The ''General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' is an on-line book of instructions and policies for leaders and members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). The contents are prepared by the church's

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Along with the church's

standard works The standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church, the largest in the Latter Day Saint movement) are the four books that currently constitute its open scriptural canon. The four books of the standard works are: * ...

(i.e., its scriptural canon), the ''General Handbook'' stands as the preeminent policy and practice guide for the leaders of the LDS Church.

Purpose

In general, the ''General Handbook'' contains institutional church policies, as opposed to church doctrine. However, brief statements of doctrine are commonly presented at the start of sections in the handbook to provide the doctrinal context in which the policies are being set and implemented. In that way, the ''General Handbook'' unifies the church's

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

and creeds with its

ecclesiology In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church (congregation), Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its ecclesiastical polity, polity, its Church discipline, discipline, its escha ...

and polity. The ''General Handbook'' acts as a "standard reference point" for bishops and other leaders to make decisions. The leaders are encouraged to follow the handbook "with the guidance of the Holy Ghost" and with "sensitivity to individual circumstances."

Contents and distribution

The topics in the ''General Handbook'' include guidelines involving general,

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

, and regional administration; duties of the

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

; duties of the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

; temples and

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

;

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

service; administering church welfare;

church membership council In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a church membership council (formerly called a disciplinary council) is an ecclesiastical event during which a church member's status is considered, typically for alleged violations ...

s and name removal; interviews and counseling; physical facilities; creating, changing, and naming new units;

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

relations; Church Educational System; Perpetual Education Fund; records and reports; finances; stake

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

; ordinance and blessing policies; general church policies on administrative, medical and health, and moral issues. It also contains information primarily relevant to the functions of the leaders of the church's priesthood quorums and auxiliary organizations. In this area, the topics include guidelines involving families and the church in God's plan, priesthood principles, leadership in the church, the ward council, the work of salvation in the ward and stake, welfare principles and leadership,

Melchizedek priesthood The priesthood of Melchizedek is a role in Abrahamic religions, modelled on Melchizedek, combining the dual position of king and priest. Hebrew Bible Melchizedek is a king and priest appearing in the Book of Genesis. The name means "King of Rig ...

, Aaronic priesthood, Relief Society, Young Women, Primary, Sunday School, activities, music, stake organization, single members, uniformity and adaptation, meetings in the church, callings in the church, and priesthood ordinances and blessings. Beginning in 2020, the handbook became available on the church website and other digital resources. This handbook superseded previous revisions, namely Handbook 1 (for stake presidents and bishops) and Handbook 2 (for all leaders), combining all information into a single digital publication. The material is primarily intended for church leaders.

Unauthorized distribution

Prior to 2020, portions of the ''Handbook'' were not publicly available. In the past, unauthorized copies of the restricted handbook have been made available on the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. After the 1998 version of the ''Church Handbook'' was published,

Jerald and Sandra Tanner Jerald Dee Tanner (June 1, 1938 – October 1, 2006) and Sandra McGee Tanner (born January 14, 1941) are American writers and researchers who publish archival and evidential materials about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

's Utah Lighthouse Ministry published portions on the internet without the church's permission or the book's copyright notice. The text was also disseminated to other websites to which the ULM's website linked. In a 1999 lawsuit '' Intellectual Reserve v. Utah Lighthouse Ministry'', a

United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district co ...

issued an injunction prohibiting the further duplication of the contents of the handbook and ordered ULM to remove the offending material from its website. In May 2008, the LDS Church notified the

Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., or Wikimedia for short and abbreviated as WMF, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California and registered as a charitable foundation under local laws. Best know ...

that it believed the copyright to the ''Handbook of Instructions'' had been violated by a link posted in Wikinews.Carrie A. Moore
"LDS Church alleges Wikimedia site infringed copyright"
'' Deseret Morning News'', 2008-05-14. The link directed readers to the text of the handbook on the

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

website, unaffiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation. Shortly after the complaint was made, Wikinews removed the link to the text from the article. In 2010, the church placed part of the handbook on its official website, which was seen as "part of a recent trend in the church to become more transparent." Peggy Fletcher Stack
"LDS Church handbook on social issues available online"
''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...

'', 2010-11-26. In 2020, the entirety of the ''General Handbook'' was placed online.

Media discussion

Although the ''General Handbook'' covers a wide variety of topics related to church organization and policy, media attention has focused largely on the church's policies on social issues that are outlined in the ''Handbook''. As summarized by the ''

'', the ''Handbook'' states that the LDS Church

opposes gambling (including government-run lotteries), guns in churches, euthanasia, Satan worship and hypnotism for entertainment. It "strongly discourages" surrogate motherhood, sperm donation, surgical sterilizations (including vasectomies) and artificial insemination — when "using semen from anyone but the husband." But
he church He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
supports organ donation, paying income taxes, members running for political office and autopsies."

Regarding birth control, the ''Tribune'' comments:

The handbook says it is a "privilege" for Mormon couples to nurture and rear children, but the decision of how many to have is "extremely intimate and private and should be left between the couple and the Lord." Moreover, church members "should not judge one another in this matter." The book also says sexual relations in marriage "are divinely approved not only for the purpose of procreation, but also as a way of expressing love and strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife."

The ''Tribune'' has also noted that the LDS Church discourages the use of

in vitro fertilization In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...

using

semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is an organic bodily fluid created to contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize the female ovum. Sem ...

and

ova , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

from people outside the couple and that the LDS Church has no official stance on drinking

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

. The ''Tribune'' quoted one member of the church as applauding the public availability of the ''Handbook'', as it will allow the members of the church to become more familiar with the church's stance on certain social issues:

“I've known church members who were shocked that the handbook strongly discourages vasectomies. They had no idea that there was any policy concerning it.... If there are such policies, I think it is wise that everyone — not just those with leadership callings — knows about them."

Some members have complained that the ''General Handbook'' does not always explain the doctrinal justification for the church's stance on certain social issues, such as that related to artificial insemination of single women in the church. The ''General Handbook'' states that artificial insemination of single women in the church "is not approved" and that "single sisters who deliberately refuse to follow the counsel of church leaders in this matter are subject to church discipline" but it does not explain why similar treatment would not be meted out to single women in the church who adopt children.

History

The document that is identified as the first ''Church Handbook of Instructions'' was published in 1899 as a small, 14-page booklet. It primarily contained instructions on how to manage in-kind payments of

tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...

by church members. The handbook was revised every year until 1910 and approximately every five years thereafter. The book has been variously called the ''Annual Instructions'', the ''Circular of Instructions'', the ''Handbook of Instructions'', the ''General Handbook of Instructions'', the ''Church Handbook of Instructions'', and finally the ''Handbook''. In 1998, the book was split into two volumes for the first time and was renamed the ''Church Handbook of Instructions''. A new edition was published and released to church leaders in November 2010, with the new names ''Handbook 1'' and ''Handbook 2''. One of the major changes between the 2006 and 2010 versions of the handbook is that the 2010 version "softened the language about gay Mormons" and eliminated statements "that same-sex relationships 'distort loving relationships' and that gays should repent of their 'homosexual thoughts or feelings.'" In 2020, the two-volume handbook was consolidated into a single volume and it was published online in its entirety for the first time.Peggy Fletcher Stack and David Noyce
"LDS Church publishes new handbook with changes to discipline, transgender policy"
''

, February 19, 2020. As compared to earlier editions, the 2020 ''General Handbook'' has a "softer tone on discipline, nemphasis on pastoral care, ... clarity on complex issues and push for greater compassion toward same-sex and transgender members".

Chronology

The following chronological listing of the publication's history was taken from an article by Edward L. Kimball (until 24(A)),. supplemented with a list of later editions:

References

External links

General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
churchofjesuschrist.org * * {{Portal, LDS Church 1899 books 1899 in Christianity 2020 non-fiction books 2020 in Christianity Latter Day Saint statements of faith Church organization Religious handbooks and manuals The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints texts