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Making Baptism Certificate for Long-Time Member

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 4:40 am
by T.Reed-p40
A member in our branch lost her original baptism/confirmation certificate and would like a replacement. However, I don't have any information on who baptized or confirmed her and she isn't sure of the missionaries' names who performed the ordinances. Is there a way for me to track this information down?

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:34 am
by jbh001
T.Reed wrote:A member in our branch lost her original baptism/confirmation certificate and would like a replacement. However, I don't have any information on who baptized or confirmed her and she isn't sure of the missionaries' names who performed the ordinances. Is there a way for me to track this information down?
Probably not. The information about who performs a baptism or confirmation is never transmitted to CHQ. MLS only stores this information locally to help in printing out certificates. Once the record is moved to a new unit, this information is lost.

If the information pre-dates MLS, there is likely no way to recover it at all unless your ward has old certificates/forms filed away somewhere. There was a discussion about something related to this in another thread a few months ago. I believe the consensus was that hard copies of membership information and forms should be destroyed as soon as the information is correctly recorded in MLS/CHQ or until the hard copy is no longer actively needed.

Hard copies for financial records have different retention requirements that vary depending on your country/area.

If she or you can find the original information, there is no problem pluging that into a blank certificate and printing it out, although obviously it will have the current bishop's name instead of who ever was bishop at the time she was baptized.

If she is looking for an official record of her baptism and confirmation, print out and give her a copy of her Individual Ordinance Summary (IOS). That is the primary purpose of the IOS anyway.

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 10:39 am
by vroberts-p40
T.Reed wrote:A member in our branch lost her original baptism/confirmation certificate and would like a replacement. However, I don't have any information on who baptized or confirmed her and she isn't sure of the missionaries' names who performed the ordinances. Is there a way for me to track this information down?
At one time, wards/branches were required each year to submit ordinations that took place in their units. This process was done away with in 1983. If your member was baptized before this date and knows the ward and stake along with the year they were baptized you can research the information through Family and Church History Department.