LDS Church is making mobile apps for missionaries
Here are three new mobile apps for LDS Missionaries and LDS Mission Presidents. With more and more LDS missions piloting the use of mobile devices, the LDS Church has begun to construct several mobile applications for members and also for missionaries. I’m not sure the exact status of these mobile apps, but I’ve heard they are under construction.
New mobile apps for LDS Missionaries
The Area Book App
Of all mobile app ideas that could benefit the missionary work, this one I feel is most helpful.
Many returned missionaries have had the experience of arriving to a new area and finding a few large area books that have records on hundreds of families that have been taught by the missionaries. It can be difficult and time-consuming to look through these records and then look up where each of the families live on a map. An Area Book app may help ease some of these challenges for LDS missionaries.
I think it’s very likely we’ll see an app for Area Books become developed and start being used by pilot LDS Missions within the year. While I don’t know the exact features the Area Book app will have, here are some features I think could be useful.
- All area book records will be digital. The teaching records of former investigators, part-member families, etc. will be stored in an online database and will be accessible to missionaries serving in that area.
- The app will use a Google Maps API. This will allow missionaries to see where on the map, each family lives.
- The app will use the mobile devices’ built-in GPS feature. Using the Google Maps API and GPS technology will allow the application to detect the missionaries’ current location and calculate directions to the homes the missionaries feel impressed they should visit.
- The app will allow missionaries in the area to add new information to teaching records. There will be the ability to input relevant information about the families they teach. This may include commitments, reactions, progress, life circumstances, etc.
- Using Google Maps, the missionary area book app will allow its users to see symbols on a map of their mission area. Each symbol could represent the various stages and lessons received of investigators and less active families, etc. It could be a way to visually represent the location of active church members, less-active church members, investigators and missionary contacts.
The Mission President Transfers App
I heard about the creation of this app while talking with a sister on a UTA Bus in Provo. I don’t know much about how this app is being created, but I imagine it will allow Mission Presidents the ability to easily track and organize missionary transfers. Perhaps the app will have the following capabilities.
- The app will allow the mission president to select a missionary’s profile and see what leadership positions that missionary has held and which companions he or she has had.
- The missionary transfers app will allow the mission president to make notes on impressions they feel about missionaries in their mission.
- The app will allow the Mission President to see how long each missionary has been in the mission field and how long each has left in the mission field.
- The app will record basic information about each missionary- where they are from, their talents and any unique challenges/opportunities they have.
The Language Flashcard App
I don’t know how exactly a flashcard app for missionaries will work, but I imagine it may have the following capabilities.
- The app will have the ability to teach missionaries a variety of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation lessons.
- The app will allow users to track their progress.
- The app will allow Mission Presidents to view areas of deficiency in missionaries that may be struggling to learn their mission language.
- The app will have a variety of ways missionaries can study their mission language- through video, image and audio resources.
Since I don’t personally work with the teams that are creating these apps for the LDS Church I do not know the specifications of these apps, nor how or when they will be implemented. I’m not sure to what extent they will be implemented in missions around the world.
Feel free to comment below any ideas or insights you may have about apps for LDS missionaries.
I’ve used this area book for a while with decent success. Just so you know, it exists already.
http://discogenie.dyndns.org/areabook/
In my country, it’s illegal to digitally process personal information without consent. I can imagine this is the same in other countries. How are legal issues like this safeguarded in the Area Book App?
Hi Mosiah! Great question. So I haven’t personally used these apps. I live in the USA and don’t think there are any laws against storing contact information. Thanks for commenting!
This issue has been contemplated by Church officials, and yes, it is a substantial legal hurdle. The only workaround so far is to actually obtain consent beforehand, where that could be as simple as missionaries asking “Can I put your address in my phone so I remember it?”, and using paper records for everyone who says no.
MY MACBOOK WILL NOT LET ME DOWNLOAD THE AREA BOOK AP. DO YOU HAVE ONE FOR MACS YET?
My guess is if the area book app doesn’t work on a Mac, then maybe it’s not made compatible with Macs. Hope that helps!
Hey! I served in a mission where we had the app. The church released a handbook for iPad missionaries, and in the handbook is a section regarding what is, and what is not legal to put into the area book. This is what keeps the church legally safe.
oh interesting, thanks for sharing!!