LDS.org has been updated with an improved menu structure.

In an effort to make LDS.org easier to use, the website now offers a new menu structure. Previously, the main navigation had two options: Menu and Tools.

• Menu has been replaced with four categories: Scriptures, Teachings, Resources, and News. You can click on these and immediately see several options, so with two quick clicks you can get to most of the sections of LDS.org.
• Tools are now found under the Sign In button at the top of the page. Once you sign in with your LDS Account, you can access personalized tools, such as the calendar (learn more), directory (learn more), maps (learn more), and lesson schedules (learn more). Once you sign in, other menu options will appear that are specific to your Church callings. For example, if you are a clerk, you will see links to clerk tools and if you’re in a bishopric you will see other leader tools. Newsletter is a new option where leaders can provide messages to their wards and stakes. (On Monday, I’ll post an article explaining the Newsletter.)

When you click the icon of the globe  in the upper right corner of any page on LDS.org, you’re presented with a list of languages. See the article “Languages on LDS.org” for an explanation of how the language menu works.

As you browse through the menu options, you’ll recognize that most of the sections of LDS.org remain unchanged. However, there are a few sections that have been improved. For example, Resources > Locations and Schedules is a new index page where you can find the nearest meetinghouse, a ward or branch assigned to a specific address, temples, visitors’ centers, historic sites, pageants, institutes, Deseret Industries, Family History Centers , Temple Square and Church Headquarters, and Temple Square events and  performances.

Some items on the old LDS.org menu have been consolidated into more logical menu options. For example,

• The new menu option Resources > Welfare includes employment (LDS Jobs), finances, LDS Family Services, Humanitarian Service, Deseret Industries, and Provident Living.
• The menu option Resources > Service Opportunities leads you to opportunities for missionary and church service, volunteering (previously vineyard.lds.org), and contributing (previously create.lds.org).

Other items have been combined under the appropriate topic in the menu option Teachings > Gospel Topics. For example:

• Go to the topic Education and you’ll find links to seminaries, institutes, Perpetual Education Fund, and Church colleges and universities.
• The topic Pornography will connect you to the Combating Pornography site, the Addiction Recovery Program, and the Family Safety Wiki for Parents.

Some sections have been renamed with simpler titles to make them easier to find, so you don’t need to know a specific name or catchy title. For example:

• LDS Media Library now appears in the menu as Video, Audio, and Images.
• Serving in the Church is now simply named Callings.
• My Study Notebook is now called Notes and Journal.
• Online Store is listed in the menu as Order Church Materials.

For a complete list of websites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, click “LDS Church Websites” in the right column of this blog. There, you’ll find a quick description of sections of LDS.org that you may not be aware of. You’ll also find short URLs (addresses) you can use to quickly get to sections of LDS.org. For example, ensign.lds.org takes you straight to the Ensign magazine.

Be patient for the next day or so, as you may find glitches while all the links throughout Church websites are updated.

See the article “LDS.org Offers a New Menu” in Church New and Events (news.lds.org) for more background on why these changes were made.