Temple Ordinances Out of Order

courtneyfries wrote:Can someone please help me figure out how this is possible and if it is at all possible that I am able to redo the sealing???

I would suggest contacting FamilySearch support at 866-406-1830, or online at https://www.familysearch.org/ask/help.

For sealing to spouse (both deceased), the order is not critical anymore. The ordinance is still valid, but won't be effective until the other ordinances are recorded.

This was the conclusion of a nation-wide FamilySearch telecom on 15 Jan 2019 from the new Area Family History Manager to all Area Temple & Family History Consultants (previously called Area Family History Advisors).

I understand your pain. But hopefully you can forgive & get to the point of appreciating that the ordinance is done & recorded, regardless of who performed it. And the sooner it is done, the better.

Thank you for clarifying this. I will share this information

This happened to us too, but it was my husband's grandparents baptism and confirmation. The person who did the work must have pulled it off of "ordinances ready" and then sent the rest of the ordinances to the temple system. I was able to contact the person and they pulled the names back from the temple system and I was able to reserve them for my husband to do the other ordinances. If there are people who are really important to you, reserve their names. You can also try to contact the people who reserved their names or sent them to the temple system to see if they will release them so you can reserve them. It is frustrating, but is nice to be able to coordinate the work better than in the past.

Check your Temple section often and if you find an ordinance you want to personally do, reserve it.

montann wrote:Check your Temple section often and if you find an ordinance you want to personally do, reserve it.

On the other hand, please don't leave ordinances reserved for extended periods of time. Some of my ancestors have had their ordinances reserved for a few years so nobody else can do them.

rmrichesjr wrote:Some of my ancestors have had their ordinances reserved for a few years so nobody else can do them.

Currently reservations end at two years. I learned that when I needed to break a few loose so that the work could be done.

In looking through my Family Tree I noticed that an ancestor's Initiatory was performed 15 years after his Endowment. Is this an oversight or is it possible to perform these ordinances out of order?

It should not happen, but it is possible. It may be a duplicate. Either way, if the ordinances are showing as complete, they are valid. There is a process where ordinances completed out of order are ratified and made valid. There is nothing you need to do for this to happen.

stevecpcs wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 1:22 pm In looking through my Family Tree I noticed that an ancestor's Initiatory was performed 15 years after his Endowment. Is this an oversight or is it possible to perform these ordinances out of order?

Although it can be possible to perform ordinances out of order, as lajackson indicated, the most common way this happens is when duplicate persons had ordinances performed and then were merged. For example, suppose that Elijah A. Wilson had his ordinances (including endowment) performed in 1985, and then Elijah Abel Wilson had his initiatory ordinances performed in 2000. Then last year someone figured out that these were actually the same person and merged them. It could be that the 2000 initiatory and the 1985 endowment end up being the visible ordinances for the resulting merged person, making it appear that the endowment was performed first. But in reality, it's just that the earlier initiatory could be hidden.

The rules for which ordinances are displayed when persons are merged are complicated, especially when multiple persons with partial ordinances are merged into a single person. Suffice it to say that the result can be that the final person appears to have had ordinances performed out of order. But as long as all the ordinances have been performed at least once for the person, there is no need for concern. As the hymn says, "all is well."

aebrown wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 4:21 pm The rules for which ordinances are displayed when persons are merged are complicated, especially when multiple persons with partial ordinances are merged into a single person.

I'm curious. What factors prevent having the first ordinance be the one surfaced? (Other than someone doing proxy work on someone who wasn't dead yet)?

Another problem with constantly changing Family Search!! I can no longer get any names from Ordinance Ready. Used to be if there were no names in my reservations, it would go to temple names, or other family submissions. Does not do that now. Why?