Unknown address - Missionaries report

The missionaries have asked if there is a way to not include members who have invalid current addresses so that the next set of missionaries don’t keep visiting members who are no longer at that address in the system. I believe the system won’t allow blank addresses and we haven’t completed all the 9 step process before moving the records to salt lake. What is the best way to help the missionaries? Should we enter unknown or n/a so they don’t visit the address anymore and allows you to bypass the required address?

I strongly advise against removing the address and replacing it with N/A. I did this a couple of times, and then when I tried to use a public records search, I was unable to compare any addresses I found to the last known address.*

What I have found to be more useful is to enter "Address Out Of Date" in the Address2 field. This makes it clear to the missionaries, Elders Quorum, Relief Society, and ministering brothers and sisters that the address is not reliable.

Just today, I was asked by the Elders Quorum President for a list of families with out of date addresses. Having documented it this way, it was easy to make a custom report to grab those households.


* I should have known better. As a statistician, it is a professional mantra that old information is better than no information.

nutterb wrote:I strongly advise against removing the address and replacing it with N/A. I did this a couple of times, and then when I tried to use a public records search, I was unable to compare any addresses I found to the last known address.*

What I have found to be more useful is to enter "Address Out Of Date" in the Address2 field. This makes it clear to the missionaries, Elders Quorum, Relief Society, and ministering brothers and sisters that the address is not reliable.

Just today, I was asked by the Elders Quorum President for a list of families with out of date addresses. Having documented it this way, it was easy to make a custom report to grab those households.


* I should have known better. As a statistician, it is a professional mantra that old information is better than no information.

I'll have to try this but hesitant since those members with out of date addresses still show up in the report. I have talked to the missionaries and they are ok with doing this as long as they don't re-visit out of date addresses which is at least some help and saves time. Anyone else doing anything else differently?

We used to use the address 2 field for awhile until we had some addresses that required both fields.

I recommend the ward/branch council begin the process to find an address or move them to address unknown as soon as you know they are no longer there. The steps are not that difficult, especially when everyone helps (this is the responsibility of the unit leadership, not just the clerk). Often times, the sisters or youth have a contact that comes to light when discussed in ward/branch council. In our ward, our missionaries are happy to complete several of the steps because they are inline with their activities anyway (going to the home, speaking with the neighbors, calling the old phone #, etc.). The whole process should not take very long - if they are hanging around through missionary transfers, I would call that too long.

Keeping members in your unit when they have moved away doesn't help your unit and doesn't help them (you cannot minister to them if they are no longer there and since their records are in your unit no one knows they are not there).

davesudweeks wrote:We used to use the address 2 field for awhile until we had some addresses that required both fields.

I recommend the ward/branch council begin the process to find an address or move them to address unknown as soon as you know they are no longer there. The steps are not that difficult, especially when everyone helps (this is the responsibility of the unit leadership, not just the clerk).

How do you "move them to address unknown"? What does this actually do? Are there records still kept within the Ward or are their records moved out so that we are no longer able to view?

cchang wrote:How do you "move them to address unknown"? What does this actually do? Are there records still kept within the Ward or are their records moved out so that we are no longer able to view?

I believe the option appears when you attempt to move a record. I believe you'll be prompted with a checklist of things to be done before you can declare them "unknown". When completed, it moves the record out of the ward just like if they moved to a new ward.

cchang wrote:How do you "move them to address unknown"?

Select Membership > Move Records Out in LCR just like when moving other records. After selecting the members to move on the second page there is a question which says 'Is the new address known?'. Answer it No and then check the boxes to acknowledge that you've performed the required steps and indicate the bishop has approved the move and then click Move Out Of Ward to complete the move.

eblood66 wrote:check the boxes to acknowledge that you've performed the required steps

There are a number of steps. Some which are easy, some which would add quite a bit to your workload. Don't try and take it upon yourself. Enlist the help of the Ward Council. Have check with each of the quorums and auxiliaries. Not infrequently, you'll find out that someone within the ward is still in contact with them.

Don't try and do them all at once, just a couple of names a month.

Be cautious about using any "people finder" sites. Many times, the addresses listed are quite old - even older than the address you last had. Personally, I don't think we've been asked to go that far in trying to find someone. I interpret the instructions as using the resources available in the ward and locally.

russellhltn wrote:

cchang wrote:How do you "move them to address unknown"? What does this actually do? Are there records still kept within the Ward or are their records moved out so that we are no longer able to view?

I believe the option appears when you attempt to move a record. I believe you'll be prompted with a checklist of things to be done before you can declare them "unknown". When completed, it moves the record out of the ward just like if they moved to a new ward.

I was hoping that it would keep the records in the Branch and not move them to Salt Lake. I was expecting a flag that would indicate the address is unknown or not current and still keep it within the Branch. Any way of flagging the address as not current but keep it within the Branch?

cchang wrote:I was hoping that it would keep the records in the Branch and not move them to Salt Lake. I was expecting a flag that would indicate the address is unknown or not current and still keep it within the Branch. Any way of flagging the address as not current but keep it within the Branch?

It doesn't really do any good to keep people on the records of the ward if you're not able to make contact with them. Especially if the information you have indicates they've moved out of the area.

There's no official way of doing what you want, but this thread was about techniques for marking addresses as "not current". So, I'd re-read the thread from the top.