Programs and Policies Newsletter

Genealogy Manual. Family Exaltation and You is now available as an aid for leaders who conduct the priesthood genealogy class. Published by the First Presidency, the manual contains twelve lessons in the basics of genealogy and is available for fifty cents from the General Church Distribution Center. Under the direction of the bishop, this class is to be taught for a period of approximately three months and then repeated until all adult ward members have received this training. The class may be held during the Sunday School worship service Sunday morning, as the lessons are prepared for a forty-five minute class period, so as to not interfere with members attending their regular Sunday School classes. This class may also be held during Sunday School class time in wards where the bishops feel that facilities and space will permit this procedure.

Washington Temple. Slated for completion in May 1974, the eighteenth temple to be built by the Church will be erected on a fifty-seven-acre wooded tract near Silver Springs, Maryland. The new temple will be constructed of reinforced concrete and faced with white Alabama marble in a symmetrical straight-line form design. Construction contracts have been let to Temple Constructors, Inc., which consists of three building construction firms: Jacobsen Construction Company and Okland Construction Company of Salt Lake City, and Sidney W. Foulger Company of Washington, D.C.

Safety Program. The First Presidency has approved the establishment of a Church safety program to be administered by the Industrial Accident and Safety Division of the Church Employees Benefit Department. Aimed at reducing accidents through safety education, the new program will affect all Church employees. Church Safety Director Theron W. Borup, supervisor of the Industrial Accident Division, will also serve as chairman of the Church Safety Committee. Safety committee members, who will establish policy, advise the director, and coordinate existing programs, will be drawn from several Church departments.

Sunday School Enrollment. The entire membership of the ward, three years of age and older, should be entered on the Sunday School rolls. In addition, children younger than three years old who are attending Sunday School in specially organized classes should be enrolled. The names of children under three who have not been enrolled in Sunday School should be kept on a separate roll so that they may be invited to come to Sunday School when they are three.

New Temple Presidents. Presidents for the Church’s two newest temples have been announced by the First Presidency. Named president of the Ogden Temple was A. Reed Halverson, with his wife, Luana P. Halverson, as temple matron. President of the Provo Temple is Harold Glen Clark, with his wife, Mary Deane Clark, assisting as temple matron. Until this fall, when the temples are expected to open, these temple presidents will direct the recruiting and training of the respective temple workers.