This post has nothing to do with the current political climate. I'm sorry if that disappoints you.
An all too familiar sequence of events
Recently, I became aware of a sad situation in my area. A senior missionary is nearly frantic because she doesn't have access to the Ward's digital directory on the ChurchofJesusChrist.org tools.
Apparently, this has been true for some time. Since she had access to it in the past, before COVID-19 shut-downs, it is perplexing that she does not have access to it now.
It makes it hard for her to function. She has real difficulty contacting anyone or knowing where they live. She can't identify who local leaders are either. She just doesn't have access.
She has asked numerous local leaders and members about it. Most tell her they don't know and don't know what to do for her.
The answer is easy
If you have a question about the Church's digital tools or procedures, the answer IS easy.
This resource began as tech.lds.org. I found it right after it debuted in 2007. I wrote about it as early as 2011.
Things change so fast in the Church, especially digital things. This site, and especially the forum allow people to connect with others all over the world to work out and share solutions.
Right now, the forum threads on how to conduct virtual church meetings, especially managing the technical aspects, are red hot.
Enterprising members even design helps like illustrated tutorials on how to understand the Church's meetinghouse audio systems. This is invaluable if you are trying to project in-person Sunday meetings through ZOOM or some other virtual platform.
How the Forum works
A little exploring and you will soon learn how the forum works. You need your Church account to post or respond to posts but you can search it regardless.
Simply put in some keywords and see what comes up. If you visit the forum enough you will begin to pick up the terms that are used.
I've visited it enough to know that there are multiple discussions about how to give "out-of-unit members" access to digital tools. This term can include members temporarily assigned to attend or preside over other units, missionaries, or others.
After discovering this sister missionary's dilemma, I found the solution on the Tech forum within about two minutes.
The solution
Mission Offices give missionaries access through their tools. It's as easy as checking/unchecking a box or shifting a "Private" setting to a "Public" setting.
However, solutions for other out-of-unit members' access to digital tools reside with branch, ward, and stake clerks.
Before the software was tweaked enough to give Mission Offices this power the local branch, ward, and stake clerks needed to take action in what is called "workarounds."
How am I supposed to know about the Tech forum?
When the Tech website was young, I did have some difficulty proving to people that it was and is an official Church site. I even got so frustrated that I contacted the Church and told them of my difficulty.
They thanked me for my feedback and directed me to a news article issued by the Church introducing this new resource. That was enough for me to convince most people.
Current endorsement of the Tech forum
The First Presidency issued a letter on September 11, 2020, entitled Safely Engaging in Church Meetings and Activities. It refers to an enclosure with the letter. The enclosure is a Memo from the Office of the Presiding Bishopric entitled, Guidelines for Using Virtual Meeting Technologies issued on September 25, 2020.
(All members have access to the letter and the guidelines through their Church accounts. Simply enter letters.ChurchofJesusChrist.org and enter your Church account username and password.)
The Presiding Bishopric references and endorses the Church's Tech forum a TOTAL OF 3 TIMES!
The Memo also refers everyone to the Help Center Meetinghouse Technology support site.
Conclusion
The Church hasn't left anyone to flounder. It has provided the answers to our digital questions in predictable, easily accessible places.
No one needs to say, "I don't know" when the answer is at our fingertips. We just need to look.
I just wish I had the authority to act and help this sister. However, the Lord has designated this to be the province of priesthood brethren. I can accept that.
Brethren, please act!
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