Welcome to your new calling in public affairs! We hope you find your service in public affairs to be exciting and richly rewarding. Here are some things to know and suggestions to help you get started.

What Is Public Affairs?

Public affairs is a Church function that helps Church leaders worldwide to build positive, trusting relationships with influential individuals not of our faith. Public affairs work in the Church is analogous to the secular practice of public relations, a professional function that helps organizations and individuals to communicate positive and accurate messages and project a positive image. Through your efforts in public affairs the Church in your area may be better understood and appreciated, and prominent individuals may feel more inclined to use their influence to help the Church in various ways to accomplish its important work.

Public Affairs – A Priesthood Program

Public affairs is different in many ways from other Church callings, but like all others, it is directed by priesthood authority. Faithfully following the inspired direction of your priesthood leaders is the most important part of your calling.

The Core Purpose of Public Affairs

Though public affairs work focuses on those not of our faith, baptism and conversion are not its primary aim. Rather, public affairs is primarily concerned with helping priesthood leaders to establish positive relationships with key individuals. These individuals, commonly referred to as opinion leaders, are those with influence who can affect the public reputation of the Church or who can help or hinder the Church in the achievement of its mission. Building these relationships constitutes the Core Purpose of Public Affairs.

Personal Preparation

Personally preparing yourself to serve through study, prayer, and pondering is essential to your success. Learn all you can from the public affairs materials published by the Church (including this site) so that you can equip yourself with knowledge that the Holy Ghost can use in guiding your decisions and actions.

A Unique Call

The outward focus of public affairs toward those not of our faith and the sometimes secular nature of public affairs work make it unique among Church callings. This can sometimes make it difficult to understand and explain to others and tends to obscure the fact that public affairs is a spiritual work that is wholly dependent on the guidance of the Holy Ghost for its success. Though the work itself often bears more resemblance to activities from the professional and secular world than the service rendered by other Church members, it can and should be spiritually satisfying to those called by inspiration into public affairs service.

A Worldwide Work

Public affairs is a worldwide Church program, actively functioning nearly everywhere the Church is organized and in many places where the Church is not yet fully organized. The full-time work of the Church Public Affairs Department, conducted under the supervision of the First Presidency, is complemented by the work of thousands of called public affairs directors and public affairs council members at the stake, multistake, national, and Church area levels throughout the world.

Public Affairs Councils

The inspired system of Church councils also applies to public affairs. A public affairs council typically consists of a priesthood leader, a director of public affairs, and two assistant directors assigned to media and community/opinion leader relations, respectively. Priesthood leaders may call other specialists as members of the council as needed. The council develops an annual plan and budget and meets regularly to counsel together and to seek inspiration. Council meetings should be used for planning, proposing and evaluating new ideas, preparing for activities, and evaluating past efforts.

The Value of Relationships

Church history is replete with examples of influential individuals, not of our faith, who have helped the Church accomplish its important work. Favorably impressed with the good that the Church accomplishes, such individuals frequently use their influence even today to publicly endorse Church actions, authorize Church initiatives, and even defend the Church in times of need. Positive relationships provide the foundation for all of these benefits. Working together with opinion leaders, we can help them accomplish their work and address their concerns.

A Three-Step Process for Building Strategic Relationships with Opinion Leaders

The recommended approach to building relationships involves three steps: (1) identify the objectives of the Church in the area (the “What”); (2) identify opinion leaders who are most likely to affect the outcome of efforts to meet those objectives (the “Who”); (3) plan and implement appropriate and relevant activities that will help establish strong relationships with identified opinion leaders (the “How”). This process, known as the Three-Step Process for Building Relationships with Opinion Leaders, is recommended for public affairs councils at all levels.

Working with the Media

Key members of the media are also important opinion leaders and deserving of the focused attention of a public affairs council. Because of the media's unique work and influence, working with them requires specialized understanding and effort. Public affairs councils should become very familiar with and proficient in the specifics of working with the media.

Church Newsroom

All public affairs council members should become very familiar with the Church Newsroom for News Media, where the Church publishes current events and news for media representatives and opinion leaders. The Newsroom is also filled with helpful background information on the Church and its history and programs, as well as valuable resources such as photos and video clips that help to tell the Church’s story. Corrections to erroneous reporting about the Church are also posted on Newsroom.

The Newsroom should also be a resource for DPAs in their opinion leader relationship building.

Other Public Affairs Resources

In addition to the Church Handbook of Instructions, Book 2 (Public Affairs section), which can be requested from stake leaders, this Web site is your best guide to doing public affairs work. This site will be enhanced over time, so return often for additional information.

The Deseret Morning News Church Almanac (available through Church Distribution or Deseret Book Company) and the Church News are also valuable resources for increasing public affairs council members’ knowledge of past and current Church activities.

An additional resource is the An Introduction to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints DVD, which provides 12 video segments on a variety of Church topics. Produced in cooperation with Church Public Affairs, the DVD offers its material in eight different languages. It is available from Church Distribution for US$4.50.

Getting Help

Your priesthood leaders are your best and most appropriate source for help and training. Other help is available from Church publications and this site. On occasion it may be appropriate to contact your nearest full-time Public Affairs Department office. Before doing so, you should exhaust all other sources of assistance and should seek the approval of your priesthood leader.