A record vanished, we want it back

I'm new as membership clerk. Couldn't find a thread like this in the forum.

John & Mary Doe's records were here a week ago. Now they are gone. I suppose some other unit took them. They actually belong here. Can we find where they are and ask for them back? Or, for example, do we just request them from scratch like we would for any new ward member? I thought it would be nice to at least let the other ward know we wanted them back. Or, is there some other standard protocol? Thanks!

--Eben Visher, Sacramento, California

p.s. I also tried LCR to little avail.

There should be a move-out report that shows where they went. With that information and the CDOL, you can contact the clerk in that unit to find out what's going on.

There's a number of things that it could be. They might be "snowbirds" that are now somewhere else. There may be a misunderstanding as to ward boundaries. Or, perhaps they moved and now they're just outside your boundaries.

There's a number of legitimate reasons they could have moved - as well as accidents, miscommunication and misidentification.

On the "Members Moved Out" report (LCR | Reports | Members Moved Out) you can see all members who have moved from your ward/branch for the past 12 months (default is 1 month but you can change the filter to see farther back).

The far right column lists the unit their record was moved to and the unit name is click-able. If you click on it, it gives the bishop/branch president's name and contact information. There is also a handy button on the contact information box to take you to CDOL where you can get the clerk's contact information rather than bother a busy bishop/branch president.

You could just pull the member's record back into your ward, but that could start a game of tug-of-war between your two units if they thought your pull-back was an error. It might be best to contact the other unit and ask why they requested the record. You might give the reason(s) you believe their move was an error. I believe a typo in entering the information is a plausible reason - they may have pulled your member when trying to pull in someone else who had a similar name.

Dave,

What a great and thorough answer! I wish all were like that. It was not a typo. The couple *were* planning to move to that far-off state, where they bought a house. However, there's been a monkey wrench. I'll go to that clerk as you suggest. Thanks so much. Having the actual path to the report, plus the details about where in the line to click and what to do, made *all* the difference to this swamped newbie. I appreciate your time so much.

--Eben Visher, Sacramento, California

My pleasure. I have been clerk for quite a few years, in different units and with different bishops/branch presidents. I even served as clerk in a serviceman's branch while deployed to the Persian gulf in 2016. It is my favorite calling in the church and the greatest compliment I have received was when a prior bishop started calling me "radar." I will pm you my personal e-mail address if you want to ask any questions without necessarily posting them to the public forum. I'll help any way I can.

If the couple is in transition and spending time between two locations, one possibility is to create an out-of-unit record for them in the unit where there records are not. That way they still appear on the lists and people in both units can be aware of them.

LCR / Membership / Manage Out-of-Unit Members

See policy info here:
https://www.lds.org/help/support/member ... s?lang=eng