Directory Access for Missionaries

[caleb.white]

Will Missionaries ever get access to the directory for the area/ward they are serving in?

[lajackson]

Will Missionaries ever get access to the directory for the area/ward they are serving in?

A ward clerk, with permission from the bishop, might help you do this now by adding you as an out of unit member of his ward, but it is not a simple process, and I could see some hesitancy on the part of the clerk in doing and then undoing it every time a missionary transfer took place in or out of the ward.

[aebrown]

Will Missionaries ever get access to the directory for the area/ward they are serving in?

A ward clerk, with permission from the bishop, might help you do this now by adding you as an out of unit member of his ward, but it is not a simple process, and I could see some hesitancy on the part of the clerk in doing and then undoing it every time a missionary transfer took place in or out of the ward.

Note also that some missionaries serving in areas with a high density of members might be responsible for 10-20 wards, so it's not just one ward clerk that would be involved for this approach.

[russellhltn]

Question: How would the missionaries gain access to it in an electronic format? Are they allowed to carry smart phones? Do they have regular access to a computer?

I'm just thinking that printing a directory every month for them would be as good as anything else.

[lajackson]

In my wildest dreams in a future time, I can envision missionaries having access based upon their ward/branch assignments as recorded by the mission office. But I have no idea if there has been any thought or effort given to this idea.

The efficient mission office can let us know which elders and sisters are assigned to which wards, and we can see that using current online tools. I suspect it would be possible to use that information to allow access to the directory of the unit where the full-time missionary is assigned. Again, this is just my imagination working.

On the other hand, as russellhltn surmised, there is the question of missionary electronic access. Although I am aware that there are a few select missions that are testing just such electronic access to see if it is viable for such things as locating members and part member families, following up on media referrals, and keeping electronic area books.

I believe the future I dream of will be real someday.