Regarding the errors with deceased membership records, I have a friend here in Michigan who had a similar problem. My friend is Finnish but married an American in the 1980s. Her parents were members of the Church and stayed in Finland. Her father's death was reported correctly through membership records. When her mother died, it was not reported because she was living in Finland with a non-member adult son. We telephoned the Membership Department and found out what we needed to send them -- especially proof of death as was mentioned in previous answers. It really wasn't the fault of the local clerk. The mother was elderly and not able to attend Church anymore. The daughter who is a member lived thousands of miles away. Someone just didn't know. The non-member son probably didn't even know whom to contact. I think one of the best advantages of FamilySearch and Family Tree is that family members are noticing the errors in their documentation. Families also see what the clerks have on their records. This helps both the families and the Church membership department. Such errors are just something which happens but they can be straightened out with the proper documentation and the records updated. Mary Scott Northville Ward Westland Michigan Stake Detroit Michigan Temple