List of Official Church Websites

[dmaynes]

Is there a list of the official Church websites? If so, where would I go to find it? I have so far compiled the following list:

www.lds.org
www.providentliving.org
www.mormon.org
jesuschrist.lds.org
josephsmith.net
www.ldscatalog.org
www.familysearch.org
www.ldsces.org
tech.lds.org
maps.lds.org

And, of course, all the local unit websites. Besides being personally interested, I believe that these are the only websites that may be linked in the 'Additional Web Resources' section for local unit websites.

Thanks,
Dennis

[Alan_Brown]

Originally Posted by dmaynes

Is there a list of the official Church websites? If so, where would I go to find it? I have so far compiled the following list:
...

And, of course, all the local unit websites. Besides being personally interested, I believe that these are the only websites that may be linked in the 'Additional Web Resources' section for local unit websites.

I don't know of any official list. There are a whole bunch of sites that are subdomains of lds.org, some of which are public (such as newsroom.lds.org, scriptures.lds.org, ldsaccount.lds.org, and several you have listed), and others are administrative (mls.lds.org, apps.lds.org) and generally require a password. Depending on how you define "site", you could easily say that stake and ward web sites are not really individual sites, since they are just secured areas on https://secure.lds.org, but they are definitely official sites.

There are also sites for President Hinckley and President Monson:

www.gordonbhinckley.org
www.thomassmonson.org

Regarding your question about authorized sites that you can put on the "Additional Web Resources" section of a unit web site, most of the above will work. There are also other sites that work, but it requires trial and error. For example, www.byu.edu will work, but www.byui.edu is rejected as is www.byubroadcasting.org. I'm guessing you can put any subdomain of lds.org there, but of course sites like mls.lds.org really won't be useful to the general membership.

[gawing]

I had the same question awhile ago, and couldn't find anything, so I started one. Of course this still isn't an official list, but hopefully it will be helpful.
http://mormonopia.com/official-web-s...er-day-saints/

[dmaynes]

Originally Posted by gawing

I had the same question awhile ago, and couldn't find anything, so I started one. Of course this still isn't an official list, but hopefully it will be helpful.
http://mormonopia.com/official-web-s...er-day-saints/

It's a nice list. Here's a website to add to your list:

http://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/

The brings up another question. What is the difference between an official website of the Church and one that is not. If the website displays the Church logo: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" as is seen on the above website, does that mean it is an official website?

[Mikerowaved]

Originally Posted by dmaynes

What is the difference between an official website of the Church and one that is not. If the website displays the Church logo: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" as is seen on the above website, does that mean it is an official website?

Unfortunately the Church logo is not a hard and fast way to tell. The "official" sites will always display the logo, but some unofficial sites wrongfully do as well.

[dmaynes]

Originally Posted by Mikerowaved

Unfortunately the Church logo is not a hard and fast way to tell. The "official" sites will always display the logo, but some unofficial sites wrongfully do as well.

It's just a little confusing. For example, www.byu.edu does not display the Church logo. Your statement agrees with my assumption: the BYU website is not an official website of the Church. And, it doesn't say that it is. And, www.mormontabernaclechoir.org does not display the Church logo. So, by the same logic the Mormon Tabernacle website is not an official website of the Church. And, it doesn't say that it is an official website of the Church.

What is the definition of an official Church website?

Wouldn't the Church want an incorrectly displayed logo removed from any unofficial website?

[mkmurray]

Originally Posted by dmaynes

It's just a little confusing. For example, www.byu.edu does not display the Church logo. Your statement agrees with my assumption: the BYU website is not an official website of the Church. And, it doesn't say that it is. And, www.mormontabernaclechoir.org does not display the Church logo. So, by the same logic the Mormon Tabernacle website is not an official website of the Church. And, it doesn't say that it is an official website of the Church.

What is the definition of an official Church website?

Wouldn't the Church want an incorrectly displayed logo removed from any unofficial website?

I imagine that if it's got "Copyright (C) 2008 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" at the bottom of the page, then it must be an official site. If it doesn't have it, chances are that it isn't an official site (although you can probably argue a few cases).

[RussellHltn]

Originally Posted by dmaynes

What is the definition of an official Church website?

First we have to ask what is an official Church Organization. Is BYU? While it may be owned and controlled by the church, it's a separate entity.

Originally Posted by dmaynes

Wouldn't the Church want an incorrectly displayed logo removed from any unofficial website?

Probably - if they knew about it. I think they are also interested in typosquatters and the like. I know I reported one. I think it was deseretbookclub.com.

Originally Posted by mkmurray

I imagine that if it's got "Copyright (C) 2008 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" at the bottom of the page, then it must be an official site. If it doesn't have it, chances are that it isn't an official site (although you can probably argue a few cases).

Well, lds.org has "© 2008 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved." I think my test would be who is the owner of the URL. If it's Intellectual Reserve, then it's a church site. Using that test, lds.org is. So is http://www.mormontabernaclechoir.org/. (Although mormontabernaclechoir.org has "powered by DeseretBook.com" at the bottom, but DeseretBook.com is registered to Deseret Book.)

[gawing]

I've updated the list with a couple of the suggested sites. Thanks for the input. There are now 40 domains, sub-domains and other affiliated sites listed.

[dmaynes]

I imagine that if it's got "Copyright (C) 2008 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" at the bottom of the page, then it must be an official site. If it doesn't have it, chances are that it isn't an official site (although you can probably argue a few cases).

I would not use copyright as the definition of being an "official website." Any page from the Ensign or other Church source can have a copyright on it and be reproduced on a website without it conferring "official website" status.

Originally Posted by RussellHltn

First we have to ask what is an official Church Organization. Is BYU? While it may be owned and controlled by the church, it's a separate entity.

I agree with this. I think it is instructive to ask why a ward website is official but BYU's website is not.

Here is my best approximation for determining if a website is an official Church site:
1- It is an authorized website
2- It displays the logo
3- It states that it is "an official Church website"
4- The website-produced and publicly viewable pages speak for the Church and represent the Church, with authority
5- The website-produced and publicly viewable pages have been approved by one having authority (i.e., a priesthood leader)

I think these last points are critical. They mean that the website's content represents the Church and has been approved by a priesthood leader. I think this is the reason why the proliferation of ward websites was problematic. There were priesthood leaders authorizing web pages that had the potential of introducing confusion with the Church doctrine and message.

I think that's what official means. It means that it is a voice of authority that represents the Church. While BYU undoubtedly represents the Church, it does so in a academic, scholastic and public relations manner. But, BYU does not speak for the Church. On the other hand, the bishop of a local ward speaks for the Church in that ward and perhaps even in the community at large, depending upon circumstances.

But, all of the above is my own opinion. I would appreciate any further clarification on the issue.