Tech Forum

If you are recieving the urgent task stating, "Some MLS users need to be associated with a member'" it means that certain MLS users are not associated with a Membership record AND Record Number. For units with leaders whose membership records do not reside in the unit, ie. YSA wards, Care center branches, etc. an "out of unit member" record should be created which should include the leaders' record numbers. The record number is essential because without it, it will not show the "out of unit member" on the pick list when trying to tie the leader to a login in MLS. Below are the steps to create an "out of unit member" in MLS.

1. On the main screen in MLS, click on Membership Records - More
2. Click on View and Update - More
3. Click on Create Out of Unit Member
4. Fill in all highlighted fields as well as the the Record number field. (Also, for leaders to be assigned as a Bishop, Branch President, etc. they must have the proper Preisthood so the Ordinance section should be filled in also)

If you've already created "Out of unit membership" records but they are not showing on the list of members to choose from, go to the out of unit record and ensure that a record number has been entered.

Is there a limit to the number of out-of-unit members who can be assigned user accounts in MLS 2.9? One of my ward clerks says he is receiving an error that indicates he has reached the limit of 2 out-of-unit members that can assigned user accounts. This is a student ward, so all of the bishopric members are out-of-unit members.

rssatterfield wrote:Is there a limit to the number of out-of-unit members who can be assigned user accounts in MLS 2.9? One of my ward clerks says he is receiving an error that indicates he has reached the limit of 2 out-of-unit members that can assigned user accounts. This is a student ward, so all of the bishopric members are out-of-unit members.

There are two different concepts that use the term "out-of-unit":

1. An out-of-unit member is someone who serves in the ward but does not reside in the ward. This is common in YSA wards, care center branches, student wards, etc. For such leaders, you create an out of unit member record in MLS. Such members will appear in almost all respects to be members of the ward: they will appear on ward lists, they can be assigned to callings, etc. There is no limit to the number of out-of-unit members that can be added to a ward.
2. An out-of-unit Administrator is a special MLS user that does not have to be connected to a member record. This would typically be used for a stake technology specialist and perhaps one other stake person who is authorized to assist the ward by logging into MLS. Such users can login to MLS, but otherwise have no connection to the ward -- they will not appear on any membership lists. There can be no more than two of these special administrators.

It's easy to confuse these two concepts. But it's important to note that if you have created an out-of-unit member (what I described in point 1 above) and you have associated a member record number with that person's out-of-unit member record, then you can connect them with an MLS user as a regular member of the unit. Do not waste your precious two out-of-unit Administrators (what I described in point 2) on such people. Instead, make sure that they have a member record number associated with their membership record, and then they can be a regular MLS user just like any other member of the ward.

Wonderful! Thank you for explaining the out-of-unit administrators. This is exactly the information we need to clear things up. Thank you!

I apologize for not making the distinction between "Out of Unit Members" and "Out of Unit Adminstrators." Thank you for your detailed clarification. A tip of the week will be sent out this week to the units and it will include your explanation of the distiction between the two. Thanks again.

I believe out unit member will show on reports. Use caution when using out unit records!

terrellthomas wrote:I believe out unit member will show on reports. Use caution when using out unit records!

It's correct that out of unit members will show on reports, but if the out of unit member feature is used properly, this is quite desirable. For example, if the bishopric of a university student ward consists of brethren from the stakes near the university, then you would certainly want the bishopric to be included on the ward list.

The out of unit member feature should only be used for people who are actually functioning as members of the ward; generally this would be because they are serving in leadership positions, but their actual membership records are to remain in their home wards with their families.

Alan_Brown wrote:It's correct that out of unit members will show on reports, but if the out of unit member feature is used properly, this is quite desirable. For example, if the bishopric of a university student ward consists of brethren from the stakes near the university, then you would certainly want the bishopric to be included on the ward list.

What about the Quarterly Report? That's the only one I'd think anyone would be concerned about. I couldn't find anything in MLS help that covered that. I would think they shouldn't show up there.