THE WEBSITE

Authorized leaders (bishoprics, Relief Society presidents, clerks, and stake presidencies) and other authorized ward members can access the Welfare Resources website at welfareservices.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

The website is also accessible through ChurchofJesusChrist.org by following these steps:

1. Go to the ChurchofJesusChrist.org home page, and sign in to your Church Account by choosing My Account and Ward and then Sign In.
2. Enter your username and password.
3. Under My Account and Ward, click on the Tools and Support menu, and choose Leader and Clerk Resources.
4. On the Leader and Clerk Resources page, click on the Other menu, and choose Welfare Resources/Bishops’ Orders.

WELFARE SERVICES RESOURCES AT A GLANCE

1. Resources: The Resources tab is where unit leaders can access welfare-related resources for members of their ward or branch, such as orders for food, clothing, and household items and counseling and career resources.
2. Orders: The Orders tab is where unit leaders manage bishops’ orders. Leaders can create new orders, view current orders, and access other information here.
3. Referrals: The Referrals tab allows leaders to view initiated counseling services referrals.
4. Reports: The Reports tab lets leaders view and print reports of welfare orders for their units or for specific recipients.
5. Settings: The Settings tab allows bishops and other ward leaders to set their default notification settings and more. This tab also allows bishops to manage the list of authorized preparers and specify default settings for their ward.

THE ORDER PROCESS

Below is the typical process for initiating, preparing, approving, and filling bishops’ orders online. More details will be described in later sections.

1. Initiate: The bishop, one of his counselors, the Relief Society president, or another authorized preparer initiates an order and assigns it to a preparer, if needed.
2. Prepare: The bishop, one of his counselors, the Relief Society president, or another authorized preparer meets with the recipient and prepares the order. If the preparer is not in the bishopric, she or he submits the order for approval. If the bishop has chosen to receive notifications, then he will receive a text message or email when an order has been submitted.
3. Approve: The bishop approves the order. In his absence, one of his counselors may give approval, but the bishop will be notified and approve the order later (even if the order has already been filled). If the preparer and recipient have chosen to receive text or email notifications, then they will receive notification of the approval.
4. Fill: The recipient or an authorized representative fills the order at the bishops’ storehouse, an approved grocery store, or a Deseret Industries store. Some recipients will pick up their orders at designated Church meetinghouses.

THE REFERRAL PROCESS

The following describes the typical process for submitting counseling resources referrals online.

1. Initiate: The bishop initiates a referral by clicking the + Referral button on the Welfare Resources home page. Referrals that have been saved but not submitted appear as Initiated.
2. Submit: After completing a referral, the bishop submits the referral by clicking the Submit button. (To save the referral to complete it at a later time, click Save.)
3. What’s Next: After the referral has been submitted, a counselor from the local Family Services office will contact you for more details about the individual(s). Family Services will work closely with you to determine the best resources to help the individual(s).