This next part took me a while to understand and get a grasp around, even though it was something I had to learn right away since there was a big need in my ward for it.
What are Bishop’s Orders?
Bishop’s Orders, or Bishop’s Storehouse Orders, are opportunities for struggling families to have access to food and basic goods. These could include things like canned foods, fresh produce, dairy, eggs, and meats, as well as baby wipes, formula, diapers, toilet paper, toothpaste, and so on.
The opportunity to submit Bishop’s Orders varies as Bishop’s Storehouses are limited to specific locations.
Who can fill out a Bishop’s Order?
According to the Church’s Handbook, the Bishopric, Elders Quorum President or Counselors, and Relief Society President or Counselors are the ones allowed to fill out orders.
How do they fill out Bishop’s Orders?
Usually, Bishop’s Orders are filled out online by logging into your LDS.com account, clicking on the “Ministering and Welfare” tab in your back office, and clicking “Bishop’s Orders and Referrals” under “Welfare”.
I live in a student ward with a lot of young married couples that are just starting out in life. Although some of these families really do need the assistance, many of them want to uphold their lifestyle more than they actually need the help.
To help decipher between the two, our bishop created the rule that in order for a family to be allowed to book a time with a member of the RS Presidency to fill out a Bishop’s Order form, they’d first have to attend a self-reliance class.
Self reliance classes were normally held during the 2nd and 4th Sundays.
When I became the Relief Society President, the teachers for the Self Reliance Classes became busy so we transitioned to online, self-paced classes instead.
Every two weeks, I’ve been taking the reading prompts and questions from the Self Reliance Manuals and putting them into a Google form. Then, I’d invite each family to go through it together and fill it out, reading the various prompts and then writing out their answers. I have the form then automatically email them a copy of their answers so they can have it on hand. Once they submit their form, a link to my Google Appointment bookings automatically pop up and they book their appointment with me to fill out their Bishop’s Order.
I don’t read their answers or share them, just make sure they’ve all been filled out before my appointment with them.
What’s nice about this method is they can do it on their schedule and at their own pace.
And then, two weeks later, I roll out another Self Reliance Google Form for them to do together as a family.
