Tech Forum

Why can't I transfer my own records and update my address using the lds website? We have been in a new area now for 6 months and the new ward obviously doesnt care about us and havent transferred our records. The only reason I want it done is so I can pay my tithing online and get it recorded against my name and so we can get home/visiting teachers assigned.

kahapi wrote:Why can't I transfer my own records and update my address using the lds website?

I certainly don't know for certain, but it's clear that Church policy makes it a priority for records to be in the correct ward for where members live. Allowing any member to transfer their own records would lead to errors as well as people choosing to move their records to wards they prefer, even if that disregards Church policy. You clearly aren't in that situation and only want to help get your records in the right ward, but changing the technology would introduce those negative side-effects.

kahapi wrote:We have been in a new area now for 6 months and the new ward obviously doesnt care about us and havent transferred our records. The only reason I want it done is so I can pay my tithing online and get it recorded against my name and so we can get home/visiting teachers assigned.

I would recommend that you take a proactive approach. The normal way that records are transferred is for the ward clerk to request the entire family's records by requesting the head of household's records and specifying that the whole family is to be moved. You will make this easy for the clerk if you can hand him a sheet of paper with the head of household's full name, birthdate, and (if available) membership record number. It will take him only a couple of minutes to request your records if he has that information.

aebrown wrote:

kahapi wrote:We have been in a new area now for 6 months and the new ward obviously doesnt care about us and havent transferred our records. The only reason I want it done is so I can pay my tithing online and get it recorded against my name and so we can get home/visiting teachers assigned.

I would recommend that you take a proactive approach. The normal way that records are transferred is for the ward clerk to request the entire family's records by requesting the head of household's records and specifying that the whole family is to be moved. You will make this easy for the clerk if you can hand him a sheet of paper with the head of household's full name, birthdate, and (if available) membership record number. It will take him only a couple of minutes to request your records if he has that information.

Your old ward also has a vested interest to get your records where they need to be. You could send an email with your new address to the ward clerk and assistant ward clerk - membership in the ward your records currently reside. You can find their information by going to lds.org/directory and choosing "Ward Leaders" on the left.

Now that records are moved using LCR rather than MLS, I am able to use my laptop or tablet to move the new family into my ward as I sit with them between or after meetings on Sunday. The records are moved instantly.

kahapi wrote:Why can't I transfer my own records and update my address using the lds website? We have been in a new area now for 6 months and the new ward obviously doesnt care about us and havent transferred our records.

Let's troubleshoot this a bit before jumping to conclusions. When you sign in at LDS.org under "My Account and Ward" and you look in "MY WARD" and click "Directory" what do you see? On the left side, it will show your stake's name and then, by default, it shows your ward under that (or you can select the directory of a different ward in that stake). Is the ward shown A) Your current ward where you live now, B) Your previous ward where you lived 6 months ago or C) Some other ward that is completely off the mark? This may indicate whether or not there was any attempt to move your records. But it's not solid proof. There are reasons why a "Move Restriction" may have been attached to your record, in which case your current and previous Bishops should figure out what's necessary to resolve the reason for the restriction and/or determine whether the restriction was put on your record by mistake.

Also, are you sure that you're attending the correct ward for your current residence? If you want to attend one ward but are actually living in another then your records cannot move to your non-resident ward without approval from the First Presidency. Most ward and stake leaders will resist making such a request unless there's a really, really, really solid reason for it, rather than bother the First Presidency with a request which they think will be denied.

kahapi wrote:...and the new ward obviously doesnt care about us...

I suppose this might be true but I wouldn't jump to that conclusion too hastily. In my experiences working closely with Bishops this just hasn't happened. They always care, but may limit contact based on a variety of factors, usually having to do with the member's resistance to having church contact. Sounds like that's not an issue in your case. So, this leads to the next question (which you probably shouldn't answer here, in public view): Just what kind of contact have you had with your new Bishop? Does he realize you're in the ward and your records appear to be somewhere else? Is it possible that he is simply unaware of the problem?

kahapi wrote:The only reason I want it done is so I can pay my tithing online and get it recorded against my name…

Are you in the United States? My understanding is that you can pay tithing in the U.S. now no matter where your records are. Make sure that your LDS Account, your bank information and your email address are correct in the online donation system and you should have no problem paying tithing online, no matter how long it takes for the right ward to receive your membership information. Again, if you sign in at "My Account and Ward" and then look under "MY WARD" and "Donations" what does it actually show you? If things are set up correctly you should see a screen which looks similar to a paper donation slip with your name, membership number, Stake and Ward information already filled in.

kahapi wrote:...and so we can get home/visiting teachers assigned.

Have you spoken with the High Priest Group Leader, the Elders' Quorum President and/or the Relief Society President about wanting home/visiting teachers assigned? Or you could bypass them and tell the Bishop directly.

I don't mean to sound too doubtful but it's just that the situation you've described simply doesn't add up. If you've been in contact with the Bishop, Relief Society and Elders/High Priest leaders and they all "don't care about" you even though you want to pay tithing and have home visits, that's extremely unusual. The only way it would begin to make sense (based on what you've told me) would be if A) You're not attending the correct ward for you residence or B) There's a move restriction of some sort which keeps your records in a previous ward. Even then, I would expect the bishop in your new area to be able to tell you why rather than keep you in the dark.

kahapi wrote:. . . so I can pay my tithing online and get it recorded against my name . . .

Your online donations will be recorded in your name no matter where your membership record is located.

Aside from that, there have been excellent comments already posted. And a short visit with your clerk on Sunday should be able to resolve almost everything else in minutes.

Making HT/VT assignments tends to be a slow process all around. In a perfect world, leaders would assign them to a family the same month the family moves into the ward. In actual practice, leaders tend to hold off making such assignments until the next quarter. For example, we moved into a new ward in February; in April I was set apart as ward clerk; now (June) when I view my wife's record in LCR, I see Home Teachers -- Unassigned, and Visiting Teachers -- Unassigned. And yes, my wife and I have mentioned this a few times to our leaders. I think our leaders are waiting until July, the first month of the next quarter, before they make any changes to HT or VT. I won't cast any stones because I am happy I don't have their callings.

There doesn't seem to be a way to update my current home address....

mroviatt wrote:There doesn't seem to be a way to update my current home address....

You need to inform your ward membership clerk. Members can't change it themselves.