In April an LDSTech Church-service missionary couple, Elder and Sister Eliason, held a Church-application training session for the Relief Society in a Provo Utah ward. First the sisters listened to a 25-minute presentation conducted by an IT student involved with the BYU LDSTech Chapter. The sisters intently followed as he instructed the class on how to download the Gospel Library and how to use several of its functions. He also pointed out proper etiquette for using electronic devices in Church meetings.

Following the presentation, 40-minute workshops were led by experts in technology, including students and young single adult members. These young people are interested in helping Church members discover how easy and effective it is to use Church apps on any technological device. The sisters sat at designated tables determined by the technological device they brought. The ratio of students to experts was about 2 to 1.

Several sisters in attendance expressed how helpful the training was and that they hope to continue with additional training sessions. Comments heard: “Thanks for a spectacular and useful class!” and “Best Evening RS class ever.” The excitement for an understanding of Church technology is spreading, too. Several sisters told friends and family members about the class, and now other wards want to organize a similar training in their own wards.

Receiving training on the many helpful resources available to Church members inspired these sisters to hasten the Lord’s work in their own hearts, families, and communities. When we increase knowledge about our resources, our ability to share the gospel improves. There are members in your ward who would benefit from sharing your knowledge of technology!

We suggest that you try using a similar training event in your own ward. Those who want to share and those who want to learn will both benefit.

Sister Kylie Knight knew she would serve a mission, but when and where was another matter.

“It kind of got to the point where I was putting it off,” she said. “My dad brought it up; he was saying I should do a mission before school. I thought school first.”

Sister Knight attended Westwood College in Colorado for a year, where she studied 3D Game Art and Design. Then financial issues put her education on hold and returned her attention to serving a mission.

“God has a way of telling you, ‘No, you need to do it this way.’ You don’t want to argue with God; He always wins in the end,” Sister Knight said.

She turned in her mission papers in fall 2011 and was called to serve a full-time proselyting mission in the Minnesota Minneapolis Mission. She began serving in February 2012, and after six months was transferred home to Utah to finish her mission as a service missionary.

“I was called out to Minnesota because there were people I needed to be with and be there for. Once I had fulfilled my duties out there, I was needed at home for other things,” she said.

She says she didn’t know at first what “other things” entailed. Her stake president and bishop discussed and prayed over the different possibilities. LDSTech, Welfare Square, Church blogging, and family history became the assignments among which she now divides her time.

Sister Knight began serving as an LDSTech Church-service missionary two days a week in October 2012. She works with Church employee Sandy Fletcher, tracking and managing information technology assets for the Church.

“Basically, I’m managing all of the computers the Church owns worldwide. I track the computers and input missing information and make sure the information is correct,” Sister Knight said.

She says the work seemed beyond her understanding at first but got easier as she became more familiar with the program she was using.

“You never go into something prepared, but it prepares you when you come out. That’s how it seems to be, especially with missions, whether you’re serving here or in the field. You learn as you go,” Sister Knight explained.

Sandy Fletcher says Sister Knight has been “a huge help” and “a blessing” to her and the work.

“We had more work than we could get done, so we needed help,” Fletcher said. “It takes quite a bit of training to understand what we’re looking for. Sister Knight has been very quick to pick up on what we need.”

Sister Knight says she has been surprised by how much she is learning to do as a missionary for LDSTech and also by how her abilities lend themselves to her work.

“Sandy will send me projects because she knows I’m really thorough with them,” Sister Knight said. “I keep telling her I have a talent for tedious.”

Sister Knight says serving as a missionary can teach a person a lot about himself or herself and can strengthen and build one’s testimony.

“You think you know yourself, or you think you know your destiny, or you think you know God,” she said. “But you’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg.”

If you're interested to know more about Church-service missions, visit the opportunities page where you can see all available options and complete the LDSTech Missionary and Service Opportunities form.

Date: Friday, May 3, 2013
Time: 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time
Topic: Introduction to LDSTech

*Click this button to watch the broadcast live at 12 p.m. MST on May 3, 2013

Are you new to LDSTech, or would you like to learn more about using its features or how to get involved as a volunteer or Church-service missionary on LDSTech projects?

This month’s LDSTech broadcast will feature an introduction to LDSTech by principal engineer Tim Riker. He will give an overview of LDSTech and its purpose, the tools and resources available, and instructions on how to participate in the LDSTech community as a volunteer.

Included in the presentation will be information on using tools such as the wiki, forums, Google Groups, JIRA, Swarm, and the new iOS installer to assist with development, testing, and support of projects hosted on LDSTech.

How to Attend the Broadcast

To attend the LDSTech broadcast, click the Watch Now link at the time of the broadcast. If you would like to watch the broadcast in person, you may join us in the Riverton Office Building (3740 West Market Center Drive, Riverton, UT, Ground Floor, Zion Room A).

Each broadcast is recorded, so if you miss one, you can re-watch the recording at any time. In fact, if you arrive late to the broadcast, you can rewind the broadcast and play it from the beginning. See the Broadcast Archive to view previous broadcasts.

Asking Questions

Remote viewers can ask questions through Twitter during the broadcast. If you don’t already have a Twitter account, you can sign up for one at Twitter.com. When you ask a question, include the hashtag #ldstech in your tweet. For more information, see Twitter and LDSTech.

The 183rd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will convene in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday and Sunday, April 6 and 7, 2013, with general sessions each day at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. mountain daylight time.

People can watch or listen to conference using a variety of broadcast channels:

Check out this infographic (click to enlarge) for more information about general conference and technology:

Date: Friday, April 5, 2013
Time: 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time
Topic: Clayton Christensen

*Click this button to watch the broadcast at 12 p.m. MST on April 5, 2013

This month’s LDSTech broadcast will feature a presentation given by Clayton Christensen at a devotional for Church employees in the Information and Communication Services (ICS) department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Blaine Maxfield, the Managing Director of ICS and Chief Information Officer of the Church, will conduct the devotional.

Clayton Christensen is the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is regarded as one of the world’s top experts on innovation and growth, and his ideas have been widely used in industries and organizations throughout the world.

He is the best-selling author of nine books, including “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” which received the Global Business Book Award as the best business book of the year in 1997 and was named by the Economist in 2011 as one of the six most important books about business ever written.

More information on Clayton Christensen is available at his website, www.claytonchristensen.com

How to Attend the Broadcast

To attend the LDSTech broadcast, click the Watch Now link at the time of the broadcast. If you live or work near Riverton, Utah, you can also come to the Riverton Office Building (ground floor, Zion Room A) to view the pre-recorded broadcast.

If you are attending online and arrive late or miss the broadcast, you can rewind or re-watch the recording at any time. See the Broadcast Archive to view previous broadcasts.

Asking Questions

Because this event is being pre-recorded, Clayton Christensen will be unable to answer questions from remote viewers via Twitter.

Date: Friday, March 1, 2013
Time: 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time
Topic: New LDS.org Search

*Click this button to watch the broadcast live at 12 p.m. MST on Mar. 1, 2013

This month’s LDSTech broadcast will feature a presentation on a beta version of LDS.org search. Stewart Shelline, LDS.org solutions manager, will demonstrate this prototype search experience and answer questions.

“Our current search has done an adequate job at helping people find things, but there were a number of areas in which we could improve,” Shelline said. “Through feedback and research, we discovered that people usually come to LDS.org with a goal in mind. For example, they come to prepare a talk or lesson, answer a question, or complete a task.”

The new search offers a smarter search experience that is designed to meet the user’s goals. Among its new features are increased precision in locating specific content and clustering search results in categories familiar to Church members, such as scriptures, magazines, manuals, hymns, or General Conference.

Beta testing for Directory 2013 has been delayed. Thank you for your interest in assisting with this project. More information on directory updates and testing will be available at a future date.

The third annual RootsTech Family History & Technology Conference will be held March 21–23 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

According to its website, RootsTech “is a conference with a unique emphasis on helping individuals learn and use the latest technology to get started or accelerate their efforts to find, organize, preserve, and share their family’s connections and history.”

Attendees can learn new skills from more than 250 classes, hands-on workshops, and interactive presentations at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

New to RootsTech 2013 is Developer Day, a collaborative environment where developers can discover resources and trends within the family history industry. It will also include information on app building and marketing as well as tools and services from sponsors, vendors, and exhibitors.

RootsTech 2013 also features the Developer Challenge, a competition to create an application or service that helps accomplish genealogical goals. The entry deadline is February 28.

Pricing for a 3-day pass is $149 through February 22, then $179 through March 16. Beginning March 17, a 3-day pass will cost $219. A day pass costs $89, and a 3-day student pass is $39.

More information and registration for RootsTech 2013 are available at rootstech.org.

Date: Friday, February 1, 2013
Time: 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time
Topic: Satellite Broadcasts & Meetinghouse Audio

*Click this button to watch the broadcast live at 12 p.m. MST on Feb. 1, 2013

This month’s LDSTech broadcast will focus on satellite broadcasts and meetinghouse audio. Scott Poulsen, senior technical support engineer, will discuss how to set up a meetinghouse for a satellite broadcast as well as prepare backup plans and strategies in the event that problems arise.

Glen Meyer, senior engineer for meetinghouse audio solutions, will also provide an overview of the meetinghouse sound systems, how to use audio inputs and outputs, the different equipment that is or should be available, how and where to store the equipment, and how to obtain replacement or additional pieces as needed.

As time permits, the broadcast will also cover wireless microphones, assistive listening systems for the hearing impaired, basic choir miking, and microphone positioning.

How to Attend the Broadcast

To attend the LDSTech broadcast, click the Watch Now link at the time of the broadcast. If you live or work near Riverton, Utah, you can also come to the Riverton Office Building (ground floor, Zion room) to watch the broadcast in person.

Each broadcast is recorded, so if you miss one, you can re-watch the recording at any time. In fact, if you arrive late to the broadcast, you can rewind the broadcast and play it from the beginning. See the Broadcast Archive to view previous broadcasts.

Asking Questions

Remote viewers can ask questions through Twitter during the broadcast. If you don’t already have a Twitter account, you can sign up for one at Twitter.com. When you ask a question, include the hashtag #ldstech in your tweet. For more information, see Twitter and LDSTech.