Public Affairs Councils

The inspired system of Church councils also applies to public affairs. The public affairs council functions under the direction of a local priesthood adviser. His guidance is vital to the council's success. In addition to the priesthood adviser, all public affairs councils should include at least a director of public affairs and two assistant directors. Additional specialists may be added as needed [Serving in Public Affairs].

Serving on a Public Affairs Council

Public affairs council members should be excellent ambassadors for the Church, able to interact comfortably with individuals from across the social spectrum. As media and other issues may arise at any time requiring immediate attention, those serving on a public affairs council should not be given other demanding Church assignments.

Public Affairs Council Functions

Acting under the direction of the priesthood adviser, public affairs councils develop an annual plan and budget and meet 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 majority of the time in council meetings should be devoted to developing, acting upon, and revisiting road maps—action plans or contact plans that help councils establish and expand relationships with opinion leaders. Road maps are the substance of a public affairs council's annual project plan.

The effectiveness of a public affairs council is measured by its achievement of priesthood objectives. Successfully implementing the Three-Step Process for Building Opinion Leader Relationships is a good predictor of council success. Priesthood leaders should work closely with council members to ensure they remain focused on what should be done, rather than only on what can be done.

Receiving and Providing Training

The priesthood adviser to the public affairs council has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the council is properly trained. This responsibility can be shared with the director of public affairs, and assistance may be requested from multistake councils, as well as specially named regional, national, or area public affairs councils, as appropriate.

Most training should be based on material from this website.

With the approval of the priesthood adviser, some aspects of public affairs training should be provided to other priesthood and auxiliary leaders or other Church members who may be included in outreach to opinion leaders.

Funding for Public Affairs Councils

All public affairs councils should establish a budget as part of the public affairs annual plan. These funds come from local budgets.

All Church funds are sacred and should be handled accordingly and always with priesthood approval. Experience has shown that most public affairs activities require little or no funding and that even significant Church objectives can be achieved at very little expense.

To the degree possible, expenditures should be anticipated in the public affairs annual plan and tied to specific elements of the plan, such as activities that are part of a road map for building a relationship with an opinion leader.

Funding for stake and multistake public affairs councils should be provided by the Church units represented by these councils. Funding for specially named regional and national public affairs councils is provided by area public affairs councils, which in turn receive funding from the Public Affairs Department.