Family with multiple last names

Discussions about the Ward Directory and Map tool on churchofjesuschrist.org.
dcn25
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Family with multiple last names

#1

Post by dcn25 »

Hi, I have tried to have the clerks in our ward fix my name on the ward directory (through lds.org), but they do not know how. Thus, I thought I'd check here. When I married my husband, I kept my maiden name (legally, socially, professionally). Thus, my husband's last name is Jones (using fake names here for simplicity), my last name is Garcia, and our children have the last name Jones. However, the ward directory does not accurately reflect that and is, in fact, very strange.

If you search for Garcia (my last name) in the directory, I do not come up. Neither does my husband.

If you search for Jones (my husband's last name) in the directory, two entries come up: First, there is an entry with my husband's name ("Kendall Jones"). Then there is an entry for me, but with my husband's name ("Carolina Jones"). If you click on the entry entitled "Kendall Jones," there is only one individual in that household--my husband. I do not appear as Kendall's wife, and our children do not appear as Kendall's children. If, instead, you click on the "Carolina Jones" entry, then you see "Carolina Garcia" as the HoH, with our two children "Daughter Jones" and "Son Jones" as other household members. My husband does not appear anywhere.

I have several questions. First, how do I have two different names in the entry titled "Carolina Jones"? It can only be found under "Jones," but when you click it, I appear as Garcia. Second, why does my husband not appear as my husband, and why do I not appear as my husband's wife? Can a family only be found under the last name of the HoH?

Ideally, I would like for there to be two entries: (1) an entry with me, Carolina Garcia, as head of household that lists my husband and children as other household members (with their correct last names) and (2) an entry with my husband, Kendall Jones, as head of household that lists me and my children as other household members (with correct last names). That way, we can be found no matter what last name is entered.

Any instructions on how to do this that I could pass on to our ward clerk? I have been trying to get this worked on for over four years now.

Thanks!
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aebrown
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#2

Post by aebrown »

dcn25 wrote:Hi, I have tried to have the clerks in our ward fix my name on the ward directory (through lds.org), but they do not know how. Thus, I thought I'd check here. When I married my husband, I kept my maiden name (legally, socially, professionally). Thus, my husband's last name is Jones (using fake names here for simplicity), my last name is Garcia, and our children have the last name Jones. However, the ward directory does not accurately reflect that and is, in fact, very strange.

In our ward, we have a similar situation, but it does not act as you describe. Using your fictitious names, what our ward sees is a single household named Jones. In the list of households it appears as "Jones, Kendall & Carolina." When you click on that household, you see the Jones household with two members: Kendall Jones and Carolina Garcia. Nowhere do I ever see the name "Carolina Jones" (except as implied in the household name "Jones, Kendall & Carolina").
dcn25 wrote:If you search for Garcia (my last name) in the directory, I do not come up. Neither does my husband.

That's the same in our ward's situation. Apparently the name matching works only on the names that appear in the household list, as well as their children. Since the household name is "Jones, Kendall & Carolina", the name Garcia doesn't appear anywhere, and thus is never matched.
dcn25 wrote:If you search for Jones (my husband's last name) in the directory, two entries come up: First, there is an entry with my husband's name ("Kendall Jones"). Then there is an entry for me, but with my husband's name ("Carolina Jones"). If you click on the entry entitled "Kendall Jones," there is only one individual in that household--my husband. I do not appear as Kendall's wife, and our children do not appear as Kendall's children. If, instead, you click on the "Carolina Jones" entry, then you see "Carolina Garcia" as the HoH, with our two children "Daughter Jones" and "Son Jones" as other household members. My husband does not appear anywhere.

It sounds like your ward clerk has somehow created two separate households. That doesn't seem right -- there is only one household, but it has a set of names that doesn't conform to the usual pattern. That one household should list Kendall Jones as the husband and Carolina Garcia as the spouse.
dcn25 wrote:I have several questions. First, how do I have two different names in the entry titled "Carolina Jones"? It can only be found under "Jones," but when you click it, I appear as Garcia.

Your individual name is Carolina Garcia. But you are in a household named "Carolina Jones". You only have the one individual name.
dcn25 wrote:Second, why does my husband not appear as my husband, and why do I not appear as my husband's wife?

That must be because your ward clerk (probably in an attempt to fix this issue) created two separate households. Your husband is not in your household, and you are not in his. The clerk needs to make sure that there is only one household.
dcn25 wrote:Can a family only be found under the last name of the HoH?

Unfortunately, that is currently the case.
dcn25 wrote:Ideally, I would like for there to be two entries: (1) an entry with me, Carolina Garcia, as head of household that lists my husband and children as other household members (with their correct last names) and (2) an entry with my husband, Kendall Jones, as head of household that lists me and my children as other household members (with correct last names). That way, we can be found no matter what last name is entered.

I think it would be confusing to have two distinct entries that display the same family, especially if they each list different heads of household. Instead, I think it would be better to have the one Jones household, that has Kendall Jones as HoH and Carolina Garcia as spouse, but make two other changes:
  1. List the household as "Jones, Kendall and Garcia, Carolina" -- that will be more accurate, and (if my analysis is correct) allow the name search to find the household when you type "Garcia" in the search field.
  2. Create an additional entry in the household list which is something like "Garcia, Carolina -- see Jones, Kendall" (and that last part would be a link to the Jones household.
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kisaac
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#3

Post by kisaac »

Welcome to the forum, dcn25!

aebrown's response was very good, and if you give your clerk a printout of it, it may lead him to the best possible resolution. But, if this is all a little much, and it may be depending on his familiarity with computers or MLS, give him the following. I've seen these issues go on for years because the clerk didn't know what to do, or what some other clerk did to make it like it is.

But, when everyone is unsure, and need to be "talked through" a task:
Local Unit Support

When ward clerks and stake clerks cannot resolve a clerk-related issue locally, they should contact Local Unit Support through one of the following methods:
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lajackson
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#4

Post by lajackson »

kisaac wrote:aebrown's response was very good

In fact, it was so good and accurate that I suggest it be given to LUS and that they add it to their database so that they can assist all those stake clerks who have called in looking for a solution to this situation. [wink]
dcn25
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Thank you!

#5

Post by dcn25 »

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback. Our stake just got reorganized, and now I am in a new ward, so it is even more important that this get fixed. I've found that any confusion on the ward directory translates into lots more confusion in real life. I'd really like to make it easier for people to get to know us in this new ward. I will print this up and pass it on to my new ward clerk. Thanks!!!
chrisburton
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#6

Post by chrisburton »

aebrown wrote:
  1. List the household as "Jones, Kendall and Garcia, Carolina" -- that will be more accurate, and (if my analysis is correct) allow the name search to find the household when you type "Garcia" in the search field.
  2. Create an additional entry in the household list which is something like "Garcia, Carolina -- see Jones, Kendall" (and that last part would be a link to the Jones household.

Is it possible to list the household as suggested above? If so, how?
Is it possible to create an additional household entry? Again, if so, how?
russellhltn
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#7

Post by russellhltn »

chrisburton wrote:Is it possible to list the household as suggested above? If so, how?
Is it possible to create an additional household entry? Again, if so, how?

I belive those statements where under the heading of "how I'd like the system to handle things" as a note to the programmers. Not addressing current capability.

In the Household section of MLS, there is a field for "Household name". I suppose you could change that to "Jones-Garcia". It's not accurate, but I think that's one of the few options you have at this point. Breaking each person into their own household makes them look unmarried in the directory and has some ramifications for hometeaching and unit statistics.

Personally, I've vote for "stay the course" and wait for the programmers to address it.
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chrisburton
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#8

Post by chrisburton »

RussellHltn wrote:In the Household section of MLS, there is a field for "Household name". I suppose you could change that ...

I tried changing the "Household name" in MLS. It seems to have no effect on the lds.org directory listing. If there's something I'm missing, please advise.

And "staying the course" means this member's name will not be found in the lds.org directory. That is a very poor option, especially now that she is in a new ward where members don't already know her.

As an increasingly culturally diverse church (with many members who don't share our naming convention of taking the husband's last name), I'm certain there are better options than leaving a member's name off the directory (listing her instead under a name that is neither her legal nor preferred name). So if the programmers are reading this (I've been told the forum is the only way to communicate with them), please help.
lisaan
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#9

Post by lisaan »

Directory displays the preferred name which is not necessarily the same as the household name. Please have your clerk check both fields in MLS. Thanks.
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atom88
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Re: Non-member spouses - last name in wrong place?

#10

Post by atom88 »

I am also seeing that when a wife who's legal last name is "Jones" and who's current legal husband that has a last name of "Smith" (but who's not a member) the wife will show up in the online directory under "Smith" since the head of household is the non-member spouse, even though her current legal last name is "Jones"? Is there any way to fix this bug?
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