Add Gospel Library link to home screen

Discussions around the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch versions of the Gospel Library application.
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sbradshaw
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Add Gospel Library link to home screen

#1

Post by sbradshaw »

Someone I know asked me this morning if I knew of any Church-authorized or Church-produced iOS apps that provide a quick reference for performing priesthood ordinances. There are lots of third-party apps around, but per Handbook 2, 20.1.6:
Leaders should not produce or use other publications that give instructions for ordinances, blessings, or prayers unless the First Presidency has authorized such publications.
Instructions are published in four Church sources that I know of: Handbook 2, the Missionary Handbook, the Family Guidebook, and Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood. None of these are available in a standalone app, but they are all available in Gospel Library.

It takes some time to navigate Gospel Library to get to a specific chapter, and there's no built-in way to pin an app location to the home screen (though you can pin a web page from Safari to the home screen) – which is why third-party ordinance apps are so tempting.

After some searching, I found an iOS app called App Icons Free that is advertised as a way to customize app icons. Combined with the deep linking functionality that was recently added to Gospel Library, it can also be used to pin a location in Gospel Library to the home screen. Here are the instructions:
  1. On your iOS device, find and download "App Icons Free" from the App Store.
  2. Open the app and click "Create Icon" in the top left corner.
  3. Choose "Go to Link."
  4. Where it says "TYPE URL" enter this URL:

    Code: Select all

    gospellibrary://content/manual/family-guidebook/priesthood-ordinances-and-blessings
  5. Where it says "Go to Link" enter the name you want to appear on the home screen (I used "Ordinances").
  6. Use the default link icon, or create a custom icon (I created a custom icon). There are a lot of options.
  7. Tap "Install" (top right corner) then "Install" again (bottom right corner).
  8. You will be redirected to an app-generated page in Safari. From there, use Safari's built-in "Add to Home Screen" function to add your custom link to the home screen.
With success on earth rewarded!
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Samuel Bradshaw • If you desire to serve God, you are called to the work.
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Re: Add Gospel Library link to home screen

#2

Post by sbradshaw »

Here's another alternative, using an app called Launcher – instead of adding an icon to your home screen, you can add a quick shortcut to your Notification Center.
  1. Find and download "Launcher" from the App Store.
  2. Open the app and tap "Add New."
  3. Choose "Custom Launcher."
  4. Enter a name (such as "Ordinances") and enter this as the URL:

    Code: Select all

     gospellibrary://content/manual/family-guidebook/priesthood-ordinances-and-blessings
  5. Choose an icon (there aren't as many options as the App Icons app – what I did is take a photo of the page on LDS.org on my computer).
  6. Tap the checkmark icon in the top right corner.
Et voilà !
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sbradshaw
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Re: Add Gospel Library link to home screen

#3

Post by sbradshaw »

sbradshaw wrote:Instructions are published in four Church sources that I know of: Handbook 2, the Missionary Handbook, the Family Guidebook, and Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood. None of these are available in a standalone app, but they are all available in Gospel Library.
Also: Gospel Fundamentals, Duty to God, Principles of the Gospel.
Samuel Bradshaw • If you desire to serve God, you are called to the work.
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Re: Add Gospel Library link to home screen

#4

Post by lajackson »

sbradshaw wrote:It takes some time to navigate Gospel Library to get to a specific chapter, and there's no built-in way to pin an app location to the home screen (though you can pin a web page from Safari to the home screen) – which is why third-party ordinance apps are so tempting.
I just bookmarked one of them in Gospel Library, and named the bookmark "Ordinances".

If I know I am going to perform a specific ordinance and need to review it beforehand, I move the bookmark directly to that particular ordinance or set up a second bookmark temporarily.
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Re: Add Gospel Library link to home screen

#5

Post by bradhayashi »

Samuel, that is a great suggestion for Launcher. Thanks!
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Re: Add Gospel Library link to home screen

#6

Post by bradhayashi »

Samuel, I have created custom icons in Launcher for GL and LDS Music, but I have found that LDS Tools does not show up on Launcher's list. Any idea why?
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Re: Add Gospel Library link to home screen

#7

Post by sbradshaw »

Yes, I think it's because LDS Tools doesn't support deep links like Gospel Library and LDS Music do.
Samuel Bradshaw • If you desire to serve God, you are called to the work.
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Re: Add Gospel Library link to home screen

#8

Post by bradhayashi »

Ah, that makes sense.
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Re: Add Gospel Library link to home screen

#9

Post by sbradshaw »

Launcher has more options now, and with iOS 10 the widget is easier to get to from your home screen than it was before, so I'd recommend going that route if you're looking for a way to quickly jump to a frequently-visited place in Gospel Library.

I haven't tried this, but it may be another option – although it looks like it requires more work to set up:
https://medium.com/@iron4k/how-to-creat ... .266r70jo2
Samuel Bradshaw • If you desire to serve God, you are called to the work.
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