| 12 "Must Have" LDS Mobile Apps - Part 1 |  |  |  |  |
| WRITTEN BY SHARON HOWELL | ||||||||||||||||
| MONDAY, 09 MARCH 2015 | ||||||||||||||||
Useful LDS mobile technology is available for a variety of platforms, and development lifecycles continue to enhance product offerings. You may already be familiar with a few apps but not be using them to their full potential. Other apps may be entirely new, with features you will find very worthwile. Follow the next three articles on LDS mobile apps and learn about their supported platforms and features, including some that may surprise you.
1. Gospel Library (Android, Apple, Windows, Blackberry, Kindle Fire,
Other Phones)  Gospel Library has a much improved search function with a simplified way of grouping and sorting results. Android now has the same content organization as the Apple version with the same visual interface. Windows 8.1 mobile app has a feature-rich interface to search, mark, and share gospel content, including scriptures, general conference talks, manuals, music, and more. A great feature is the ability to open several related sources and switch seamlessly between them either from the “screens” icon in the top menu bar for Android and Apple, or by pinning the contents pane on the left while you browse sources on the right for your Windows device. If you have not yet tried to place references, marked passages, and annotations into study folders under “Notes,” you will find this a convenient way to prepare a talk or create a lesson outline.
2. LDS Tools (Android, Apple, BlackBerry, Windows Phone)
 Many people routinely use LDS Tools to connect to directories for their ward and stake, view calendars, and locate Church meetinghouses and member addresses. Did you know you can also press and hold on a calendar event in the app to see a message box that asks if you want to add the event to your local calendar? This is a quick way to update your schedule. Leaders can also access additional membership information in the app, and everyone can create custom groups or use the built in groups to send email messages to a distribution list. Anyone with an LDS Account can replace his or her own personal directory photo, and heads of household can do so for family members.
3. FamilySearch Memories (Apple)
 Use the Memories app to capture priceless family moments and preserve and share them with your relatives and your posterity. The app works anywhere, even where you do not have Internet access. Add stories when you have a spare moment and upload photos from your camera roll. From the app, pick the camera option and take a picture, crop and rotate it, then “accept” the image. It will be stored in the Memories app and sync to Memories on FamilySearch.org when you are online. Unlike the tree app, the Memories app focuses on the preserving the memory of lives we have known, giving you enough information about a person (names, dates, record number) to tag it and attach to the right person. The app is not for family history research, but one of the best features is a built-in voice recorder to use when interviewing family members and it integrates beautifully with FamilySearch.org. No need to purchase a separate recording app to capture impromptu family history sharing.
4. FamilySearch Tree (Android, Apple)
 This app is a mobile companion to your family tree at FamilySearch.org and provides access to your family history wherever you go. In the settings option, download six generations into the app for off-line viewing and leave yourself signed in so syncing to your family tree is automatic when online. Navigate through your ancestors using the pedigree or detail views. Attach source information, upload pictures and stories, and connect to persons in your tree to share family history information on social networks. Help connects to all the resources on FamilySearch.org. It is not dependent upon the Memories app. Did you know the app comes with a series of family history e-learning video courses that walk you through the basics of doing research, writing a life sketch, finding cousins, and making corrections?
Any of the above apps may be downloaded from their respective app stores. If you start at mobile.lds.org, and pick your platform, it will take you to the supported app store.
More LDS mobile apps will be covered in the next two articles.
Continue to LDS Mobile Apps - Part 2 or LDS Mobile Apps - Part 3
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Use this app to download, share, and create playlists of your favorite audio and video content including Mormon Messages, Bible Videos, and Mormon Channel original radio programs. Listen to 24/7 live audio streams or watch live events such as general conference and Church Education System (CES) devotionals. You have access to a whole library of resources including audio of First Presidency and visiting teaching messages to help you with gospel teaching or to compensate for low vision. Content is refreshed continually, so you will always find something different and new.
Watch high quality scripture-based videos, explore scenes from the Bible, and provide your family with new and meaningful ways to learn about Jesus Christ. This mobile app offers an engaging and interactive way to watch and read key accounts from the New Testament. They are faithful to scriptures found in the King James Version, and new videos are added monthly. At first glance you might think videos available for download are limited to the three on the splash page, but many other videos are available from a ribbon menu that pops up on the bottom of your screen. Select a video and use the share icon [a circle with an outward pointing arrow] superimposed on the video on the lower right to download it to your mobile device or link to your Facebook page to share on social media. Videos are available from other media channels sponsored by the Church, but the app is a convenient container to store your favorite videos and it doesn’t depend on an Internet connection.
This app helps members and non-members read and listen to the Book of Mormon on mobile devices. The text is searchable in 32 languages. It also includes a reference guide with key scriptures and gospel topics. There are no footnotes or cross-references. The app is excellent for reading or listening to the audio narration streamed in five languages (English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish). Font size is adjustable, and quick navigation controls move chapter to chapter, while the navigation slider moves incrementally forward and back. If you are reading the Book of Mormon as you would a book, this is excellent for stopping and picking up easily from where you left off.
This English language magazine published by the Church for adults provides the current issue plus a conference issue at any given time. Once the app is installed, download the magazine and begin reading. It may take a minute to fully download or refresh with a new issue. The graphics and text you will find are beautifully rendered. The app supports copy and paste functionality for copying content into notes for a lesson plan right on your mobile device. You can carry the magazine with you without needing an Internet connection.
This app contains all the music found in Hymns (the LDS hymnbook) and the Children’s Songbook and other selected songs. Depending upon the language, a song may have sheet music, text, vocals, and instrumental accompaniment. The songs can be searched by title, hymn or page number, topic, author, or composer. Unlike other apps for LDS hymns, selections can be organized into playlists. If you find yourself without a pianist for a meeting, the app is a good back-up for music accompaniment, and is even better when connected to a bluetooth speaker or portable sound system.
The app brings all things related to the Choir to one place. In addition to the 24/7 live stream from the Mormon Channel, download audio from the Sacred Music Library or selected videos. You can take the Choir’s music with you everywhere you go. Shop for albums and books, and check out performance and rehearsal schedules. Use with Airplay and an AppleTV to stream from your iOS device directly to your HDTV.
This is the official app for LDS youth. Follow links to feature articles at 
The app is not just for seminary students. The 100 passages provide an important scriptural foundation for understanding and sharing the gospel and for strengthening faith. Use the app to locate the scripture references, apply gospel principles and doctrines taught in the scripture passages, and to memorize scriptures. A companion web app will fit different screen sizes and track activity. An Internet connection is needed for the web app, but the mobile app is a good place to study fundamentals of gospel teaching in a portable format.