How to get your baptism records?

[Melissa569]

Hello all,

I need a copy of my baptism/membership records, for VA education benefits purposes. But I recently moved to an extremely rural area, not much in the way of LDS churches around here. We live VERY far from town. We only go into town to go grocery and supply shopping like once or twice a month. So simply talking to a local clerk or bishop is not so easy for me, lol.

Is there another way I can get copies of them? Email correspondence with church records, maybe? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edited November 1, 2011 by Melissa569

[annewandering]

Hello all,

I need a copy of my baptism/membership records, for VA education benefits purposes. But I recently moved to an extremely rural area, not much in the way of LDS churches around here. We live VERY far from town. We only go into town to go grocery and supply shopping like once or twice a month. So simply talking to a local clerk or bishop is not so easy for me, lol.

Is there another way I can get copies of them? Email correspondence with church records, maybe? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Go talk to your ward clerk.

I can not understand why the VA would need that. Unless you dont have a birth certificate?

[applepansy]

Your ward clerk is the one talk to. Can you call on the phone? He should be able to print it and mail it to you. Since you just moved your records are probably still at your previous ward, unless you asked for your records to be moved. If that is the case, then call your previous Bishop. He can have the ward clerk print and mail it to you.

I also don't understand why the VA would need your membership record.

Edited November 1, 2011 by applepansy

[MarginOfError]

Hello all,

I need a copy of my baptism/membership records, for VA education benefits purposes. But I recently moved to an extremely rural area, not much in the way of LDS churches around here. We live VERY far from town. We only go into town to go grocery and supply shopping like once or twice a month. So simply talking to a local clerk or bishop is not so easy for me, lol.

Is there another way I can get copies of them? Email correspondence with church records, maybe? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

do you have an LDS Account? If you do, you can log in to lds.org, look at the directory, and contact the leaders who have access to your records. Whatever ward has your records will be the ward that will appear in the online directory, so you won't even have to worry about where they are.

You can e-mail your clerk and request a copy of your Individual Ordinance Summary. He should be able to print it to pdf from the internet and e-mail it to you.

[dahlia]

Pls tell us why the VA needs this information before our heads explode. : )

[Connie]

..... too late

[Melissa569]

Well, I wasn't really active the last place I lived. And here, they don't really have a ward. So I guess I don't really have a "ward clerk" or "bishop" that I could talk to. That's why I was trying to see if there was another way. I have no idea what my "membership number" is, or anything.

As for why the VA needs a church record--- Hahaha, well I was applying for VA education benefits, to pay for college. My dad has 100% service-connected disability, and they will cover college expenses for any children who were your dependents, while you were on active duty (but you had to be LIVING with the veteran while you were a minor).

The VA said that one of the documents they would accept as "proof" of this--- is a baptism or church record, because it states your legal guardians from that time.

We have moved around so much (and I as an adult have moved a lot too)-- I just don't have any records from when I was under 18, anymore. Of all the options-- Church records seem like they would be the easiest thing to track down.

[applepansy]

Well, I wasn't really active the last place I lived. And here, they don't really have a ward. So I guess I don't really have a "ward clerk" or "bishop" that I could talk to. That's why I was trying to see if there was another way. I have no idea what my "membership number" is, or anything.

As for why the VA needs a church record--- Hahaha, well I was applying for VA education benefits, to pay for college. My dad has 100% service-connected disability, and they will cover college expenses for any children who were your dependents, while you were on active duty (but you had to be LIVING with the veteran while you were a minor).

The VA said that one of the documents they would accept as "proof" of this--- is a baptism or church record, because it states your legal guardians from that time.

We have moved around so much (and I as an adult have moved a lot too)-- I just don't have any records from when I was under 18, anymore. Of all the options-- Church records seem like they would be the easiest thing to track down.

Call or write to the Membership Department at the Church Office Building.

Phone: 801-240-1000

Address: 50 E. North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Added:

I called the membership department. They cannot give you your membership record even if you call. The Bishop is the only one who can give you your record (or the clerk under the Bishop's direction).

Go to: LDS Maps

Put in your address and it will give you the contact information for the Bishop who is responsible for your area, regardless of how rural it is. It will give you his home phone number as well as the office number at the church building.

Edited November 2, 2011 by applepansy
addtional information

[Mamas_Girl]

If you don't have a bishop and ward, and you live in the US (as your profile indicates), you most likely have a branch president and branch clerk, a stake president, or at the very least missionaries who can instruct you as to who you can contact. Good luck!

[mnn727]

Pretty much every place in the world has someone from the Church in charge of it, whether its a Bishop or Branch President or a Mission President.

If you're in the U.S. or Canada click here and put in your address, it will give you the information