For the first time, the Church is contacting millions of its members by email to share important announcements. On December 3 and 4, batches of emails will be sent to members who have provided an email address through their LDS Account. The email will be a message from the First Presidency and two messages concerning the holiday season.

In the email, the First Presidency writes, “We are pleased to announce this new Church email newsletter that we will regularly publish and share with members throughout the world. This newsletter is part of our effort to find more effective ways to communicate with our growing global membership in order to share timely and valuable messages that can strengthen our love for Jesus Christ, for our families, and for those around us.”

To be respectful of members’ needs and choices, it will be possible to unsubscribe from the emails. To make sure that you receive the email messages, you will need to register with an LDS Account. If you already have an LDS Account, be sure it is updated with your current email address.

The first email is being sent this week to a small group of about 10,000 members in the United States as the system is tested. The email messages will be translated into 10 languages.

“In a world where communication channels are so numerous and fragmented, delivering a message that does not become distorted along the way is increasingly difficult,” said Elder Anthony D. Perkins of the Seventy. “The Church has a unique advantage in that millions of faithful members have entrusted their email address to us. We feel the time has come to utilize these personal email addresses to improve the effectiveness of our communications to Church members.”

The first email is part of the “News and Inspiration” email subscription. It will include the following:

• Introduction by the First Presidency
• Information about the Church’s Christmas message “He Is the Gift”
• Details about the First Presidency’s Christmas devotional

“One purpose of email newsletters is to assist members in becoming aware of Church resources that will strengthen their faith in Christ, bless their families, and help them serve in the community,” said Elder Perkins. “We plan that over time members will have a few more specific choices in newsletters they would like to receive. But this email channel could also be used to notify members during emergency situations or for matters of urgent importance to the First Presidency or the Twelve.”

If you do not have an LDS Account yet, sign up for one now so you can receive the messages from the Church. You may also want to verify or change your email address.

Adapted from the articles “Church to Send Email Newsletters to Members Worldwide” and “Church to Send Email Messages to Members Worldwide“.