Incorrect data on new directory

When viewing the families in our ward, I see some information that doesn't show up the old online ward directory. Specifically, I see non-member spouses and spouses that have passed away. I'm told by our Relief Society president that some of the non-member spouses have most definitely not given permission to be included in the directory, and having dead spouses included I think will just cause confusion. The old ward website didn't display either of these, but the new one includes them in the browsable view, the print version, and in the CSV export.

I would normally just provide this as feedback through the link, but I get a 404 page when I click the Feedback link at the bottom of the page while viewing the directory. Hopefully someone here will see it and forward it to the correct people.

All of this data comes from your ward's MLS database. I suggest you get with the Ward Clerk or Assistant Clerk in charge of membership to get the database corrected.

As for permission to publish, the new site uses a different permission list than the old site. The clerks can help you with that as well.

I spot checked a few records and also found a deceased spouse showing up in the unit's directory at new.lds.org, but am not sure if this death was recorded properly in MLS, since a search of new.familysearch.org doesn't show this person.

I also checked the directory entries for 2 part-member families I know of. One entry showed the non-member spouse, the other did not. I need to verify with MLS to see if there is in fact a non-member record for either of these.

But at this point my guess is that the unit's directory at new.lds.org is accurately reflecting the current status of our unit's MLS records, which also means there is some clean up work for us to do at the local level.

oregonmatt wrote:All of this data comes from your ward's MLS database. I suggest you get with the Ward Clerk or Assistant Clerk in charge of membership to get the database corrected.

As for permission to publish, the new site uses a different permission list than the old site. The clerks can help you with that as well.

The clerk is actually the one who asked me to look into this, as he isn't very familiar with the new.lds.org, and as I mentioned it is showing up correctly on the old site.

Can you give me more information on which permission list is used for the new site, and how he can set it up correctly?

benjamincarleski wrote:When viewing the families in our ward, I see some information that doesn't show up the old online ward directory. Specifically, I see non-member spouses and spouses that have passed away. I'm told by our Relief Society president that some of the non-member spouses have most definitely not given permission to be included in the directory, and having dead spouses included I think will just cause confusion. The old ward website didn't display either of these, but the new one includes them in the browsable view, the print version, and in the CSV export.

I'm sure the online directory reflects what is in MLS. I would guess that the online directory application is assuming that if a nonmember gave permission to be in MLS, then that permission extends to the online directory. The problem is that some clerks have been too casual about adding nonmembers to MLS without getting proper permission. The MLS Help File says (topic "Nonmember Records"): "Create a nonmember record only when the nonmember is related to a member of your ward and you have the permission of the nonmember."

So it's pretty clear that you have to have the nonmember's permission. Unfortunately, the MLS help file is out of date, since it goes on to say "These [nonmember records] will be kept in your ward's computer only and will not be transmitted to the administration office." That is clearly not true, and hasn't been true for many years.

Note that anyone can opt out of being displayed in the directory, either by logging in and changing their privacy settings on their profile (not an option for a nonmember) or by contacting the ward clerk.

In some countries (such as Europe), the directory defaults to having no one displayed until they opt in, but the United States defaults to displaying everyone who is in MLS and then allows people to opt out.

benjamincarleski wrote:I would normally just provide this as feedback through the link, but I get a 404 page when I click the Feedback link at the bottom of the page while viewing the directory. Hopefully someone here will see it and forward it to the correct people.

Yes, the feedback link is broken when you are on the directory. But you can get to the same place by using this link: Feedback.

So what changed between the old and new directory to make records that weren't showing up there start showing up here? And how do we get members that have a death date stop showing up in the new directory?

benjamincarleski wrote:So what changed between the old and new directory to make records that weren't showing up there start showing up here?

I don't know if it's the answer, but the old LUWS had an LUWS Admin control that allowed them to hide anyone that wanted to be hidden. But I don't think any of that information transferred to the new system.

benjamincarleski wrote:And how do we get members that have a death date stop showing up in the new directory?

That's in interesting question. Once a person's death date is properly recorded on their records, it would be moved out the of ward - so I don't think there's any way the ward view the deceased's record to confirm that fact. I suppose they could check the old print out to confirm what happened to the record.

Now, the death may be recorded on the surviving spouse's records, but that's not quite the same thing. I'd reconfrim with the clerk that the name is not found anywhere in MLS except on the surviving spouse's record. Failing that, it would be worth a call to Local Unit Support.

RussellHltn wrote:Now, the death may be recorded on the surviving spouse's records, but that's not quite the same thing. I'd reconfrim with the clerk that the name is not found anywhere in MLS except on the surviving spouse's record. Failing that, it would be worth a call to Local Unit Support.

That's a good point. There was a more detailed discussion of proper recording of a member's death in this thread.

Alan_Brown wrote:That's a good point. There was a more detailed discussion of proper recording of a member's death in this thread.

After reading this thread, I did a random check and found at least one spouse still listed on the new directory even though he died at least 6 years ago. He is not in the MLS and he was a member. How can I send in his death information if I don't have a record of him in the MLS? Other more recent deaths seem to have been properly recorded.

benjamincarleski wrote:So what changed between the old and new directory to make records that weren't showing up there start showing up here?

Instead of pulling information one-way for the old LUWS directory, the new directory now can also send information to MLS. For example, changing a phone number or an email address in the unit's directory at new.lds.org will also change it on the unit's MLS computer (usually after a few days for processing and Send/Recives).

benjamincarleski wrote:And how do we get members that have a death date stop showing up in the new directory?

1. In MLS nagivate to Membership Records > View and Update > Death of Member, record the death date and transmit it to CHQ.
2. If that fails or is not possible, use MLS's Special Request feature on the surviving spouse's or a surviving child's record to explain what needs to happen, and then do a Send/Recieve to transmit that request to CHQ.
3. If that fails, have the bishop call Local Unit Support.

Note: MLS information on deceased members also eventually feeds into new.familysearch.org. For example, when my father died a few years ago, his death showed up in new.familysearch.org 2 or 3 days after it was recorded in MLS. So if the person was a member, and a death date has been properly recorded in MLS, that deceased member should also be showing up in new.familysearch.org.

benjamincarleski wrote:Can you give me more information on which permission list is used for the new site, and how he can set it up correctly?

Sign in to new.lds.org using your LDS Account username and password. Nagivate to the unit's directory. Click the My Household link. Check/uncheck the Show in Ward Directoyy boxes as desired. Click the Save Changes button.

Only someone with an administrative calling (i.e. bishop, ward clerk) can adjust the privacy settings for households other than their own. If you choose to not display your information in the new.lds.org directory, those with appropriate leadership callings, (namely, the bishop) can still see your information in the unit's directory on new.lds.org even when others can't.

One reason that the privacy settings were not carried over from the old directory might be that there were too many new privacy settings to do a one-to-one transfer.

I can also confirm this is a problem. There seems to be an error in the way the new.lds.org online directory is reading membership data. I have noticed this for several weeks with the new online directory all of a sudden showing deceased or divorced spouses of individuals. I have confirmed that all necessary divorce and death dates have been properly recorded in MLS and are showing as such in MLS. For example, one sister whose husband died many years ago is now showing in the new online directory. A look in MLS at church shows her spouse deceased and the death date.

So, yes, there is a problem and no, it is not related to lack of proper record keeping in MLS.

I past this along to the team to make sure they knew about this issue and I just got back notice that they had just put a patch in place to fix this. If anyone is still seeing an issue then it should be reported back.

ryan jones wrote:I past this along to the team to make sure they knew about this issue and I just got back notice that they had just put a patch in place to fix this. If anyone is still seeing an issue then it should be reported back.

It worked! The deceased spouse can now rest in peace.....

ryan jones wrote:I past this along to the team to make sure they knew about this issue and I just got back notice that they had just put a patch in place to fix this. If anyone is still seeing an issue then it should be reported back.

I am still seeing the issue, so perhaps our data was incorrect to begin with. I've asked the ward clerk to look into it some more in MLS, and I'll let you know if we can't get it resolved there.