what to do with baptism records received after member moves

After identifying a major problem of not receiving the yellow copies of the baptism record, I recently received nearly a hundred baptism records for members for a five year period, many had already moved from the ward. The info, of current members still in our ward, was entered to show the line of authority and certificates were printed; however, how can the missing info be entered into the the members' records who are no longer in the ward. If the the info is never entered, it is lost forever, unless there is a chance of finding witnesses to the baptism. The problem was also found to exist in the ordination records, due to lack of follow up of the previous ward clerk. I want to send a copy of the records to the wards, where the members moved to; however, LDS.org will allow a 12 month inquiry in Move Out.

donalddon04 wrote:I want to send a copy of the records to the wards, where the members moved to; however, LDS.org will allow a 12 month inquiry in Move Out.

The real issue is getting them recorded on the member's record. I'd contact Local Unit support. They should be able to offer suggestions on how to get it recorded. They may have you send the paperwork to them and they'll enter it.

donalddon04 wrote:The info, of current members still in our ward, was entered to show the line of authority and certificates were printed

If the only information missing is the person who performed the baptism and/or confirmation then there is no reason to add it. That information isn't retained at CHQ and stays only in the local MLS database (mostly so that the certificate can be printed). Once the record moves out of the ward that information goes away. This is different than for priesthood ordinances where that information is retained in order maintain the priesthood line of authority.

Right, so being pragmatic, the important thing is:

• Each ordinance (baptism, confirmation, priesthood ordination) is recorded on the member's record. (Blessings are importantly only in that it's the trigger to create a Child of Record.)
• The "by whom" is recorded for priesthood ordinations. (Although, I don't think anyone worries about Aaronic.)