Confirming the policy on collection boxes in our buildings

9 December 2015

Bishops,

Below is a stake policy about collection boxes that was distributed to ward and stake leaders in 2013. 

Will you please help us follow this policy? We, of course, don’t want to offend anyone, but we feel this is very important. 

As you know, our primary purpose as a church is to be a place of worship--a refuge from the world…and so it’s very important to us that we do everything we can to keep the meetinghouses (especially the hallways and foyers leading into chapels) clean, orderly and clutter-free as members enter to worship, draw close to the Lord and participate in sacred ordinances.

Feel free to forward this to others or, if you have any questions, please reply to this email.

Thank you,

President Lewis

Policy for collection boxes in the foyer

Bishops,

On occasion we will have youth, either Young Men or Young Women, ask if they can put a collection box in the foyer of our meetinghouses as part of an Eagle or service project.

Will you please teach families and especially youth leaders that this is not approved or appropriate for two reasons:

1. It creates a messy or cluttered look in our foyers where we're trying to make our meetinghouses warm and inviting for members and visitors;

2. It undermines the leadership purpose of the service project. For instance, Eagle candidates will learn leadership skills more effectively by organizing and following through with fellow troop members in a community or ward outreach effort, instead of setting out a collection box and waiting for members to donate.

Will you please help teach this to families so we don't offend youth or their parents when we ask them to remove their collection box from the foyer?

Thanks,

Stake Presidency