Missing Membership Member

A brother in our ward was baptized about ten years ago in a small branch in Japan. When I order his records, Headquarters tells me they do not exist. I have submitted the request three times, each time carefully checking the name spelling and birthdate, all with the same result.

The brother does not have a copy of his baptismal certificate.

He is semi-active and is being deported back to Japan in the next few weeks. The ward leadership is concerned he may fall into complete inactivity once he is deported unless the church leaders in Japan receive his records.

How can we do this? Is there a way to recreate his record? Someone suggested just rebaptizing him..........I can't find anything in the manual.

Any solutions?

Thanks,

Greg

braveagle wrote:A brother in our ward was baptized about ten years ago in a small branch in Japan. When I order his records, Headquarters tells me they do not exist.

BTDT

braveagle wrote:He is semi-active and is being deported back to Japan in the next few weeks.

Given the situation, there isn't many options. If he were to stay, then you might go to the historical department.

Personally, I'd suggest locating a contact for leadership in Japan and forwarding the information. Let them follow up. They might have more luck finding his baptism since that's the area office he was baptised in.

braveagle wrote:Someone suggested just rebaptizing him..........I can't find anything in the manual.

I don't have access to Handbook 1, but I'm quite sure it's in there.

RussellHltn wrote:I don't have access to Handbook 1, but I'm quite sure it's in there.

Handbook 1 does include information on what to do if an ordinance is not recorded on a membership record, how much information is required to record the ordinance, the possibility of using witness testimony and, ultimately, performing the ordinance again. If he leaves before the record is created, it would certainly be appropriate to contact Church leaders at his new location so that they can follow up.

I've had experience working with the local administration office in Tokyo, and they have records for all members in the country. In case the record was created by the mission with incorrect name/birthdate info, it might be best to try and work with them directly for this info. It would be helpful if you know which mission he was baptized in (assuming it is a convert baptism), or the approx. baptism date and his address at the time (and any other church unit information you can get - ward, stake, etc.).

I suggest you give LUS a call with all the information you can possibly gather and see if they can identify the record with the Tokyo administration office. But if you still have difficulty, please contact me offline, and I'll get you the e-mail address of someone you can contact directly.