Signing in with a church account

WendyWalmsley

I am helping a young man who created a Family Search account as a youth using his LDS church membership number. He now uses a church account but when he signed in to Family Search with his church account he could not access ordinances in Family Search and we could not add his membership number because it was linked to a different sign in. He cancelled the Family Search account and has tried to add his membership number when he signs in with his church account but that is not working. What else can we do to help him be connected? Is it just a matter of time for the cancelled account to release the membership number?

Thanks for your time, regards Wendy Walmsley, ward FH consultant

Alan E. Brown

In my experience, when a person signs in with Church Account, they can always access ordinances, because that method assures that they will be signed in with a membership-linked account. The only reason they might not see ordinances is if they have specifically turned off the Show Temple Options preference under Settings > Account. Have you checked that setting?

In general, when a FamilySearch account is already linked to a membership number, it is simpler and better to recover that account than to try to delete that account and then connect the membership number to a separate account. You used the word "cancelled" — did you actually mean "deleted"?

If recovering the account linked to the membership number process difficult, it might be best to contact Support — they can help sort this out.

Wayland K Adams

Hi Wendy There is an option under account settings to disconnect the family search account from a provider account such as a church account. To access this, click on the name at the upper right, select settings, select account (may have to sign in again) scroll to Identity Providers and make your selection.

Having said that, the big problem is getting his family search accounts sorted out and get his membership numbers added. These types of issues need to be handled in person on the phone. If you can call help at 1-866-406-1830 they can help sort out the accounts. The account holder (the young man you are helping) must be present on the phone call. If you can't call that number, then make a selection from the contact options for your specific area of the world. You get to the contact selections by clicking on the circle with the ? mark at the upper right>select contact at the lower left and follow the selections for your area.

The key is to get his family search account(s) sorted out and then make sure the correct family search account is connected to his church account. Hope this helps.