Tech Forum

richprice1 wrote:Another member is listed with his divorced wife even though she isn't even listed on his current membership record or ios.

I'm curious: is the divorced wife a member? Does she still have the husband on her record somehow?

I just thought I would mention that on the LDS Tools app for the smartphones, non-member spouses shows up there, just like you're discussing.

I was able to remove one non-member spouse from the lds.org on-line directory by entering in a divorce date. There are others who are separated, but the name of the non-member spouse, who is not in our ward, continues to show up. This will cause some members to feel offended if it is not corrected.

Is this problem going to be fixed before the lds.org membership list replaces the Stake Web Site? Many people are going to be upset. It may even generate a law suit.

I've tried in the past, and I tried again just now. I haven't been able to "get through" to anyone.

The best suggestion is to "submit feedback" since that seems to be the only method to get to the developers. Also gather up all the specific examples you can and call Local Unit Support and work though the issues.

RussellHltn wrote:I've tried in the past, and I tried again just now. I haven't been able to "get through" to anyone.

The best suggestion is to "submit feedback" since that seems to be the only method to get to the developers. Also gather up all the specific examples you can and call Local Unit Support and work though the issues.

I did send feedback back in February; I just recevied a response. My suggestion and response follow:

"You submitted a Suggestion on February 14, 2011 at 6:03 PM:
There appears to be major bug in the online ward directory on the new lds.org website. We have two sisters in our ward who have been separated from their husbands for many years. The husbands' records are not in our ward and never have been; the husbands have never lived in our ward. Both of the sisters are listed as heads of household in our local MLS system, but the online ward directory is apparently pulling the husbands' names off the wifes' records and listing both of them as being in the household. Knowing both of the sisters quite well, I know that each would be enraged (both have court orders preventing the husbands from having any contact with them or their children) and offended to see their "husbands" names listed beside theirs. I'd like to see it changed before they see it online. Additionally, I noticed a similar situation with couples where one spouse is a member and one is not. The online ward directory is listing both husband and wife, even though only one has a record listed in our local MLS (I've thoroughly checked and no record of any kind exists for the non-member spouse). For many such couples this is not a problem, but we have a few in our ward where the non-member spouse has very strong feelings against the church and would not be pleased to find that he/she is being listed as a "member" in the online ward directory. (Some may even be so upset that they would bring legal action against the Church.) Your programmers may have considered this a nice "feature," or it may simply be a bug (the directory on the old website didn't have this problem). In either case, I think it should be fixed so that only those individuals who actually have their own church record appear in the online ward directory. Thank you

The LDS Church responded on September 25, 2011 at 9:31 PM as follows:
Thanks a lot for visiting LDS.org and sending your feedback. Unfortunately, due to the huge number of messages we receive every day, we were not able to answer you before. Regarding your comments and suggestions, I will forward them to those who work on LDS.org, so they can consider them as soon as possible. We appreciate your help and patience as we are working to improve our website. May the Lord bless you."

I'm a member of the Church, and a writer/blogger. I wrote an article about this, because I've been following this issue both here and in my own ward for some time now. It's something that does need to be fixed.

I left the Church back in 2004, but was rebaptized this summer. I saw this issue come up with me showing up in the new directory but not the old until my records showed up (some minor paperwork issues, I was the first rebaptism after removal my leadership did, so it was a teachable moment all around). This wasn't a problem for me at all, but I can see how problems can arise with non-member spouses who may not exactly be receptive to the Church.

http://www.michaelcrook.org/2011/10/05/trouble-with-membership-directories/

The issue of the online directory listing the names of non-member spouses (and member spouses not living in the ward) needs to be taken seriously. One of the non-member spouses in our ward--no records of any kind exist for him in MLS, his name only appears on his wife's record as her spouse--has recently been arrested and extradited for a very violent crime he committed in another state. Yet, the online ward directory still lists him as part of the household.

With record-keeping being such an important Priesthood responsibility, it is ironic that we do not have an online ward directory that accurately reflects the actual members of our ward. It seems that a lot of effort is being put into developing "fun apps" when a basic tool like the online directory still doesn't function properly. We want our ward members to take advantage of the online directory, but as long as it continues to lists non-member spouses for whom records have never been created and spouses who do not live in the ward, we will not encourage members to go online.

Please see that those who make these decisions are aware of the problems, and potential legal ramifications for the Church (as have been noted by many in this thread) as my erfforts have proved unfruitful.

Thank you

bakebread wrote:Please see that those who make these decisions are aware of the problems, and potential legal ramifications for the Church (as have been noted by many in this thread) as my erfforts have proved unfruitful.

I've tried my best and had no success.

My only suggestion is to call Local Unit Support while sitting at the computer and keep pushing, asking for a supervisor if necessary.

bakebread wrote:With record-keeping being such an important Priesthood responsibility, it is ironic that we do not have an online ward directory that accurately reflects the actual members of our ward.

The requirement for the online directory is to accurately represent the household record. If the husband's name is on the marriage record in MLS, the requirement is to display it in the online directory. The intent is to not call attention to non-members and those going through church disciplinary action.

If a member or their spouse does not want their data displayed, there is an option to opt the household out of the online directory. This can be done by any ward or stake leader, or the member themselves. In the future, the directory will allow opting-out individuals, in addition to the entire household.

Additionally, members can work through their Ward Clerks to have the marriage record suppressed. The Clerk can contact MLS support (801-240-3500) for help doing this.