The first JCRB Conference was held November 10-13, 2005 at the Stone Church in Independence, Missouri. Following are the rules followed for establishing the conference. Similar rules have been and will be followed for all other conferences.

1.  Mass Meeting of the Elders of Participating Branches.  Following a day of worship, study and supplication to the Lord that these activities shall be blessed with His spirit, a mass meeting of the registered elders from participating branches shall be convened at 4:00 PM on November 10, 2005.  The temporary president (elected at the August 20, 2005, planning meeting) shall call the meeting to order and appoint the temporary secretary/clerk to take minutes.

2.  Approval of Presiding Protocols.  The temporary president shall report the findings of the High Priests and Seventy regarding the appropriate presiding priesthood office.  Following discussion, the temporary president shall then request an endorsing vote of the elders to affirm the defined principles.

3.   Nomination by the Elders to the Conference for Conference President.  Once the elders have affirmed the guidelines from the High Priests and Seventy with any amendments, the temporary president shall open nominations for the office of president of the conference.  Nominations shall be accepted based on the approved guidelines.  The nominee shall be determined by a hand vote of the elders.

4.   Closing of Mass Meeting of Elders.  The temporary president shall direct the temporary Secretary/Clerk to prepare a report of the meeting of the elders and election results for the Conference as the first order of business on November 11, 2005.  He shall then call upon the newly elected nominee to offer a closing prayer.

5.   Election of Conference President by the Conference.  At the announced time and place on November 11, 2005, the presiding officer as recommended by the High Priests and Seventy shall read the report of the mass meeting of the elders to the Conference.  He shall then declare:  “On behalf of the elders met in deliberation November 10, 2005, I nominate __________________ to preside as President of this Conference of Branches.  Are there any other nominations?”  Following the nominating process, the President shall be chosen from the eligible nominees by vote of the officially registered membership.

6.   Ordering the Conference.  The temporary presiding officer shall call the newly elected president to the chair charging him with the responsibility of opening the Conference with prayer and leading the people of the Lord in this sacred and deliberative assembly.  Nominations shall then be opened for three officers:  Vice-President, Secretary/Clerk, and Treasurer.

7.   Officers, Terms, and Duties.  The Conference shall be fully organized when a President, Vice-President, Secretary/Clerk, and Treasurer are elected.  Officers shall be elected to serve from the beginning of this Conference until another election at the beginning of the next Conference either sustains or replaces each officer thru the electoral process.  The duties of the officers are as follows:

• President:  Following the directions of the high priests and seventies, the President shall be elected to preside over the deliberative sessions of the Conference.  He shall also serve as the chair for the Logistics Committee in planning and coordinating preparations for the next Conference.
  

• Vice-President:  The Vice-President shall be subject to the same qualifications for office as the President.  He shall be a member of the Logistics Committee with voice and vote and shall preside in the absence or by the direction of the President.  He shall serve as a counselor to the President and lend support and assistance.  The President and the Vice-President shall function harmoniously for the benefit and welfare of the Conference.

• Secretary/Clerk:  The Secretary/Clerk shall be chosen from among the Melchisedek priesthood (Doc. & Cov. 17:25b) to keep a record of the activities and deliberations of the Conference.  Minutes shall be provided at each subsequent business session for approval by the body and a draft set of minutes shall be available on the day after the last business session by electronic format for distribution to all delegates and members.  He shall provide guidance in parliamentary procedures for the presiding officer.  He shall serve as the secretary for the Logistics Committee with voice and vote.  As chair of the Credentials Committee, he shall oversee the credentialing of delegates and members and, until the Conference elects a Recorder, maintain membership records.  The Secretary shall serve as the Historian until the Conference fills that office.  The Secretary shall be allowed to contract with members to assist in completing these tasks.

• Treasurer:  The Treasurer shall be chosen from among the Melchisedek priesthood and shall preside over the Finance Committee.  He shall receive all Conference monies and shall disburse all financial obligations.  He shall report on budgetary items, as requested, and provide an annual report of Conference income and expenses for the Conference.  In all his duties and until a bishop is appointed, the Treasurer is accountable to the Conference.  The Treasurer shall draw from among the eldership to assist him in transacting his responsibilities.

8.   Parliamentary Procedures.  The Conference shall be ruled by order and dignity during all deliberations.  In order to insure that respect and civility prevail, the final rule for parliamentary questions shall be Parliamentary Procedures in the Church (Young) subject to alterations by this Conference.  The President shall preside in the spirit of brotherly kindness and fairness to preserve the rights and privileges of the body and individual members.  The Simple Chart of Motions, included below, is an adaptation from this book and shall be provided to delegates and members to help in directing the business sessions.

SIMPLE CHART OF MOTIONS

Motions are ranked from bottom to top.  When any motion is immediately pending, the motions above it are in order; those below it are out of order.

HOW TO MAKE MOTIONS

1. “I move that _________________________________.”
2. “I object to the consideration of this motion.” (Must be BEFORE ANY DEBATE.  YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE RECOGNIZED BY THE CHAIR.)
3. “I move that we postpone this matter indefinitely.”  (A motion to kill.)
4. “I move that we amend the motion by _________.”  OR  “I move that we strike out _________ and insert _________.”  OR  “I move a substitute for paragraph ___________.”
5. “I move that we amend the amendment by ________________.”
6. “I move that this matter be referred to a committee made up of _____________.”
7. “I move that we postpone action on this matter until _______________.”
8. “I move that we limit debate on the entire question to _______ more minutes.”  OR  “I move that each speaker be limited to ______ minutes,”  ETC.
9. “I move the previous question.”  OR  “I call for the question on the entire matter before us.”
10. “I move that we lay the matter on the table.”  (Tables ALL pending business.)
11. “I move that we have a ______ minutes recess.”
12. “I move that we adjourn.”

9.   Conference Rules.  When the Conference has been properly organized with the elected officers in place, the President shall call upon the Secretary/Clerk to move Rule #8 above.  Upon approval of Rule #8, the Secretary/Clerk shall move for approval of the proposed Rules of Representation, the remaining Rules of Order, and proposed Order of Business.

10.  Resolutions.  Participating branches and committees appointed at the August 20, 2005, planning meeting shall be invited to submit resolutions to the Logistics Committee by October 21, 2005, for inclusion on the Conference Order of Business.  The Logistics Committee shall compile an Order of Business for the Conference based on the resolutions which have been submitted.  Resolutions shall be categorized to efficiently present each general subject to the body.  The Order of Business shall include a period on the first legislative day to allow Conference delegates and members to submit resolutions under new business.  All resolutions shall be in written form with the names and branch affiliation of both the moving and seconding parties.  The motion shall be read to the body and then provided to the Secretary/Clerk.  These shall be published (at least electronically) by the Secretary for distribution and inclusion on the next day’s Order of Business.

11.  Voting.  Voting shall be by voice or raised hand at the discretion of the President.  In each case, the President shall declare the prevailing side if possible.  If the outcome is not clear or a request is made from the body, the President shall call for a division of the house.  He shall then request that all delegates in favor of the question raise their hands for counting; then those against.  This shall be followed by the same direction to the members.  The Logistics Committee shall formulate a strategy for counting the votes in an acceptable fashion and providing the tally to the President so that he may announce the results.

12.  Branch Approvals and/or Concerns.  President Joseph Smith III defined the Church as a theocratic democracy.  It originated thru command of God and is administered by His authority thru priesthood.  Sustained by the light of His Spirit, the Church exists for His purposes.  Nevertheless, our Heavenly Father has provided that the Saints should have a significant role in the government of His Church:  “neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants, for all things must be done in order and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith” (Doc. & Cov. 27:4).  As branches are the primary and congregational organization of the Church, it is incumbent upon them to preserve these important democratic principles and encourage all Saints to take an active role in the government of the Church.  To this end, this Conference declares that any lawful Restoration Branch that is represented in this or any other conference has the following enumerated rights and responsibilities according to basic scriptural church law and the Manual of Practice and Rules of Order and Debate for Deliberative Assemblies, Section 4 (1876, 1891):

1.   The right to petition to become a member of a conference or to withdraw from conference fellowship by the voice of the branch membership;

2.   The right and obligation to have conference rules and resolutions brought to the branch by the delegates/official members/branch president for the common consent voice of the branch;

3.   The obligation and responsibility by the voice of the branch at a branch business meeting, to approve or disapprove of conference rules and resolutions and the submission in writing to the conference Secretary/Clerk of the branch’s decision with any explanatory comments, so that church law, the spirit of revelation, wisdom, and knowledge may be shared for the mutual benefit and progression in righteousness of the Lord’s work; and

4.   The responsibility to notify the conference of the branch voice on conference matters, rules, and resolutions.

Therefore, within 60 days of adjournment, branches should notify the Secretary/Clerk of agreement with or of opposition to any Conference proceedings.  The President, Vice-President, Secretary/Clerk, and Treasurer shall review the concerns and/or complaints and communicate with the respective branch prior to the convening of the next Conference.  This may lead to responsive legislation in a subsequent conference or, in a worst case scenario, withdrawal of a branch from further Conference participation.  No official response will indicate acceptance and approval of conference actions.