Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Nov. 14, 2016
Entity Registrant Name	SECURITY NATIONAL FINANCIAL CORP
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2016
Trading Symbol	snfca
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000318673
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Class A Common Stock
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		13,153,850
Class C Common Stock
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		1,706,829