Latter-day Saint Vital Records

United States

U.S. Church Records

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Vital Records

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Wiki Topics
Beginning Research
Tracing Latter-day Saint Ancestors Record Finder
Record Types
Census Records Church Records Directories Emigration & Immigration Membership Records Military Records Missionaries Newspapers Obituaries	Online Records Patriarchal Blessings Perpetual Emigration Fund Priesthood Records Temple Records Vital Records Ward Membership Records
By Country
Sweden Norway	Wales
Compiled Sources
Biography Genealogies	History Preliminary Survey
Background Information
Colonization Historical Geography	Periodicals Polygamy
Finding Aids
Archives and Libraries Finding a FamilySearch Center	Further Reading Online Records Record Finder
Substitute Records
U.S. Census Journals and Diaries Utah Utah Biography	Utah Directories Utah Genealogy Utah History Utah Land and Property
Moderator
HendricksonP

Civil governments have created records of births, marriages, deaths, and divorces. Records containing this information are commonly called "vital records." They are usually in the form of certificates. For more information on how to find civil vital records, see the Wiki article for "Vital Records" for the state, province, or nation where your ancestor was living when the event occurred.

This section explains how to use Church records to verify "vital" information. They may also contain information not found in civil records. You can use the following Church sources to help verify a member’s birth, marriage, or death.

Sources for Verifying Births

• Membership Records list the birth date and place and the date when an infant was blessed. The blessing usually occurs a few weeks after the child’s birth. See the Membership Records page for more information.
• Early Church Information File cited fully in the Biographies page often leads to a source that provides birth information.
• Church Census Records. The 1914 census gives the person’s age. From 1920 to 1960, the censuses give the exact birth date. From 1930 to 1960 they also give birthplace. For more information see Census Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Sources for Verifying Marriages

• Early Church Information File cited fully in the "Biography" page indexes marriage records from selected counties in Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, and California. All county marriage records for Utah from 1887 to 1914 are indexed in this file.
• Membership Records. See the Membership Records page for more information.
• Licensed Marriages Performed in the Temple. See the Temple Records page for more information about sealings and marriages performed in the temple.
• Signature Books. People who were married civilly and then were sealed later had to sign a signature book. This book is often the only place an early civil marriage was ever recorded. Signature books are available for the following temples: Alberta, Arizona, Idaho Falls, Logan, Manti, St. George, and Salt Lake. If the marriage information is more than 95 years old, it may be listed in the Ordinance Index.
• Some countries require a civil marriage prior to a temple sealing. See the Wiki article for "Vital Records" or "Civil Registration" for the nation where your ancestor lived for information about finding civil marriage records.

Sources for Verifying Deaths

• Membership Records. See the Membership Records page. Also see the Deceased Members File, below.
• Note: War deaths during the twentieth century were not recorded at the actual time of death due to national security. After the war ended, sketchy death information was released. For some, the government lists the date of death as one year and one day after the military action in which the person lost his life. For those who died in wartime check the Form E or Form 42FP membership records for the year of death and for several years after the war ended.
• Early Church Information File cited fully in the "Biography" page includes many cemetery records for Utah and Idaho. It also indexes deaths recorded in early Church periodicals and selected ward, stake, and mission records.
• Obituary Records. See Latter-day Saint Obituaries and Wiki article for "obituaries" for the state, province, or nation where your ancestor died.
• Records of People Who Died Crossing the Plains. See the Emigration and Immigration page for more information.

Deceased Membership Records

Starting in 1941, when a Church member has died, the ward clerk sends the person’s membership record to the Presiding Bishop’s Office, where it is placed in the Deceased Members Records. The Membership Department keeps these records for ten years. After ten years the Membership Department transfers the names to the Historical Department—Archive Search Room. To access the information in the file, you must contact the correct department.

• If the person died after 1975, and if the Church has proof of the person’s death, the Membership Department will provide birth, marriage, baptism, priesthood ordination, endowment, and sealing information.
  
• If the person died between 1941 and 1975, search microfilms at the Historical Department—Archive Search Room or at the FamilySearch Library.

For persons who died between 1941 and 1988, you can use the following microfilms located at the FamilySearch Library:

• Deceased Membership Records, 1941 to 1988 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Membership Department. The Deceased Membership Records, 1941 to 1988. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church Historian’s Office. FS Library films 884001–435. These films are not circulated to FamilySearch Centers and photocopies are not allowed. However, you may transcribe the information by hand.
  

This collection is divided as follows:

Handwritten Cards

Set 1:	1941–1974 (films 884001–392)
Set 2:	1974–1975 (films 884393–420)
Set 3:	1977 [1975–1977] (films 884429–35)

Computerized Cards

Set 4:	1975 (film 884421)
Set 5:	1976 (films 884422–24)
Set 6:	1977 (films 8844425–28)
Set 7:	1975–1980 Fiche index to computerized cards.
Set 8:	1981–1988 (films 2242704)

You can usually use the Ordinance Index (see the Temple Records page) to determine which set of Deceased Membership Record cards to use. Church members who died between 1941 and 1985 appear in the Ordinance Index with an "H------" batch number. The following table shows how batch numbers relate to the Deceased Membership Record.

Batch Numbers	Deceased Membership Record Set
H000001 to H000168	Set 1
H002000 to H002016	Set 2
H002017 to H002033	Set 4 or Set 5
H002034 to H002046	Set 6 or Set 3
H002047 and greater	Contact the Membership Department
H7-----	Set 1

Remember, when you look for a woman in the Ordinance Index, look under her maiden name. You will find her under her married name on the Deceased Membership Record.

Other Records of Deceased Members

Records of Deceased Members of the Scandinavian Mission. An alphabetical listing of members who died between 1852 and 1895 in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, listing the name, birth date and place, baptism date and place, and the date of death. Endowment date is listed with the name of the proxy.

Death Records: Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Who Died in England, 1909–1911. Seven pages of clippings from the Millennial Star.