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But, I now have another question from a different Ward/Clerk: Here goes:

We have a member who is on his 2nd marriage (sealed in his first marriage, but divorced in 2002) and has asked the Bishop for a recommend to be sealed to his current wife. The Bishop has reviewed the process of appeal to the First Presidency but has asked his clerk to to locate this member's first wife and her current bishop. We understand that the Bishop needs to communicate with both and that the process specifically says that the member should not be asked to contact the former spouse.

How do we find the prior spouse?

BradWeech wrote:But, I now have another question from a different Ward/Clerk: Here goes:

We have a member who is on his 2nd marriage (sealed in his first marriage, but divorced in 2002) and has asked the Bishop for a recommend to be sealed to his current wife. The Bishop has reviewed the process of appeal to the First Presidency but has asked his clerk to to locate this member's first wife and her current bishop. We understand that the Bishop needs to communicate with both and that the process specifically says that the member should not be asked to contact the former spouse.

How do we find the prior spouse?

The best option for getting that information from Church Headquarters is one of two ways, in which Salt Lake can verify that the person making the request has the correct calling and authority to make such a request:

1. Have the bishop call Membership Support, who can provide that necessary information audibly over the phone. The nice thing about this method is that the result is instantaneous and the bishop can ask follow-up questions if needed.
2. Have the ward clerk send an MLS Message via the software to Membership Support. This can take up to a few days to get the response, but then everyone doesn't have to wait for the bishop's schedule to permit the time for a phone call.

Hope this helps.

Good information. Please note that headquarters will only give the name and phone number of the bishop of the former spouse. Headquarters will not share specific information off of the former spouse's record. Then the bishop of your ward can call and work with the bishop of the former spouse.

BradWeech wrote:. . . We understand that the Bishop needs to communicate with both and that the process specifically says that the member should not be asked to contact the former spouse.

How do we find the prior spouse?

Wouldn't the easiest starting point be to ask the person seeking to be sealed? He/she may be able to provide a current address. Locating the bishop, given that info, isn't very hard stateside. This differs from asking the person to contact his/her ex.

scion wrote:Wouldn't the easiest starting point be to ask the person seeking to be sealed? He/she may be able to provide a current address. Locating the bishop, given that info, isn't very hard stateside. This differs from asking the person to contact his/her ex.

Exactly correct.

When a member is making an application to the First Presidency, it is perfectly fine for the bishop to ask that member for any information that will help in contacting others who will need to write letters or provide other information for the application.

The only restriction is that it is the bishop, and not the member, who should actually make contact with those other people involved.

So yes, the bishop should talk with the applicant and get any contact information needed. But the bishop should be the one to make the actual contact with any of those other individuals.

A number of these folks have fallen off the church radar, so contacting CHQ won't assist in locating them.

Thanks to everyone. I called Membership Support. They said that a notice is generally given to the prior spouse; but, it depends on the individual circumstances e.g. if there was any risk of danger. They also informed that only the Bishop or Stake President may call to get specific information, even about whether notice has been sent. We relayed this to the Bishop

Follow Question: The Ward Clerk said that he had been told by the old Stake Clerk that Ward Clerks were NOT to call Salt Lake Membership Support, but should always go through the Stake Clerk. I note that one comment, above, suggested an email through MLS; and, I assume that since the function is in MLS, that Ward Clerks can use that method to get answers to their questions. Does anyone know if Ward Clerks are not supposed to call Membership Support by phone as this Ward Clerk had been told? I'll start a new thread with this question, as well.

BradWeech wrote:Follow Question: The Ward Clerk said that he had been told by the old Stake Clerk that Ward Clerks were NOT to call Salt Lake Membership Support, but should always go through the Stake Clerk. I note that one comment, above, suggested an email through MLS; and, I assume that since the function is in MLS, that Ward Clerks can use that method to get answers to their questions. Does anyone know if Ward Clerks are not supposed to call Membership Support by phone as this Ward Clerk had been told? I'll start a new thread with this question, as well.

Yes, please redirect responses to this question in that new thread instead:

http://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4052