Finding Lost Members List in LCR

When a member moves and leaders are in the process of trying to find a new address according to the Handbook in the interim these members need to be moved to the Finding Lost Members list in the LCR. I am not sure where you find such a list. It is not listed as a Report in the Access Table. Supposedly this is a report the Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidents review. Can anyone shed any light on where this list or report resides? When I was the Bishop I was fairly familiar with LCR and this does not ring any bells.

Thank you

lmisner wrote: Thu Dec 16, 2021 6:12 pm When a member moves and leaders are in the process of trying to find a new address according to the Handbook in the interim these members need to be moved to the Finding Lost Members list in the LCR. I am not sure where you find such a list. It is not listed as a Report in the Access Table. Supposedly this is a report the Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidents review. Can anyone shed any light on where this list or report resides? When I was the Bishop I was fairly familiar with LCR and this does not ring any bells.

Thank you

A recent thread should answer your inquiry:

viewtopic.php?p=228623

garystroble has pointed you to a test of steps that need to be taken.

I haven't heard anything about creating a list of members. Perhaps they're thinking of a private custom lists function? I know Member Tools has that. It wouldn't be the first time someone thought everyone could see what they see.

Thank you for your replies.

This is what was described in the Release Notes:

Release 4.16
Date Released: November 10, 2021

New or Enhanced Functionality
Membership Related
The process for issuing temple recommends has changed. Recommends (except for living ordinance) are now printed by the local unit.
Simplified finding steps for moving members where the address is unknown. A new report called “Finding Lost Members” has been introduced.
Modified the Quarterly Report to allow editing of Class and Quorum Attendance.
Enhanced the home/landing page of LCR.

The Release Notes imply that a new report has been created. I do not see any link under Reports in LCR, or anywhere else, that references this report. I checked the Access Table for the Ward Clerk, Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidents who are supposed to review this report. I feel like something new has been created, but we can't see it or do not know how to see it. The most recent update to Chapter 33.6.4 in the General Handbook also mentions this report. The text reads:

"If a clerk cannot find out where members have moved, the record is moved to the Finding Lost Members list in LCR. Elders quorum and Relief Society leaders review this report regularly and use available resources to locate these members. Other ward council members or missionaries may assist."

I am the Ward Mission Leader and we are assisting in updating the records for members we know have moved.

lmisner wrote: Thu Dec 16, 2021 11:36 pm Thank you for your replies.

This is what was described in the Release Notes:

Release 4.16
Date Released: November 10, 2021

New or Enhanced Functionality
Membership Related
The process for issuing temple recommends has changed. Recommends (except for living ordinance) are now printed by the local unit.
Simplified finding steps for moving members where the address is unknown. A new report called “Finding Lost Members” has been introduced.
Modified the Quarterly Report to allow editing of Class and Quorum Attendance.
Enhanced the home/landing page of LCR.

The Release Notes imply that a new report has been created. I do not see any link under Reports in LCR, or anywhere else, that references this report. I checked the Access Table for the Ward Clerk, Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidents who are supposed to review this report. I feel like something new has been created, but we can't see it or do not know how to see it. The most recent update to Chapter 33.6.4 in the General Handbook also mentions this report. The text reads:

"If a clerk cannot find out where members have moved, the record is moved to the Finding Lost Members list in LCR. Elders quorum and Relief Society leaders review this report regularly and use available resources to locate these members. Other ward council members or missionaries may assist."

I am the Ward Mission Leader and we are assisting in updating the records for members we know have moved.

You will find the new "Finding Lost Members Report under Reports, in LCR. It might not be visible until you use Move Records Out (Under Membership) and select the Address Unknown option.

Thank you! I will ask the Ward Clerk to give this a try.

As a ward clerk, I don't see anything labeled "Finding Lost Members" in LCR under the Reports section.
When moving a record out and selecting address unknown, the same steps and checkboxes are listed as were in the past, but those don't constitute a list of members, as referenced in the handbook: "If a clerk cannot find out where members have moved, the record is moved to the Finding Lost Members list in LCR. Elders quorum and Relief Society leaders review this report regularly and use available resources to locate these members. Other ward council members or missionaries may assist."
We've been using a Google Sheet to track lost member records. It would be great to have formal and proper support in LCR.

joeycon4 wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:48 am As a ward clerk, I don't see anything labeled "Finding Lost Members" in LCR under the Reports section.

I’m also a ward clerk, but on reflection I’ve seen this report for about a month now. The interesting thing is, there’s one member listed there who was baptised in 2014, but moved out to a country that is not too favourable to the Church. The record was originally moved to an adjacent area. Therefore the record must have been sent to us from the Lost Members department of the church.

Biggles wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 6:49 am

joeycon4 wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:48 am As a ward clerk, I don't see anything labeled "Finding Lost Members" in LCR under the Reports section.

I’m also a ward clerk, but on reflection I’ve seen this report for about a month now. The interesting thing is, there’s one member listed there who was baptised in 2014, but moved out to a country that is not too favourable to the Church. The record was originally moved to an adjacent area. Therefore the record must have been sent to us from the Lost Members department of the church.

Perhaps this is not rolled out in the US yet (or at least not to everyone). As Elders Quorum President, I cannot find it anywhere on LCR. If the EQP and RSP are supposed to review it regularly, I would think that requirement would make it available to them for review.

I asked my Ward Clerk to test this by selecting Address Unknown and there was nothing on the screen to indicate a member could be moved to this report. Maybe a developer can explain how this was coded and how a report can be created. I think this would be a great tool if we only could figure out how it works.

lmisner wrote: Thu Dec 16, 2021 6:12 pm When a member moves and leaders are in the process of trying to find a new address according to the Handbook in the interim these members need to be moved to the Finding Lost Members list in the LCR. I am not sure where you find such a list. It is not listed as a Report in the Access Table. Supposedly this is a report the Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidents review. Can anyone shed any light on where this list or report resides? When I was the Bishop I was fairly familiar with LCR and this does not ring any bells.

This is not yet available for all wards and branches.

scgallafent wrote: Tue Dec 21, 2021 9:08 am This is not yet available for all wards and branches.

Any estimates on when this will be available in the US? 2022? 2023?
Is there a place we can subscribe to get a notification on when it's available? Reading the handbook it is already available so that doesn't seem applicable.

joeycon4 wrote: Sun Jan 09, 2022 10:49 pm Any estimates on when this will be available in the US? 2022? 2023?
Is there a place we can subscribe to get a notification on when it's available? Reading the handbook it is already available so that doesn't seem applicable.

I don't know what the schedule is for releasing this in the United States. There isn't anything you could subscribe to -- any notifications would come through priesthood leadership channels.

I see it seems to possible to move out a member with destination as their current ward. What will happen if that is done? Will it put them on the Finding Lost Members List and make that report option visible ?

pspencer2323 wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:14 pm I see it seems to possible to move out a member with destination as their current ward. What will happen if that is done? Will it put them on the Finding Lost Members List and make that report option visible ?

Until the tool is released in your area, I don't think this will do anything other than put them back in your ward/branch with no address. I recommend you follow the current process for moving members to address unknown (completing the steps that are presented when you indicate you don't know the new address) until you are instructed to follow a new process.

Where actually is the "Finding Lost Members" list located in LCR, to give to the Elder Quorum President and Relief Society President, in accordance with the General Handbook?

kzortman wrote: Sat Jul 16, 2022 4:21 pm Where actually is the "Finding Lost Members" list located in LCR, to give to the Elder Quorum President and Relief Society President, in accordance with the General Handbook?

For those in the U.S. this list recently became available and is found in the LCR Reports menu under the Reports column.

Perhaps it's still being rolled out to the US units, I've just checked and still cannot see it under the Reports menu. I'm glad people keep asking about it, because I forgot it was "a thing", and at least now I remembered to look and see if it was available for us or not!

It is released in our ward near Tulsa, OK. I'm not sure when it went live - we just had a family show up on it within the past week. As noted above, it is in the Reports menu on LCR and is called "Finding Lost Members"

This just showed up in my LCR, but I can't edit the list as elders quorum president, nor has the ward clerk been able to figure it out. Are there any instructions about how to put someone on the list?

mtwerner wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 12:56 pm I can't edit the list as elders quorum president, nor has the ward clerk been able to figure it out.

As I understand it, the Finding Lost Members List is automatically generated. A name goes on the list when the ward clerk sends a membership record out of the ward without a new address or without identifying a new ward. Although names on the list are no longer counted in unit statistics, the list provides an opportunity for the previous ward or branch to continue looking for the members.

A name would move off of the list when the record is assigned to a new ward or branch.

It appears to be the new "Moves In Progress"

I had several members in the Moves In Progress list and when I opened each one and saved it they moved to the Finding lost members list

Thanks, that helped! The clerk attempted to move a record and when he indicated that the new address is not known, it said the record would be moved to the Finding Lost Members list (which is what happened). Now, of course, the challenge is finding a place to send these records (other than to HQ).

mtwerner wrote: Tue Aug 09, 2022 1:00 pm Thanks, that helped! The clerk attempted to move a record and when he indicated that the new address is not known, it said the record would be moved to the Finding Lost Members list (which is what happened). Now, of course, the challenge is finding a place to send these records (other than to HQ).

The ward council should use that list to attempt to find out where they have moved to (it is the ward council's responsibility, not just the clerk's responsibility - he shares it as a member of the ward council). There are various ways to do that, including searching social media, contacting known friends, contacting neighbors or the new occupant of their home, etc. Once reasonable attempts have been made to find where they went to, there is not much else you can do. When they are on the Lost Members list they do not show on ward reports.

I saw an odd thing in our ward - a family was moved to that list for awhile. Then their records jumped back into the ward but each member of the family is now their own head of house all at the same address. That seems like inconsistent behavior to me, but I'm no longer the ward clerk so am leaving it to him to do something with it (or not).

I recently discovered this feature.
I'm a stake clerk, and only a handful of wards have only one or two names in these lists, and I have a number of questions that I'm hoping forum members have answers to.
How is information on these members updated? As a stake clerk, I only have the option to SEE their info. Do ward clerks have ability to add information or tips on where they can be located, or do they need to move the records back into the ward to do that? Also, do these members show up on other ward lost member lists when there is a possible connection? Maybe there are missionaries or volunteers at church headquarters also looking into finding these members?
These things would be good to know.

greggo wrote: Thu Oct 06, 2022 8:41 am How is information on these members updated?

The records for these members are not assigned to a unit but reside in the "address unknown" database at church headquarters. A member displayed on the Finding Lost Members report cannot be updated by the unit showing the name. The last unit in which the member record resided, and then sent the record to 'address unknown, is the only unit in which the member is displayed in the Finding Lost Members report. The unit is asked to continue efforts to locate the member. To enable this effort some information about the member is displayed by clicking on the member name. None of that information is editable locally.

greggo wrote: Thu Oct 06, 2022 8:41 amDo ward clerks have ability to add information or tips on where they can be located, or do they need to move the records back into the ward to do that? Also, do these members show up on other ward lost member lists when there is a possible connection?

No information or tips can be added. The unit follows these instructions for the Finding Lost Members report:

The members shown in this list are not counted as members of the ward and will not be included in any member list, report, or any statistical report.

When a member moves out and a new address is not provided, please follow each of the steps below to obtain the member's new address. The Church needs your help locating these individuals that were last known to be in your unit. Please do the following before moving the records back to Church Headquarters:

1. Seek to communicate using phone, email, social media channels, or other resources available to your area/community.
2. Contact known family or friends of the member.
3. Contact the occupant of the member's last known address.
4. Obtain the Bishop's approval to return records to Church Headquarters.

After following these steps the unit then has the options to select Move to Other Unit, Member Found In My Unit, or Cannot Find Member. Selecting the Move to Other Unit option results in the same page as if the record currently resides in the unit and the unit is moving the record out to another unit. Selecting the Member Found In My Unit results in the same page as if the member record is being pulled into the ward. Selecting the Cannot Find Member results in the same page as when the record was originally sent to 'address unknown'.

greggo wrote: Thu Oct 06, 2022 8:41 amMaybe there are missionaries or volunteers at church headquarters also looking into finding these members?

Church service missionaries continue to attempt to locate these members also.

I have noted the members on our Finding Lost Members Report were not moved to 'address unknown' while I have been the clerk in our ward ( over 6 years 4 months) and must have been moved out before that. So I am guessing the service missionaries had no luck and they are starting the process over again hoping we may stumble on something new.

mtwerner wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 12:56 pm This just showed up in my LCR, but I can't edit the list as elders quorum president, nor has the ward clerk been able to figure it out. Are there any instructions about how to put someone on the list?

This would be very useful if we can add the 100s of people currently on our ward list that need to be found. Please provide the functionality to add people to this list from the ward clerk/eqp and rsp level.

Thanks!

rando305 wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:27 pm This would be very useful if we can add the 100s of people currently on our ward list that need to be found. Please provide the functionality to add people to this list from the ward clerk/eqp and rsp level.

Please see jdlessley's post above on how this works.

The name is added only after efforts to locate have failed. I would expect the name to have been run though the ward council before they appear on the list.

Here is a presentation that I started working on for the other clerks' in my Stake, (it's still a work in progress)

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/ ... sp=sharing

Many thanks for the presentation kd7mha !! We were recently made aware of the Finding Lost Members feature, but steps for adding records were not provided, and I found nothing obvious in Move Records Out pages. I might have eventually thought to poke buttons to see what happens.

Shortcut - In the Move Records Out process choose the No button when asked if a new address is known, and reference to Finding Lost Members magically appears. Choosing something like 'address not changing' certainly didn't help.

On January 12, 2023, a Utah Area broadcast by the Membership and Statistical Records Division introduced a new report titled Finding Lost Members that has been added to Leader and Clerk Resources (LCR). It is not currently visible in Member Tools. This report lists the names of members who are assigned to the ward but their current location is not known. Clerks may move the records of lost ward members to this report by using the Move Records Out feature and checking he address not known box. These records continue to be assigned to the ward but will not appear on other reports and are not included in ward statistics such as the Quarterly Report. In addition, records of new members who were baptized within the last 10 years and then moved to the Address Unknown file at Church headquarters have been returned to the last-known ward and added to the Finding Lost Members report. Elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies have been asked to lead the effort to find these lost members. Other ward council members and missionaries may also assist. These efforts include using last-known phone numbers, email addresses, sending a letter using USPS's 'Return Service Requested', and social media channels, as part of the ward clerk's (8) step finding process. The results are reported to the ward clerk, who will move the membership record accordingly or to Address Unknown with the Bishop's approval. Procedures for Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidencies are to access the report in LCR, click on the Reports menu and then select the Finding Lost Members report. The top of the report provides instruction and methods for finding members whose location is not known. The bottom of the report lists the names and last known contact information of the members whose current location is not known. A link for reference material is: https://utah.churchofjesuschrist.org/ja ... ang=eng-ut

Currently, for all of the members on the Lost Members Report, the Last Known Address is blank. This will make it hard for us to complete all of the steps, such as contacting neighbors and the current occupant. Does anyone know how we can recover that address for members whose records were moved to that list?

The ward clerk may be able to see more of the member's record information (and history) than the other members of the ward council. However, if you don't have a previous address (and no one in the ward remembers where they lived) then it is impossible to "contact the neighbors and current occupant." In those cases, I would mark those steps completed (given the the fact that the church did not provide enough information to actually accomplish the steps).

The steps to move records to address unknown have been in place for a number of years and I have found the full time missionaries to be a big help in accomplishing some of the steps (that include potentially contacting nonmembers when allowed by their Mission President). The "Finding Lost Members" report is a recent development but the steps wards are supposed to follow before moving records to "Address Unknown" are not new.

Try clicking on a lost member's name. Dave's correct, as a clerk doing this takes me to a view with last known address. If members names don't appear or function as links, ask a clerk or bishopric member for detail as needed. I'm not sure if other unit leaders have such access, the Access Table doesn't list the lost members report yet.

Since it is the responsibility of the Elders Quorum presidency and the Relief Society presidency to direct the finding effort with possibly the help of the ward council I expect the members of the EQ and RS presidencies to see the same information available to the ward clerk.

Both the EQ and RS president have access to that same page with the address.

jonesrk wrote: Thu Jun 29, 2023 8:47 am Both the EQ and RS president have access to that same page with the address.

So it is reasonable to assume, then, that if the prior address is blank the ward council cannot have someone check with neighbors or current residents at the address (unless someone in the ward/branch remembers where they lived). Thus, it is also reasonable to assume that units should mark those tasks complete and move on to other things they can do to try to locate the lost members. We should do what we can do, and not "get wrapped around the axle" over what we cannot do because of missing information.

This also highlights why it is important to get this information when it is as fresh as possible - when I served as clerk, the ward council did not like the fact that I hounded them for details on move-outs as soon as I learned of it. Too many people learn of someone moving out of the ward and don't bother to pass any information along...

Just tried to find a member using a people search site, but the Finding Lost Members report now is listing only the state for their address, not the full address listed in the Directory. This makes it impossible to tell if the address found in the search is a different address. I hope this is a bug, and not a new feature...

zaneclark wrote: Tue Jan 28, 2025 8:14 am Just tried to find a member using a people search site, but the Finding Lost Members report now is listing only the state for their address, not the full address listed in the Directory.

I just checked the addresses in our Finding Lost Members report. All the members listed had the complete address.

post by zaneclark » Tue Jan 28, 2025
Just tried to find a member using a people search site, but the Finding Lost Members report now is listing only the state for their address, not the full address listed in the Directory ...

Finding Lost Members report (FLM) typically shows a birth date and you may be able to use it to confirm which address is the correct one on the 'people search' site.

Also, some of those sites list possible relatives of the person you searched for. The ward clerk can see other family member names and those could also be used to determine if one has found the correct individual.
Also, try checking more than one people search site to see if they both agree on the same address. If they are different let it sit for a few months and check later to see if things have been updated.
(And, if you know their last known address/phone number, some search sites list prior address/phone numbers. Those too could also be used to determine if the correct individual has been found.)

MurdockM wrote: Fri Apr 18, 2025 8:07 pm The ward clerk can see other family member names and those could also be used to determine if one has found the correct individual.

Once a member has been moved to the Finding Lost Members report, then sadly, that information is no longer available since the member record is no longer available. This is a good reason to check such things before moving the record to the Finding Lost Members report.

Just checked LCR from my phone. Can get to lost member b-date, last address in our ward, b-place, and parents names. If we return a record to our ward (for a time) we could get other bits of data.

Early with the lost members feature I was troubled by lack of access to personal data (while records are in the lost queue) that might be useful for finding folks. Either I didn't poke around enough, or what is now available simply wasn't.

Hope this helps.

John (a ward clerk)

I'm a stake clerk, and sometime around the beginning of the year, something changed with the wards' finding lost members lists. Since then, when I click on a name or the three dots to see the member's information, the data is no longer there. The field names are there, but the fields are empty.
At least according to AI, the situation is the same for the ward clerks.
Is this the case, or is it because I'm not the ward clerk, I'm no longer privvy to this information?

greggo wrote: Fri Jun 12, 2026 5:40 pm I'm a stake clerk, and sometime around the beginning of the year, something changed with the wards' finding lost members lists. Since then, when I click on a name or the three dots to see the member's information, the data is no longer there. The field names are there, but the fields are empty.
At least according to AI, the situation is the same for the ward clerks.
Is this the case, or is it because I'm not the ward clerk, I'm no longer privvy to this information?

As a ward assistant clerk--membership, when I go to the Finding Lost Members report and either click on the name or click on '...' and then 'View Member Information', I can see name, phone number, email address, last known address, and names of family parents and offspring (names of family for at least some members).

Thanks. I guess that means only local unit officers can see the data.