General Membership Information
Priesthood Line of Authority Research Guide
Fundamentally, researching a priesthood line of authority involves finding who ordained a man to the priesthood, then finding who ordained him, and so on. It is also important to find when each ordination took place.
The library holds several records and collections that include information about an individual’s membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; specifically, the following are the best sources for finding information relevant to a line of authority:
Record of Members (CR 375 8)
This collection contains membership records from 1830 to 1970. Depending on how detailed the clerk was, these can contain useful information in tracing a line of authority. To navigate this collection, you will need to know where a person was living at the time of the ordination. The collection is available online through the Church History Catalog. You will need to sign in with your Church Account, then click on “Request Digital Access” on the portion you need and fill out the form to request access to needed portions.
Deceased Member Records (CR 298 7)
If a person in the line of authority died between 1941 and July 1988, you may be able to find some ordination information in this collection. It is broken into different sections of years and is alphabetical within those years. For help in finding the reel you need to view, talk to staff in the library. The collection is available on microfilm at the Church History Library.
Ward and Stake Histories and Minutes (LR series 2, 3, 11, 13)
As with the Record of Members, you will need to know where the individuals in the line of authority were living at the time of their ordination. It might take a significant amount of digging, but ordination information is often recorded in the manuscript history and general minutes. You can find these histories and minutes by searching the Church History Catalog for the name of the branch, ward, or stake where you believe the ordination took place. You can then visit the library to view them. (See “More on Local Records” in the library blog for additional insight about accessing these types of records.)