Adult Child of Record

[Carborendum]

I'm looking for what happens when a child of record has never been baptized and then turns 18.  I can't find anything addressing this in the Handbook.

Any past experiences?

[NeuroTypical]

They tend to stay on the rolls of the church.  And if their record is in my ward, but they don't live here any more, our poor long-suffering membership clerk pulls his hair out trying to find where they moved to, and ends up sending the record to salt lake.

We try hard not to lose any of our flock.   Some of the flock wants to not be found.  

[NeedleinA]

51 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

They tend to stay on the rolls of the church.  And if their record is in my ward, but they don't live here any more, our poor long-suffering membership clerk pulls his hair out trying to find where they moved to, and ends up sending the record to salt lake.

We try hard not to lose any of our flock.   Some of the flock wants to not be found.  

I've seen the same. 
Then the second part is Salt Lake can't find them either and then kicks the record back to the Ward again - hah!

[Carborendum]

1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said:

They tend to stay on the rolls of the church.  And if their record is in my ward, but they don't live here any more, our poor long-suffering membership clerk pulls his hair out trying to find where they moved to, and ends up sending the record to salt lake.

We try hard not to lose any of our flock.   Some of the flock wants to not be found.  

14 minutes ago, NeedleinA said:

I've seen the same. 
Then the second part is Salt Lake can't find them either and then kicks the record back to the Ward again - hah!

There's a bit more to it for us.

The family is inactive -- but has not formally resigned.  The child of record has been active, but can't be baptized due to parental permission issues.

The keep coming, but don't feel they can be baptized because they still "live under their roof."  So, what happens to this record now that they've turned 18?  Does it magically disappear?  Does it just hang in limbo forever if she never gets baptized?  And we thought the Catholics had it wrong!?!?

[NeedleinA]

13 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

The keep coming, but don't feel they can be baptized because they still "live under their roof."  So, what happens to this record now that they've turned 18?  Does it magically disappear?  Does it just hang in limbo forever if she never gets baptized?  And we thought the Catholics had it wrong!?!?

I haven't been a Ward Clerk for many years, but from the Tech Forum:

Quote

A person who is nine years or older who has a membership record but has not been baptized and confirmed is not considered a member of record. However, the bishop keeps the membership record until the person is 18. At that time if the person chooses not to be baptized despite being given every opportunity, the bishop, with written permission from the stake president, may cancel the membership record. He should not, however, cancel membership records of persons not considered accountable because of mental disabilities.

I believe that unless you go out of your way to cancel the record, it will remain in limbo with the parents. 

Edited February 9, 2021 by NeedleinA

[Traveler]

3 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

We try hard not to lose any of our flock.   Some of the flock wants to not be found.  

This reminds me of a guy I found serving a mission (over 50 years ago).  I did a lot of work on college campuses and came across a guy that seemed to know a lot more than normal about the church.  I concluded he was a member but the local student ward did not have him on the ward list - which I had with me.  With some joy I accused him of being a lost sheep.  He was quite adamite that he was not lost but rather that he was hiding.

Back in those days it was somewhat of a sin for missionaries to try to activate members (unless they were in a family with a non-member) - so I turned him over to the student ward Relief Society for activation.  I do not know how this all turned out but I did notice him at church before I was transferred.

 

The Traveler

[hzdbl5]

19 hours ago, NeedleinA said:

I believe that unless you go out of your way to cancel the record, it will remain in limbo with the parents. 

When they turn 18 they become a separate household and are noted as the head of the household.  You effectively have a membership record for a non-member adult.  If the parents move their records, it does not impact the now-adult child's record.  Unless there are extenuating circumstances this would typically be addressed during a membership cleanup or audit.

[NeedleinA]

33 minutes ago, hzdbl5 said:

When they turn 18 they become a separate household and are noted as the head of the household.  

I thought creating a separate head of household was done only if a Bishop directed it to be so. 
Are you saying the new head of household is automatic at 18 (like @Carborendum was asking, 'magically') or is created if the Bishop says to do so. Thx

Edited February 9, 2021 by NeedleinA

[NeuroTypical]

1 hour ago, hzdbl5 said:

When they turn 18 they become a separate household and are noted as the head of the household.

 

48 minutes ago, NeedleinA said:

I thought creating a separate head of household was done only if a Bishop directed it to be so.  Are you saying the new head of household is automatic at 18

 

Yes, it's standard practice to make folks head of household when they turn 18.  No, it is not automatic.  It requires the membership clerk to do some typing in the ward computer.  

From what I've seen in a decade and a half in the clerk's office, Bishop discretion is a thing, and we try hard to structure our membership records to best serve the individual needs of members and families.   Also in my experience, most of the times I've seen an "18 yr old unbaptized member", we're scrambling to find an accurate address.  It's quite common to see names that nobody recognizes, addresses where nobody recognizes the name, and if the parents are active, they'll often not be too invested in the accuracy of the unbapitzed member's records.  

 

[Carborendum]

15 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

Yes, it's standard practice to make folks head of household when they turn 18.  No, it is not automatic.  It requires the membership clerk to do some typing in the ward computer.  

From what I've seen in a decade and a half in the clerk's office, Bishop discretion is a thing, and we try hard to structure our membership records to best serve the individual needs of members and families.   Also in my experience, most of the times I've seen an "18 yr old unbaptized member", we're scrambling to find an accurate address.  It's quite common to see names that nobody recognizes, addresses where nobody recognizes the name, and if the parents are active, they'll often not be too invested in the accuracy of the unbapitzed member's records.  

I second what NT said.

The primary factor that is often weighed is if that child has graduated from high school or seminary by their 18th birthday.  This allows for some 18 year olds to stay with the YM/YW programs for just a couple more months.

But if the individual chooses, they can be separated.  They can even go to the YSA ward.

[hzdbl5]

22 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

 

 

Yes, it's standard practice to make folks head of household when they turn 18.  No, it is not automatic.  It requires the membership clerk to do some typing in the ward computer.  

From what I've seen in a decade and a half in the clerk's office, Bishop discretion is a thing, and we try hard to structure our membership records to best serve the individual needs of members and families.   

I will defer to your experience as I have precious little.  What I can say is we had 18 year olds split out as separate heads of households, including my son when he turned 18, and I never asked that it be done.  As such, I had assumed it occurred automatically.  Perhaps I just had a rogue clerk who did it.......

 

[NeedleinA]

4 hours ago, hzdbl5 said:

Perhaps I just had a rogue clerk who did it.......

Does your son live in Colorado and have a ward clerk that looks like?:

Edited February 11, 2021 by NeedleinA

[NeuroTypical]

That's "lovable rogue" to you people. 

I am but a humble assistant Ward Clerk...

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by NeuroTypical