The official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon” Church” by the media and others) is LDS.org which is “part of a digital communications ecosystem made up of web, mobile, social, and media platforms.” [1] The amount of internet traffic that the site receives each month ranges upwards of 25 million visitors. Jeff Isom, director of LDS.org, commented, “It is believed to be the largest religious website in the world in terms of traffic, design, and content.” [1] With the ever increasing advances in technology, The Church of Jesus Christ is anxiously engaged in developing a website that is informative, educational, and user-friendly, in order for everyone to learn more about the gospel.
Blessing Heavenly Father’s Children with the Gospel
The LDS.org website was launched almost two decades ago, in 1996. Since its inception, the Church has developed, improved, and enhanced the capabilities of the main website, enabling Heavenly Father’s children to partake of the blessings of the gospel. The website is expected to expand even more as the work continues to move forward. One of the greatest challenges in working with a website of this capacity is having all of the various entities of the Church such as welfare, temple work, Church history, and the priesthood become more unified so that members can accomplish the work that they need to do. Since the Church has a lay clergy, every member is serving in some capacity. Resources are available to them on LDS.org.
The Purposes of LDS.org
During his presentation at the 2013 LDSTech Conference, Isom explained that the purposes of the LDS.org website are three-fold:
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To inspire members worldwide to share the message of the gospel through the aid of Spirit-rich resources that will increase their learning, and encourage them to live their lives following in the footsteps of the Savior.
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To provide the training, teaching, and learning tools that are necessary to enable members to effectively do the work of the ministry and to serve others.
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To invite all to come unto Christ by making “inspired content accessible through many digital channels, websites, media, mobile apps, and social media, even if intended audiences never visit the LDS.org website.” [1]
Isom explained that to fully understand the third purpose, those who work on the website had to change their thinking. He stated that in the past the overarching emphasis was placed on driving traffic to the website, however, they now realize that they are going to have to “reach out to people where they are using social media, social platforms, and maybe even third-party software.”
“The Church has to bring living water to everyone wherever they may be so that they might partake.” [1]
Several improvements have been planned for the website. Isom stated that one of the things that members have asked for is a daily spiritual message that they can read and share with family and friends through social media venues. He also mentioned that the internal such function of the website has been improved to allow searchers to find more of the results that they are looking for. And, he also promised that the website will provide more information to members about new features so they can be enjoyed and shared with others.
Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.
