Tech Forum

As a relatively new ward clerk I have just discovered our ward has two people who have been baptised but not confirmed. One was a convert baptism baptised 3 years ago and apparently never confirmed , the other was a child of record baptised four months ago whose family have not been to church since. To make matters worse both people have moved address and we have yet to discover their new addresses.

How long do we keep the baptismal information? and

What, if anything, can I do (or should I do) about membership records on MLS?

You first need to make sure that for a fact the confirmation did not happen. It could be all that happened was it did not get recorded. I suggest you talk to your bishop.

johnbeattie wrote:What, if anything, can I do (or should I do) about membership records on MLS?

Once that everything has bee recorded that can be recorded, follow the procedure for a member whose whereabouts you don't know.

I remember one or two instances of trying to get a newly-baptized member to sacrament meeting within a month so that the baptism was valid. I don't know if that was church policy or something related to the stake or mission.

mevans wrote:I remember one or two instances of trying to get a newly-baptized member to sacrament meeting within a month so that the baptism was valid. I don't know if that was church policy or something related to the stake or mission.

There are only two things I know of that are even close to that:

• They're supposed to have attended one sacrament meeting prior to baptism.
• They have to be confirmed. Sometimes that's right after baptism, sometimes it's during Sacrament meeting. But can't say as I've heard of a time limit or it becomes invalid. But I don't currently have access to Handbook 1.

russellhltn wrote:

mevans wrote:I remember one or two instances of trying to get a newly-baptized member to sacrament meeting within a month so that the baptism was valid. I don't know if that was church policy or something related to the stake or mission.

There are only two things I know of that are even close to that:

• They're supposed to have attended one sacrament meeting prior to baptism.
• They have to be confirmed. Sometimes that's right after baptism, sometimes it's during Sacrament meeting. But can't say as I've heard of a time limit or it becomes invalid. But I don't currently have access to Handbook 1.

There isn't really anything in Handbook 1 that is relevant that I can find. The most relevant information is in Handbook 2 20.3.9. It indicates that converts are not confirmed at the baptism but are confirmed in a sacrament meeting soon after baptism, preferably the next sacrament meeting. It also indicates a person is not a member of the church until both baptism and confirmation have been completed. But there isn't anything about any time limits between the two.