Tech Forum

MLS tells me that when I add marriage information to individuals (I think all are women in my case), their names will update to their married names automatically. But I think this doesn't work. I tried it with an individual once. I did Send/Receive and checked on it a week later, but her name still remained to be her maiden name. What I did is I manually changed her name and just told the system that it was a spelling correction so I could record her correct name. Did I do it right?

jodelasur wrote:What I did is I manually changed her name and just told the system that it was a spelling correction so I could record her correct name. Did I do it right?

When you change a member's name, there's an option for the reason called "New Marriage for Member" -- that would be a more accurate choice than "Spelling Correction".

aebrown wrote:

jodelasur wrote:What I did is I manually changed her name and just told the system that it was a spelling correction so I could record her correct name. Did I do it right?

When you change a member's name, there's an option for the reason called "New Marriage for Member" -- that would be a more accurate choice than "Spelling Correction".

That option just pops up a dialog box instructing you to add a new marriage instead and then does not change the name. Only the first 3 options in that dialog box actually change the name. The other options give you instructions for each of those situations and do not change the name.

In this case Verified Legal Name change might be more appropriate but I'm not sure it makes a difference.

I once had a marriage where this happened as well. I think it happened when I simply edited the record to add the spouse rather than using the Record Civil Marriage option but I'm not certain. I couldn't remember after the fact exactly how I had recorded the marriage.

Also remember that when you change a name on the record (to post a marriage, for instance), the preferred names don't change. You have to change that separately. My stake has a handful of sisters where the marriage or divorce is posted but the preferred name hasn't been fixed, and also a few where the preferred name is updated, but the marriage or divorce isn't posted on the record.

eblood66 wrote:I once had a marriage where this happened as well. I think it happened when I simply edited the record to add the spouse rather than using the Record Civil Marriage option but I'm not certain. I couldn't remember after the fact exactly how I had recorded the marriage.

Maybe this is why our records don't change. I just add the spouse to a record instead of the Record Civil Marriage option. I'll check it out if I get the chance to record another marriage.

Anyway, if this is the case, can we request for the functionality of automatically replacing the marriage name when adding a spouse to a record in future MLS releases? For now, I don't see how adding a spouse is different from recording a civil marriage.

jodelasur wrote: Anyway, if this is the case, can we request for the functionality of automatically replacing the marriage name when adding a spouse to a record in future MLS releases? For now, I don't see how adding a spouse is different from recording a civil marriage.

Be aware that in some countries, spouses do not necessarily take the husbands name when they marry.

I've found this out in MLS:

Many of our very less active members Ii.e.: been years since last Church contact) often marry nonmember spouses. We're doing a major ward initiative to contact and update the info for all these people. When entering a civil marriage for the member, there is a space for the full name and (optionally) birthdate for the nonmember spouse. Sometimes they want their records removed, or most often just desire to remain less active but remain disinclined to do anything else for the ward, including producing an official marriage license. So, I enter the spouse's full name and marriage date (and location, if known) for a civil marriage. No option "pops up" to change the female spouse's last name if performed this way.

If the member is willing to give the nonmember spouse's birthdate, you can create a "nonmember record" and then link the two records via a "civil marriage" action. When you do this, MLS will automatically suggest a female spouse's surname change.

Another question: if the civil marriage date is entered incorrectly, can it be changed somehow, or does the marriage have to be "terminated" and then recreated with the correct date?

madacan wrote:If the member is willing to give the nonmember spouse's birthdate, you can create a "nonmember record"

Note that in the MLS manual, you need permission to create that record. (But you don't need it to add the non-member to the member's record as a spouse.)

I obtain permission to create the record beforehand, forgot to mention that. If not, I just annotate the marriage on the member's record, once I receive the bishoprics' go-ahead. One of our ward's difficulties is that we have a large number of less active members who are incorrectly noted on our YSA list. Our YSA rep, a longtime ward member, has knowledge that many of these people are married, but cannot get them to produce a marriage record for the bishop. However, as I learned this evening, civil marriages should only be recorded if the bishop performed them or if the members produce a legal marriage record and show to the bishop. What to do?

madacan wrote:However, as I learned this evening, civil marriages should only be recorded if the bishop performed them or if the members produce a legal marriage record and show to the bishop.

I'm having a problem finding a policy that matches what you describe. IIRC, I think it's bishop's discretion if he'll accept the word of the member or want to see paperwork. I think name changes are more of an issue than the marriage itself.

But perhaps that comes from local policy.