Your job is to make the EQ presidency more effective by keeping the records clean, the meetings focused, and the quorum visible to its leaders.
Day One
Do These Things First
Get LCR access. Go to lcr.churchofjesuschrist.org and log in with your Church account. If you don't have access to the Elders Quorum records, ask the ward clerk to set it up. This is your main tool.
Get added to the presidency group text. If one exists, get on it. If it doesn't, suggest creating one: you, the president, and both counselors.
Find the quorum roster in LCR and look it over. How many active members? Any obviously outdated entries (members who moved, etc.)? Note what needs cleaning up.
Ask the EQ President:↗ text him
"When is our next presidency meeting, and what do you need me to prepare?" That's the whole question. Let him answer.
Ask the ward clerk
how they track sacrament meeting attendance and where the previous secretary kept minutes (if anywhere). You're inheriting whatever system existed — or building one from scratch.
Your Role
What the Secretary Actually Does
The EQ Secretary supports the presidency by handling the operational and record-keeping tasks so they can focus on ministering to the quorum. You're not managing them — you're reducing friction for them.
In practice, this means four things:
Take minutes at presidency meetings
Track attendance at sacrament meeting and EQ class
Manage ministering records in LCR
Keep the quorum roster current
The presidency should never have to ask for something twice. If they mentioned it in a meeting and you wrote it down, it's handled. That's what a good secretary feels like to work with.
Weekly Rhythm
Every Sunday
Before church
Arrive a few minutes early if there's a presidency meeting before sacrament. Have your notes app or a notepad ready.
Presidency meeting
Take notes. What you're capturing: decisions made, who owns each action item, and the deadline. Not a transcript. If something was discussed but no decision was reached, just note that it's open. After the meeting, you should be able to answer: "What are we doing, and who's doing it?"
Sacrament meeting
Track attendance. A simple count of quorum members present — however your ward does it (clipboard, phone notes, whatever). You'll compile this monthly.
EQ class
Track attendance here separately. Note any members you haven't seen in a while — you're not going to chase them down yourself, but you surface it to the presidency.
After church
If there were action items from the presidency meeting, send a quick recap to the group text: "From today's meeting: [item] — [name] has it, by [when]." One message. Keeps everyone on the same page.
During the week
Update LCR when things change (someone moved, a new member joined the quorum, an address changed). Don't let these pile up — they're easy to fix when fresh and annoying to reconstruct later.
Monthly Rhythm
Every Month
Early month
Remind ministering brothers to submit their reports. They can do it via the Gospel Library app (Ministering → their assignment → Report) or you can enter it in LCR if they tell you verbally. The deadline is end of month but remind early.
Mid-month
Check LCR for who hasn't reported yet. A second nudge mid-month is easier than chasing people on the 30th. "No contact" is still a valid report — you just need the data entered.
Before Ward Council
Give the EQ President a short summary: attendance trend (up, down, steady), ministering report rate, any members who've been absent for several weeks. One paragraph. He can use it or not — but it's there if he needs it.
End of month
LCR should be current before the month closes: attendance entered, ministering reports in, membership records updated. Takes 15 minutes if you've kept up with it weekly.
LCR
Leader & Clerk Resources — The Basics
Login at lcr.churchofjesuschrist.org with your Church account. This is where the records live.
The Three Things You'll Use Most
Membership list: Members → Elders Quorum. This is your quorum roster. Watch for members who appear here but haven't attended in months — surface them to the presidency.
Ministering: Ministering → Elders Quorum. You can see all assignments, who has reported, and the last contact date. The "unassigned" list tells you who doesn't have a ministering companion — that's a gap worth surfacing.
Attendance: Enter sacrament and EQ attendance here after each Sunday. It takes two minutes.
Common Issues
Members move without updating records — you'll have people on the list who live in another ward. Work with the ward clerk to transfer records promptly. Don't just ignore them.
New members may appear in LCR before anyone has introduced themselves in person. Check for new additions regularly and mention them to the presidency.
If you can't do something in LCR, the ward clerk usually can. That's their domain — work with them, not around them.
Minutes
How to Take Meeting Minutes
Minutes are a record of commitments, not a transcript of conversation. The most useful minute entry has three parts:
The decision or action
Who owns it
The deadline or follow-up date
Example: "Brother Hughes will reach out to the Johnsons about home teaching by next Sunday." Not: "There was a lengthy discussion about the Johnsons and eventually it was decided..."
If the presidency can look at last week's minutes and immediately see what's open and who owns it — you've done your job.
Format and Storage
Whatever works consistently. A notes app shared with the presidency, a simple Google Doc, even a printed sheet in a binder. Pick something and stick with it. The format matters less than the habit.
Ministering
Managing Ministering Records
The presidency sets the assignments — you record them and keep them current in LCR. Your job is the records, not the relationships (though you're not excluded from those either).
What to Keep Current
When a family moves, update their record that week — don't let it drift
When a companionship changes, update LCR right away
The "unassigned" list in LCR means someone doesn't have a ministering brother — that's worth flagging to the presidency
The Monthly Report
Remind ministering brothers early. Accept reports however they come in (text, app, verbal — just get them entered). The key number the presidency needs: how many of our assignments made contact this month? One line. Give it to them before Ward Council.
A low report rate doesn't mean bad ministering — it often means people are doing it but not reporting it. Your job is to get the data, not to police the behavior.
Key Contacts
Who You Work With Regularly
EQ President
↗ text
Your primary working relationship. He tells you what he needs; you handle the operational side. If he's not communicating what he needs, ask: "What would make your job easier this week?"
EQ Counselors
↗ text
They're in the presidency meetings. Know their names, include them in action items, copy them on the recap when relevant.
Ward Clerk
↗ text
Your partner for LCR access and record questions. If you can't figure something out in LCR, they can. Build that relationship early.
RS Secretary
↗ text
Coordinate on anything involving joint ministering (EQ + RS companion pairs) and on new members. You'll need each other more than you'd expect.
Bishop's counselor
↗ text
One of the counselors has EQ stewardship. Know who that is. The EQ President will know. This person is the bridge to the bishopric when needed.
Quick Notes
Operational Notes
Log your meeting schedule, room numbers, key dates, or anything worth handing off when you're released.