[Confessing sins to bishop kept on record?]

Back in the day... I served as Ward Clerk in a Singles ward. When the bishop convened an official council to deal with someone that was a transgressor I was there to create the record of the meeting.

We are currently working with an investigator whose husband was ex'd. He has had a change of heart and is looking to return. The bishop has had to request his case from Salt Lake.

So yes a record is created (if the meeting serious enough to be more then just you and the bishop). But I can not speak with any surety of how long such a record might be held on to or maintained.

So you say if the meeting is serious enough to be more then just you and the bishop..So what about a typical teenager or person preparing to go to the temple or on a mission. He or she confesses they've had sexual relations with another. Its not necessarily serious enough for excommunication. Would something like that be kept on record too?

[Confessing sins to bishop kept on record?]

When someone confesses sins to the bishop, such as violation of the law of chastity and word of wisdom, the bishop of course provides direction and council through the repentance process.

Say someone repents and has been fully forgiven of the Lord. Does the church keep on record the sins he had previously committed for future church leaders to understand where they have been before? Especially for serious sins that could cause excommunication, wouldn't the church want to keep that on record even if they have been forgiven? Because if it happend again, the new Priesthood leader should probably know that it wasn't the first time. Am I right?

So what I'm trying to ask is, does the church keep records of our previous sins? Who has access to that information?

I'd rather have answers from bishops, former bishops, etc. Or people who actually know what they're talking about, not just opinions.

Thanks :)