Leadership Training Library Videos Help Members in New Callings

Contributed By By Melissa Merrill, Church News and Events

  • 14 September 2012

Leaders around the world are finding valuable help for themselves and for members in new callings in the online Leadership Training Library.

Article Highlights

  • Leadershiplibrary.ChurchofJesusChrist.org contains videos in 11 languages that supplement Handbook 2 and offer instruction about many Church callings.
  • Leaders hope the videos, which include unscripted footage of real wards and branches in a variety of countries, will show that anyone can successfully serve in the Church.
  • New material, including topics of interest to the Brethren, are added to the library quarterly.

“Members throughout the Church—in more ‘established’ areas as well as areas where the Church is newer—can benefit from the training and explanation these videos offer.” —Ray Robinson, a director in the Church’s Priesthood Department.

At a recent training meeting in Australia, 1,000 priesthood leaders were asked if they had used the Leadership Training Library. Approximately 75 percent of those in attendance raised their hands.

Leadershiplibrary.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, launched in September 2011, contains approximately 100 videos supplementing Handbook 2, offering instruction about Church callings related to bishoprics, high priests, elders, Aaronic Priesthood, Relief Society, Young Women, Primary, Sunday School, mission leaders, and young single adults.

A stake president in England, for instance, used the videos to train two new bishops and then suggested they watch other videos on their own to further understand their new callings.

“Whether you are in a personal priesthood interview, a council meeting, or a training meeting, it’s such a great resource to back up discussions you’re having about the handbook—to physically demonstrate the principles,” he said. “That is really powerful.”

Created for Members Worldwide, with Members Worldwide

For years, Church leaders have noticed a need for video-based training. The Leadership Training Library answers that need by providing training videos available in 11 languages.

The videos were created to correspond with the sections of Handbook 2, which was introduced in November 2010, and include unscripted footage of real wards and branches in a variety of countries, including Guatemala, Korea, and England. By the end of 2012, videos from Germany, Samoa, New Zealand, and Peru will be added.

“Members throughout the Church—in more ‘established’ areas as well as areas where the Church is newer—can benefit from the training and explanation these videos offer,” said Ray Robinson, a director in the Church’s Priesthood Department. “As we see real-life examples of leaders serving, we can learn how to serve in our own homes and in the Church.”

Regardless of where they were filmed, the videos provide an opportunity for members of the Church, regardless of location, to learn from each other.

“I cannot teach what these clips teach,” one Primary president in Nicaragua wrote. “I cannot paint a picture of how successful Primary can be. To me, these are of great value.”

A Living Resource

During the February 2011 Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “The purpose of [the Leadership Training Library] is to help local leaders learn, teach, and apply principles and policies from the handbook.”

One of the features of the Leadership Training Library is that topics of special interest to the Brethren are added regularly. Additionally, as Area Presidencies identify additional training needs, new material is added to the library quarterly.

In South America, one leader has found the Leadership Training Library an up-to-date resource to be utilized in area council training meetings.

“Priesthood and auxiliary training is a challenge for two reasons: restrictions on . . . travel, and the volume of information in the handbook and manuals,” he wrote. “This marvelous resource enables us to resolve both of those problems.”

One of Many Training Resources

The Leadership Training Library is not intended to be an exhaustive training resource, but a site to help members get started. In the future, the videos might be refined or clarified, but the site will not likely house a vast collection of video content.

Members should still study Handbook 2 and the scriptures, counsel as presidencies and with priesthood leaders, and perhaps confer with other members who have served in the calling in the past and who may be familiar with particular situations that exist in their community.

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