2012
On the Web
September 2012


“On the Web,” Ensign, Sept. 2012, 78

On the Web

LDS Maps Upgrade Helps Members Find Church Locations

A new version of LDS Maps, available in 16 languages, includes a variety of new features to improve members’ experiences finding stake members, meetinghouses, temples, and other Church facilities.

To access the new LDS Maps, go to LDS.org > Sign In/Tools > Maps. Some of the new features include household verifications, numerous map display options, better iPad and tablet support, unit boundary maps, the Locate Me feature, and improved print options.

Leader and Clerk Resources Now Offered via LDS.org

Priesthood leaders and clerks can now access selected membership reports, lists, and forms from any Internet-connected device at LDS.org/leader and LDS.org/clerk.

Previously, accessing member information, requesting records, or submitting reports were tasks clerks and priesthood leaders could perform exclusively through the Member and Leader Services (MLS) software installed on the machines at their local meetinghouses.

The pages, available in 10 languages, offer several functions already; more features (and more languages) will be added in the future. Future enhancements will provide similar online tools to priesthood quorum and auxiliary leaders.

Some of the same material is available to priesthood leaders and clerks via LDS Tools, a free mobile app that can be downloaded through an app store or at mobile.lds.org.

Ensign Tablet App Available

The Church has released a new Ensign tablet app featuring the October 2011, November 2011, and May 2012 issues—in other words, the Book of Mormon issue and the two most recent general conference issues.

The app, available on both the Android and Apple platforms, offers a more interactive—even immersive—magazine experience. For instance, users can read the magazine while listening to an audio file of the same text. (In fact, in the October 2011 issue on the LDS Ensign app, the audio file associated with President Ezra Taft Benson’s “The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion” is a recording of President Benson delivering this talk in 1986.) The conference issues likewise have interactive features, including the ability to listen to or watch the speakers delivering their conference addresses.

The Apple version will be placed inside the Newsstand, a feature previously not offered. The Android version will be a standalone app.

Language Pages to Provide Church Materials in 108 Languages

For members around the world who don’t speak one of the 10 more prevalent languages—Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish—finding Church materials in their native tongue may seem difficult. But for those who are aware of LDS.org’s language pages, accessing core Church materials is only a few clicks away.

At the top right of the LDS.org homepage, click on the globe to find links to 84 language sites, including Hrvatski (Croatian), Malagasy (spoken in Madagascar), and Twi (spoken in Ghana).

The materials available on each language page vary, but each item is printable and downloadable. Digital channels senior product manager Matt Robinson, who works with the language pages, has described them as an “expanding digital gospel library.”

“These pages are available to all members for personal as well as Sunday use,” he explained. “Local leaders should use this resource themselves as well as point members to it for use in callings and families.”

MLS reports and member information for priesthood leaders and clerks are now available via LDS.org.

© IRI