Which Bishop Signs the Blessing Certificate?

[taylorsteven]

A baby blessing happened on the Sunday ward boundaries were changed. The family had their records moved from the 4th ward to the 5th ward. Does the 4th ward Bishop sign the certificate, or does their new bishop in the 5th ward sign the certificate?

Also, since I am the ward clerk in the 5th ward I can only print the certificate with the 5th ward on the certificate, I can't print it with the 4th ward on the certificate. The ward clerk in the 4th ward cannot print out the certificate.

[mdigi]

It's always "fun" to consider these edge case scenarios.

My personal thoughts are below. Hopefully they help steer you in the right direction or generate discussion from others.
Note: I have not recently reviewed the General Handbook for policies around Baby Blessings and am not a ward membership clerk.

1. I believe it's permissible for babies to be blessed outside their Home Ward boundaries. E.g. parent(s) and child may travel to another Remote Ward/Branch where extended family live so others can more easily participate-in/witness the blessing. In such a case, I presume the Remote Ward (without the parent's records) will not be able to print the Blessing Certificate; The parents will need to request the Blessing Certificate from their Home Ward and have their Bishop sign it when they return home.

Assuming these statements are accurate, having the 5th Ward Bishop sign a Blessing Certificate for a baby that was technically blessed in a 4th Ward meeting should not be an issue.

2. As a baby blessing is not a saving ordinance, the certificate is really just a momento/keep-sake for the child and their family. I'd encourage the parents to make an entry in their personal/family journal -- there they could describe the boundary change, who was in attendance for the blessing, their thoughts/feelings, etc. The child will likely appreciate their efforts when they read their notes in the future.

Good luck!

[jdlessley]

The LCR system answer to which bishop signs a baby blessing certificate is the bishop of the ward that creates the child's record. Once the record is created and the record is moved out of that ward then the option to print a baby blessing certificate is no longer available to any unit gaining that child's record. A baby blessing certificate is printed with the name of the unit on it and only that unit's bishop can sign it.

General Handbook, 18.0 & 33.6, do not provide clarifying guidance. I agree with most of mdigi's comments. Since the blessing is not a saving ordinance there is little hard guidance. As long as the parties involved, both bishops and the parents, agree there is leeway on which way to proceed. I have deferred to the parent's desires in the past as long as both bishops agree.

In this situation I suspect the parents have an affinity toward the 4th ward and may want that ward to show as the unit for the blessing. There is additional clerk work and communication required between two wards when the child record is created in a unit in which the parent's records do not reside. In the OP comments I understand the parent's records are in the 5th ward. If the 4th ward creates the child record, then they will need parent record information to create the child record. After the child's record is moved to the 5th ward the 5th ward clerk must move the child's record into the parent's household.

[taylorsteven]

Thank you for the replies, I called SLC; they said that the ward who does the paperwork is the ward that should print and sign the blessing certificate (so my 5th ward). This is only for baby blessing ordinance because it is not a saving ordinance. However, if the family pushes back and wants the 4th ward and 4th ward bishop to sign it, then I can call SLC again and they will help make that happen.