Can I create a blessing certificate w/out creating a record?

I'm not sure about this situation:

We have a couple in our ward who are the grandparents of some inactive grandchildren who live in another state.

A couple of these grandchildren have new infants and will be visiting the couple in our ward. They would like the great-grandfather (in our ward) bless these great-grandchildren while they are visiting.

I'm assuming I shouldn't create a membership record since I don't have the parent's records in my ward. Can I create a Blessing Certificate without creating the membership record?

bradleyedwards wrote:I'm not sure about this situation:

We have a couple in our ward who are the grandparents of some inactive grandchildren who live in another state.

A couple of these grandchildren have new infants and will be visiting the couple in our ward. They would like the great-grandfather (in our ward) bless these great-grandchildren while they are visiting.

I'm assuming I shouldn't create a membership record since I don't have the parent's records in my ward. Can I create a Blessing Certificate without creating the membership record?

You certainly can. Just select Membership > Ordinances > Certificates from the menu, select the Child Blessing Certificate, fill it out and print it.

But you can actually create the membership record and send it to the parent's ward all in one step instead. To do that select Membership > Ordinances > Record Child Blessing from the menu. Enter all of the information (which should be available from the Child Blessing Record form filled out by a parent) and make sure to enter the correct ward and stake where the child resides in the appropriate fields on the first tab. Also make sure the parent's names and birth dates are entered correctly. Close and save the window and print the certificate when asked. The membership record will be created and automatically transferred to the unit where the child resides.

However you may still want to check with the parent's ward and make sure they have the parent's records like they should. Otherwise they may get an infant record they don't know what to do with.

If the parents are inactive, then there's a good chance the parent's ward won't be creating the record - in which case the children could fall thought the cracks.

I think it would be wise to create the child's records.

There are two separate families involved. For one, I know the home ward. For the second, I don't. If I don't know the home ward, the record would just stay in my ward, which I don't think is right.

bradleyedwards wrote:There are two separate families involved. For one, I know the home ward. For the second, I don't. If I don't know the home ward, the record would just stay in my ward, which I don't think is right.

The Child Blessing Record which must be filled out and signed by a parent before the blessing occurs should have an address. You should be able to find the ward from the address using maps.lds.org.

bradleyedwards wrote:There are two separate families involved. For one, I know the home ward. For the second, I don't. If I don't know the home ward, the record would just stay in my ward, which I don't think is right.

The grandparents should be able to supply you with names, birthdates and addresses. With the address, you should be able to find what should be the home ward and contact them. See if the records are there. If not, I'd pass along the information so they can request them.