New Member
Family History Consultants routinely have to enter helper numbers which are typically derived from the membership number. It would therefore be helpful for an FHC to have access to the membership number within the apps.
Access to membership numbers
Community Administrator
MRNs are sensitive information as they open the door to other things - including being able to take over someone's LDS Account.
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Community Moderators
Should a family history consultant need the last five digits of a MRN they can get it from the member. Or if the member does not know it they can get it from the clerk or give the clerk permission to give the last five digits to the consultant. As russellhltn said, the complete MRN is sensitive information. That information needs to be closely controlled.scoutleader101 wrote:Family History Consultants routinely have to enter helper numbers which are typically derived from the membership number. It would therefore be helpful for an FHC to have access to the membership number within the apps.
JD Lessley
Have you tried finding your answer on the ChurchofJesusChrist.org Help Center or Tech Wiki?
Have you tried finding your answer on the ChurchofJesusChrist.org Help Center or Tech Wiki?
Community Administrator
I would go even further and state that a family history consultant absolutely should never use a helper number unless the member specifically gives permission for them to use it. The helper system was set up with this additional authentication so that members can control who is able to be a helper for them. If FamilySearch had thought it appropriate for consultants to be helpers without first obtaining permission and the key (the helper number) from the member, they could have chosen a different method and simply given consultants access to help anyone in their ward. But they didn't, so I think we should respect the security system that is in place.scoutleader101 wrote:Family History Consultants routinely have to enter helper numbers which are typically derived from the membership number. It would therefore be helpful for an FHC to have access to the membership number within the apps.
Questions that can benefit the larger community should be asked in a public forum, not a private message.
Community Administrator
I think the real question is how hard is it for the member to find their helper number? Keep in mind, we're probably talking about some of the computer challenged members.
I did some looking, and it doesn't seem that hard. Once logged into FamilySearch, click on the name in the upper right corner. Select "Settings" from that pop-up. Scroll down. The last line will be the helper number.
Note: While the helper number defaults to the last 5 number of the MRN, that's not a given. The user can change their helper number. At which point, knowing the MRN is of no use. The helper needs to know what it really is, not what it defaulted to.
I did some looking, and it doesn't seem that hard. Once logged into FamilySearch, click on the name in the upper right corner. Select "Settings" from that pop-up. Scroll down. The last line will be the helper number.
Note: While the helper number defaults to the last 5 number of the MRN, that's not a given. The user can change their helper number. At which point, knowing the MRN is of no use. The helper needs to know what it really is, not what it defaulted to.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.
So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.