The Ward and Stake Directory, a very useful tool for leadership and ward members alike, is available to collect necessary information for day to day needs as well as emergencies. All ward members are available to Ward and Stake Leadership but also to Ward and Stake members if the individual chooses to allow their information to be viewed. The purpose for the directory is varied. From the official Church site at https://tech.lds.org/wiki/Directory we read:
The directory on LDS.org provides a number of features. Far from a read-only contact list, you can do all of the following:
- Update your phone number and e-mail address directly, rather than submitting requests through the membership clerk.
- Enter separate phone numbers and e-mail addresses for each family member.
- Upload individual photos of each of your family members as well as a family photo.
- View and print your ward photo directory online, with all members photos and names consolidated in one view.
- View member addresses on a map (the directory integrates with LDS Maps).
- Set privacy levels for the phone, e-mail address, and photo of each member of your household.
- View and print leader callings for each group in your ward, from callings in Deacons to Primary, Bishopric, and more.
You will only be able to view the members in your stake. Those who have requested that their information not be viewed may only be seen by leadership but others can allow their information to be seen and used for Church use only.
Detailed Instructions:
Type the following address in the internet browser's address bar: www.lds.org- Click on the "Tools" tab at the top part of the screen.
- Select "Directory" from the drop down box.
- Sign in to your LDS Account. If you do not have one you will need to set one up. Instructions on how to do this can be found at www.deltafhc.blogspot.com, selecting "Walk Me Through Setting Up an LDS Account", a seperate page accessed on the right hand column at the top.
- As seen in the image to the right, the directory will appear with your ward and stake available. You will not be able to view other stakes information as this is not available to those outside your stake boundary. However, if you move and your records are sent to another ward, the new ward will then be what is available to view.
- You may select your ward, or other wards in your stake by selecting the appropriate button. In this image you would click on "Sutherland 2nd" and it would give you all of the available wards in the Delta Utah West Stake.
- Once the ward is chosen, you may then view the information sorted in a variety of ways: Ward Leaders: (which will sort ward members according to their leadership calling), Ward Organizations: (showing all members of the chosen organization, including pictures, emails and phone numbers as allowed), Households: (Listed alphabetically by surname. Selecting a couples household will show all family members in the ward which the family has allowed to be seen. This tool is most helpful when information is visable to all ward and/or stake members), Photos: Displaying all household photos. This will not display individual family photos, but rather the photo uploaded as the household. My Household: view the photos, phone numbers and email addresses associated with your family members. Export Households: a tool used to print out a list of households in the selected ward. This will be displayed as a spreadsheet and the columns may need to be widened before printing to allow all necessary information to be viewable. This will replace the need for the bishopric to print out ward lists and will always be as current as possible. Missionary: shows ward mission leader, local assigned missionaries, and members of the ward serving missions. Select a missionary and you will be able to view the missionary's name, the mission he/she is serving in as well as an outline of the boundaries in that mission.
- Map of ward: There may be a better way to access the LDS maps but I access it this way. I click on "Missionary", select a missionary (it won't matter which one), and then select the link "view in LDS Maps. Once LDS Maps has loaded, locate the link "View Your Ward" in the left hand column. Clicking on this link will show you the location of the homes in your ward. If you need an address or map for a ward member, scroll down to locate their name in the left hand column and zoom the map in to view the location with address displayed. The zoom buttons are at the top right - the + sign to zoom in, and the - sign to zoom out. To adjust the view of the map, click on the map with the curser/hand and slide it in the direction you need to see the area you would like to view.
Locate your family by clicking on Households in the Directory's main page. (Detailed access information: www.lds.org, Tools, Directory, Households in the left hand column).
- The Edit button can be located in the right hand section, at the top. Select the edit button rather than the view button.
- The first line displays to whom your information is visable. Selecting "Stake" will allow anyone within your Stake boundaries to view your information. You may change this to "Ward" view, which will allow only your ward members to see the information contained. If you prefer, you may select "Leadership only" which will only allow a very select group of leadership to view your information. It is a personal choice, however, allowing other ward and stake members to view the information will increase the value of this tool greatly. (The entire agreement is included on the bottom of this page).
- Each piece of information will give you the option of changing the visability.
- I believe that each person may only have one email and one phone number associated with them, with the exception of the household phone. This is also true with email addresses.
- Add information: Locate the add information button near the information or picture you want to add. If you decide you no longer want this information included you simply erase it, leaving the box blank, and it will disappear.
- Adding Photos: Select the button to add a photo associated with the desired person. Take care that you follow Church policy in uploading only appropriate and legal photos. The guidelines are posted for you to read when you click on the link. At the end of the guidelines click "continue". For best results the photo should be cropped to a head shot, and square. It will automatically be reduced in size to fit the criteria. The most critical part is knowing where to locate your photo. It needs to be on the local computer, or the computer you are using to upload it from. Most people store their photos in "My Pictures" in their Library or in My Documents but this is a personal preference and you may need to search for it to upload it.
- Don't be alarmed if some of the photos you had previously uploaded disappear when you add another one. I have just clicked on the name of another ward member and then returned to our household and all pictures will appear again.
Now that your emails, phone numbers and photos are uploaded, you need to be able to use this tool. You can access it on your computer by following the previous steps at www.lds.org. However, people are working very hard to make it so that your tablets and smartphones have an app which will allow you to access the information no matter where you are. You will be able to use all of the the features offline if you download the app appropriate for your device.
Currently the apps are being developed for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm and Windows Mobile. If they are not currently available for your device the volunteer Tech group meets at least monthly to try and make it available to you. It is available where you purchase your other apps such as iTunes or Amazon.
Household Visibility & Privacy Agreement
By opting in you are agreeing to allow your name and personal contact information to be used from your Church membership record and displayed in your local unit's online directory listing, in spatial mapping features that identify your personal residence within the unit, for use on unique calendaring lists pertaining to Church events, and other similar features that relate to approved Church purposes.
You may also voluntarily include on the directory at your own option additional personal information, including your email address, cell phone number, individual or family photos or other similar information as part of your personal profile created on this site.
In accordance with Church policy, this site and these features will only be accessible to members of the Church living within your local Church unit's boundary that log on to the directory or features using their LDS Account username and password. By opting in, you have opted in for your entire household and specifically agree and acknowledge that you have the specific informed consent of each member of the household listed in the Church membership records to share their personal information as described herein.
Personal contact information is not generally accessible to the public, and can only be viewed by other Church members in your Church unit after you have given your consent by opting in. Your personal information and the personal information included in local unit applications is only to be used for approved Church purposes, and local Church leaders will help ensure that such data is not used for personal, political or commercial purposes. If you become aware that your personal information has been misused in any way, please inform your local Church leaders immediately. We may utilize third parties to provide services to this site (including hosting, providing security, gathering statistical data and so forth) but each service provider will be contractually required to keep all personal information confidential and not use if for any other purpose. Except as provided above, your personal information is not authorized to be shared with any other third parties.
You may opt out of participation in the on-line directory, mapping, calendaring, and other related features provided for Church members at any time by simply unchecking the appropriate box in your profile. This will prevent your personal information from being displayed to other Church members living in your Church unit and limit access to your membership information to only Church leaders. You may correct the information included in the directory by contacting your branch or ward clerk and seeking to correct your membership data on your Church membership record or by logging in to your personal profile and changing or updating the portions of your personal data that can be revised.
