Living outside ward boundaries

If people live or move outside ward boundaries, what calling(s) may they hold within the ward in which they do not reside?

Can you clarify your question? According to Handbook 1: 13.6, members who live outside of the ward shouldn't have their membership records in the ward. The exceptions are few and far between.

Perhaps as better question is what callings in a ward can go to someone who is not a member of the ward. There are stated exceptions for things like YSA wards where the bishopric has to be married. Off the top of my head, I'm not aware of anything else sanctioned by the Handbook. Generally, the ward must have the membership record to extend a calling.

sheilabentley wrote:If people live or move outside ward boundaries, what calling(s) may they hold within the ward in which they do not reside?

When a member moves outside his or her ward boundaries, he or she no longer holds a ward calling, and the membership record should be sent to the new ward where the member lives. If the member held a stake calling and is moving within the stake, that calling does not change. Exceptions require approval from the First Presidency.

With the membership record in the new ward, the bishop is able to call the member to a new calling, issue a temple recommend based on worthiness, and provide the member with all of the blessings of the gospel that can be provided by a ward.

I've seen cases of members living outside the ward boundaries, but I'm not privy to the details. I have seen it in cases of family situations and complications (often times involving divorce or separation and there may be issues with children in schools, etc.), newly-baptized members who were baptized in the ward and move and we're the only people whey know, and counseling situations where a bishop needs the record to stay in a former ward for a time after the individual moves. All I know is the bishop counsels with the stake president, and I'm not sure how the First Presidency authorization works, or if it has been obtained. These are situations where the bishop/stake president may know confidential details of situations. I'm an assistant clerk and know very little, if anything, of about reasons or situations (and it should be that way).

From what I've observed over the years, I sense the genuine love leaders have for the members and for them to be where they need to be. Maybe it takes encouragement and love to help someone change units and the process takes months with trial visits to the new unit. Maybe it takes firmness. The bishop is a judge and has the gift of discernment and counsels with the stake president (and possibly the First Presidency) to know how to handle situations.

It really depends. My wife and I attended a ward outside of our boundaries for sometime when we approached our Stake President. After hearing why we refused to attend the other ward, he was able to allow our records to be moved. So, the better question is (having been there an done that) how embrace those that are attending this out of bounds ward? There could be many reasons for their situation.

I have a member that lives outside of the ward boundaries and lives in another stake. But the mother said used her address for daughter information for the ward information. How do we minister to her if she lives 2 hours away?

CraigGWoods wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 7:00 pm I have a member that lives outside of the ward boundaries and lives in another stake. But the mother said used her address for daughter information for the ward information. How do we minister to her if she lives 2 hours away?

General Handbook 33.6:

Membership records should be kept in the ward where the member lives. Exceptions, which should be rare, require the consent of the bishops and stake presidents involved. To request an exception, the stake president uses LCR to submit the request to the Office of the First Presidency.

It says "lives" not the contact address. Was an exception made?

How do we minister to her if she lives 2 hours away?

Sometimes these situations arise where an adult child has distanced themselves from the Church, and the parent is trying to act as a "proxy" in-between the Church and their child. It's very understandable, but not proper. Regardless of what the reason is, I'd suggest your Bishop have a good conversation with the parent(s) regarding why they feel it is best the records remain at the parent's address. The new Bishop of the daughter's local ward will definitely appreciate having a clear understanding of whatever her situation is, and your ward can hopefully provide helpful details (in addition to simply moving records).

Having served as a YSA adult leader in a ward with 98 YSA members in record and only 15-20 who were active, many parents maintained the records of their adult children with their records. The reason for this was that the adult child was not active and instead of having a request to remove the record from the church. This is complicated, emotional issue for the parents that should be respected.
The concern of the parents was that the adult child would be assigned to a ward and maybe forgotten.
For the 98 YSAs on record, we drove for hours trying to verify addresses in the attempt to locate members. Obviously this wasn’t in Utah but back east in a ward with a large boundary area.