Church and Membership Records
Family History Research Guide
Membership Records
Church Census Records
The Church began taking a membership census in 1914; the next census was taken in 1920, and censuses were taken every five years thereafter until 1960. Because of World War II, no census was conducted during 1945.
Census information identifies basic information about family makeup, priesthood offices held by male members, addresses, and ward or branch of residence. The census records have been indexed by name and more than 8.2 million records are searchable in the collection at FamilySearch.org. These records are also available in-person at the library on microfilm under the following call numbers:
CR 4 311 (1914, 1920, 1925, 1930, 1935 stake and mission census)
CR 4 312 (1940 mission census)
CR 4 313 (1940 stake census)
CR 4 314 (1950 mission census)
CR 4 315 (1950 stake and mission census)
CR 4 316 (1950, 1955, 1960, 1962 stake and mission census)
Deceased Member Records, 1941-1988
From 1941 until July 1988, deceased Church members’ membership records were sent to the Church Historian’s Office for filing. These records typically contain details regarding priesthood ordinations and can assist in tracing a priesthood line of authority. These records are also available at the Family History Library.
Early Payson Ward (Utah) membership records, Thatcher Ward (Arizona) minutes of deacons quorum meetings, 1910. These minutes were recorded by Spencer W. Kimball, the quorum’s assistant secretary, who became President of the Church in 1973.
The Record of Members spans the years 1836 through 1976 in three different collections (CR 375 8, CR 375 2 1907-1970, and CR 375 2 1971-76). The records of individual volumes in this series may include membership and vital statistics; information about births, marriages, Church participation, and deaths; information about priesthood ordinances and actions; quorum records; names of missionaries and servicemen; and emigration reports. The information recorded varied over the years. These records are arranged by Church unit name and number.
While the finding aid for this collection is digitized, the records themselves must be accessed at the Church History Library; please ask a staff member for assistance searching them. This collection is also available on microfilm at the Family History Library. The Church History Library continues to acquire old membership record books and add them to the collection.
Historian's Office rebaptism records, 1848-1876
This collection contains basic information about Church members who were baptized and rebaptized in the Salt Lake Valley between 1847 and 1854. For further assistance navigating the collection, a non-digital index to the digital records is available at the library under the call number M234.3 W344r 2003.
Local Records
Local congregations have been recording their histories from the beginning of the Church. The Church History Library contains thousands of local records that could contain valuable material about your ancestors. For information on how to find local records in the Church History Catalog, please visit the Local Unit Records Research Guide, as well as Church History Library blog posts “Local and Corporate Records of the Church” and “More on Local Records.”
Most local records are only available to view at the Church History Library. This following is the kind of information you can find in local records:
Manuscript Histories (Series 2 and 3)
Manuscript Histories are unpublished compilations of historical information for local Church units. Initial information was gathered by staff members of the Church Historian’s Office starting in the 1890s. Quarterly historical reports from 1925 to 1967 and annual reports from 1968 to 1983 were added to previous Church Historian’s Office compilations. Annual reports from 1984 to 1999 were only submitted from stakes, districts, and missions; current annual reports from wards (2000–present) are submitted collectively by each stake and added to previous compilations. Information includes descriptions (in varying degrees of completeness) of historical events and activities, lists of callings and releases, newspaper clippings, newsletters, programs, sustaining sheets from ward and stake conferences, and photographs.
Minutes of Meetings
Minutes of various Church meetings in local units were recorded by designated clerks. Minutes of organization meetings—Relief Society, Sunday School, Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association, Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Association, and Primary—were recorded and sent to the Church Historian’s Office through 1973, and minutes of sacrament meetings were sent through 1977. Minutes vary in detail but can provide insight into an ancestor’s Church activity, including prayers and talks given, callings received, and occasional remarks offered during meetings. Early minute books from the Intermountain West may contain some miscellaneous information, such as membership records, cemetery maps, burial records, funeral proceedings, school attendance records, irrigation information, business records, personal financial notations, and diary entries.
Other Local Unit Records
Many types of records from or about local units are potentially available, such as newsletters; dedicatory programs; histories; and photographs of ward members, events, and buildings. Many items are available only at the Church History Library. You will need to have basic information about the individual or the unit to assist in your search.
Other Church Records
Nauvoo Temple Carpenters Time Book, 1842-1846
This ledger records the work done by carpenters and joiners during the construction of the Nauvoo Temple. It contains names of workers, dates they worked, and the amount of time they spent on the temple site. For further assistance navigating the collection, a non-digital index to the digital records is available at the library under the call number M282.1 N314 2000.
John Eames and his family emigrated from England to Utah in 1868. The family borrowed money from the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for their expenses. A promissory note and ledger entry document the family’s debt and efforts to pay it back.
This extensive collection contains ledgers, journals, receipt books, bonds, promissory notes, and other financial records of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company. This fund was created to assist emigrants with the expenses of traveling to Utah.
The four ledgers featured in the "Ledgers" collection have been made into a searchable index at FamilySearch.org. For further assistance navigating the collection, a digital index is available at the library under the call number CR 100 276. PDF copies of the index are available for download.