A new administrative handbook for all Church leaders and members will replace Handbook 1 and Handbook 2, the First Presidency announced Thursday.
The new handbook — titled “General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” — will be available to the public in English on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and the Gospel Library app on Feb. 19, 2020. Translation into 51 languages has begun.
As Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles helped introduce the new handbook to General Authorities and General Officers on Thursday, he explained how it was part of the ongoing Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“This Restoration has been and will continue to be a process of learning how to minister as Jesus would to a richly diverse world,” Elder Christofferson said. “We pray this new handbook will help Church leaders use their God-given gifts to continue to bless lives in their ministry. We know there is room in this Church for everyone.”
The new handbook will be digital only. Content will be updated regularly to help leaders around the world adapt the Church's programs, policies and procedures to their local circumstances.
Nearly 80% of the content will be transferred from Handbook 1 (for stake presidents and bishops) and Handbook 2 (for all other organization leaders) and reordered in a new accessible structure.
The handbook will contain 38 chapters. Nine chapters have been updated so far to reflect the new approach, and the remaining 29 chapters will be updated during 2020-2021.
More information about the new handbook will be shared at a later date.
