Recording death in MLS

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
lajackson
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#11

Post by lajackson »

jbh001 wrote:Even when the civil marriage was performed by the bishop? Can't I just ask the bishop himself when he performed the marriage?

Since the clerk or bishop should see the document, and since the bishop saw the document or he would not have been authorized to perform the marriage (in Oklahoma), I would think that the requirement has been met in this case.

The bishop reviewed the document and then asked the clerk to update the record. Works for me. [grin]
russellhltn
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#12

Post by russellhltn »

mkmurray wrote:I feel I still must state that the decision is really up to your local leadership.
I can agree with that. When I was a clerk, normally I'd use my best judgment but if there was any question I'd ask the Bishop. I'd say 90% of the time the info came from the Bishop or the individual directly, so there really wasn't much question.
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ToddCSA
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#13

Post by ToddCSA »

I am also trying to find out if there is a way to generate a report of Members who have Died.
Anyone know if there is a way to see or get a report of Member who have Died?
russellhltn
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#14

Post by russellhltn »

Typically when a member dies, their record is removed from MLS. If MLS doesn't track the action (like it does for move-outs), then I don't see how you could create a report except to go over all the transactions that were printed out/saved.

Just for kicks, you could do the move-out report and see if it has what you need.
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KyleHet
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Re:

#15

Post by KyleHet »

jbh001 wrote:
crislapi wrote:I have heard from a ward clerk that he cannot record a death in MLS until he receives a copy of the death certificate.
I have never heard of this before, and it seems a rather extreme requirement. I would think that any publicly recorded information would be sufficient for this, such as an obituary, or verifying the information from the tombstone at the cemetery. I would guess that your clerk has taken the instruction for needing to see the legal documents before making name changes and adding adoptive children a bit too far.

Asking to see a death certificate seems tacky and insensitive except for insurance companies and bill collectors, especially when the information can be readily and reliably obtained from other sources without being intrusive to the family.

"Yes brother Smith, I know I dedicated the grave at your son's funeral, but I still need to see the death certificate before we can record it on the records of the Church."

I guess the big question is whether anyone is concerned that the report of death is inaccurate or that someone might otherwise be trying to perpetrate a fraud or something else illegal by reporting the death.

If the person actually died, and this is verifiable independent of contacting the family, then the insistence that the clerk must see the death certificate is highly inappropriate. (IMO)

In an instance like being present for the grave dedication I can see it being a bit much. However, when the Ward is very small & the deaths are of much older folks who have not been to church in a while, it seems a legitimate request to confirm death.

I'm still looking in the handbook to confirm if this is required or not.
rmrichesjr
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Re: Recording death in MLS

#16

Post by rmrichesjr »

Pending a reference from the handbook, a published obituary has been considered sufficient by the bishop(s) who have asked me to record a member's passing.

A common technique to get rid of pesky salespeople is to claim that the person in question recently died. That may be one reason a clerk might be skeptical about an unsubstantiated claim that a member has died.

As a ward membership clerk, I was looking for a new address for a (less active) member whose Christmas card had come back. Someone (apparently his wife) replied to one of the email addresses stating that the member had died. I could not find anything to substantiate her claim. There is no trace of a published obituary. In Oregon, death records are not public, so I cannot get anything from the county or the state.
russellhltn
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Re: Recording death in MLS

#17

Post by russellhltn »

KyleHet wrote:I'm still looking in the handbook to confirm if this is required or not.
I'd think Handbook 33.6.22 applies:
Recording and Correcting Civil Information
... If official documents are available, a bishop may want to review them to verify the accuracy of a requested correction.
I'm personally in agreement with others - it depends on the evidence at hand. Is this accurate information, or is it an attempt to deceive.
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raekuul
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Re: Recording death in MLS

#18

Post by raekuul »

It's important to note that all the handbook excerpts cited thus far have been in the context of a correction rather than of the initial entry. It may be the case where the originator of the "need to see documentation to enter" policy conflated corrections with initial entries.
russellhltn
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Re: Recording death in MLS

#19

Post by russellhltn »

Keep in mind the original post is well over 10 years ago and the thread was dormant until just a few posts back.
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