The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Missionary Registers (Worldwide) - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Utah

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of an index of registers kept to record the departure and return of missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through Salt Lake City. The collection covers the years 1860 to 1937. A more comprehensive database is offered in the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints which includes missionaries serving from 1830 to 1860, missionaries not routed through Salt Lake City, links to lists of missionaries serving at the same time and histories of mission areas.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Mission records may contain the following information:


 * Full name of missionary
 * Parent’s full names
 * Birth date and place
 * Residence
 * Ward or Stake name
 * Mission location
 * Dates departed for and returned from mission
 * Name of person ordaining missionary
 * Date set apart as missionary
 * Baptism date
 * By whom baptized
 * Quorum or Priesthood office held
 * Present residence
 * Page, volume, line number

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The years they served their mission.
 * The place where they served their mission.
 * The names of the missionary's parents.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

The original registers are online in the Church History Library’s catalog. With volume and page number from the database you can navigate to the corresponding page in the online version. Note that Volume 1 in the database = Book A in the Church History Catalog, B = 2, and etc. Select the book which corresponds to the volume, and on the right click “View Digital Object”, you can then use the menu on the left to navigate to the page number. File numbers and page numbers do not correspond precisely, but are close, usually the page number is just a few numbers smaller than the file number. The online images are medium resolution, to view a higher resolution click the box in the upper right with an arrow coming out and select “Open Research Copy of current image” it will ask you to agree to copyright and display a higher resolution image.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s mission record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors. The following examples show ways you can use the information:

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
The original registers are online in the Church History Library’s catalog. With volume and page number from the database you can navigate to the corresponding page in the online version. In some cases the book and volume numbers do not appear and it will be necessary to navigate to the page using the date listed.
 * Locate the missionary in the Church History Department database to learn more about the missionary.
 * Use the parents’ names and birth place to search for extended family in place of birth.
 * Use the missionary’s age and location to find his family in census, church, and land records.
 * Use the birth date and place to obtain a copy of the original birth certificate.
 * Follow up on the information by checking the original missionary registers.
 * Note that Volume 1 in the database = Book A in the Church History Catalog, B = 2, and etc.
 * Select the book which corresponds to the volume, and on the right click “View Digital Object”.
 * You can then use the menu on the left to navigate to the page number. File numbers and page numbers do not correspond precisely, but are close, usually the page number is just a few numbers smaller than the file number.
 * The online images are medium resolution, to view a higher resolution click the box in the upper right with an arrow coming out and select “Open Research Copy of current image” it will ask you to agree to copyright and display a higher resolution image.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):