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Deceased Members File. The Deceased Membership File is a collection of 481 microfilm containing the membership records of LDS Church members who died between 1941 and 1988.

History of the collection. The Deceased Member File was originally a card file in the Beginning in 1941, when a Church member died, the ward clerk sent the person’s membership record to the Presiding Bishop’s Office where it is placed in the Deceased Members File. The Membership Department kept the records for ten years, after which they transfered 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 Family History Library. For persons who died between 1941 and 1977, you can use the following microfilms at the Family History Library:

Deceased Members File, 1941 to 1977 These films are not circulated to Family History 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. (Not cataloged.) Set 8: 1981–1988 Microfilms (Not cataloged.)

You can usually use the Ordinance Index see the Temple Records page to determine which set of Deceased Members File 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 Members File.

Batch Numbers Deceased Members File 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 at 801-240-3500 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 Members File.