Updated February 14, 2020
Church Renames Wireless Network for Chapels and Facilities
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has renamed its current wireless network “LDSAccess” to “Liahona” in all Church buildings. The title of the new network comes from a Book of Mormon verse that describes a compass called the Liahona that helped ancient Israelites navigate safely on a long journey from Jerusalem to the Americas, circa 600 B.C. The discontinuation of “LDSAccess” reinforces correct usage of the full name of the Church.
To access the network, users will need the new password, “alma3738” (the scriptural reference that mentions Liahona by name). The password needs to be entered only once, and users must accept terms of use.
The “LDSAccess” network will be available through April 15, 2020, but “Liahona” is already in effect and can be used immediately.
Updated September 26, 2019
Church Newsroom Facebook and Instagram Accounts Merge with Main Church Pages
The social media accounts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continue to unify to improve usage of the correct name of the Church and simplify the Church’s social media presence.
Effective today, the Church Newsroom Facebook and Instagram accounts have merged with the Church’s main Facebook and Instagram pages. High-level breaking news of the Church can be found on the Church’s Facebook page. Those accustomed to and interested in receiving comprehensive breaking Church news can join the Church’s official Facebook news group, Newsroom of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The group is a part of the official Facebook page and replaces the old Church Newsroom Facebook page. The Church’s official Facebook page also has a group devoted to inspirational content.
On Instagram, news and inspirational content will be available on @ChurchofJesusChrist through the page’s main feed, Instagram Stories section and IGTV.
The Church’s official Twitter presence, which also serves as a source of breaking news, continues to be @ChurchNewsroom.
Updated September 18, 2019
Mormon Channel Is Now Latter-day Saints Channel
The Mormon Channel, a Church media channel that publishes inspirational videos, live video events, 24-hour music and radio streams, podcasts and blog posts, has changed its name to Latter-day Saints Channel. Content can be accessed at SaintsChannel.ChurchofJesusChrist.org or the Saints Channel mobile app (available on Google Play and the App Store).
As with the recent change of LDS Charities to Latter-day Saint Charities, this adjustment mirrors the correct name of those who belong to the restored Church of Jesus Christ and their commitment to follow the Savior of the world.
Updated August 22, 2019
LDS Charities Is Now Latter-day Saint Charities
The official designation and brand for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints humanitarian activities is now Latter-day Saint Charities (formerly known as LDS Charities). This change reminds the world that Latter-day Saint Charities is made possible by generous donations from Latter-day Saints and friends of the Church who want to create positive change in the world. The adjustment also reflects the correct name of members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ and their commitment to follow Him.
The Church’s humanitarian work officially began in 1985 when President Ezra Taft Benson called for a special fast to collect funds for a devastating famine in Ethiopia. Since then, Latter-day Saint Charities has helped millions of people in 195 countries.
LDS Family Services Is Now Family Services
LDS Family Services, which provides emotional and behavioral health support to strengthen individuals, families and couples, has been renamed Family Services. Counselors with Family Services also provide consultation services to help Church leaders better understand the needs and challenges of those they serve and to determine what resources and services are available.
Around the world, there are 430 Family Services counselors and more than 3,700 Family Services Church-service missionaries working in 114 offices in 17 different countries.
Updated August 16, 2019Today marks one year since President Russell M. Nelson announced the faith’s intention to improve usage of the correct name of the Church. Since then, the Church has corrected its name in the email addresses of 33,000 leaders and employees, has updated 300 web-based apps and has changed 95 percent of the outward-facing references to its name.
Updated June 7, 2019
The move away from the LDS.org, MormonNewsroom.org and Mormon.org web addresses is complete. LDS.org is now ChurchofJesusChrist.org (as of June 3), MormonNewsroom.org is Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org (as of June 6) and Mormon.org is ComeUntoChrist.org (as of April 25). These changes reflect the faith’s correct name and better convey a commitment to follow Jesus Christ.
From March 5 (the day the Church announced the new official website addresses) until this month, ChurchofJesusChrist.org pointed to the LDS.org home page and Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org pointed to the MormonNewsroom.org home page. Users are now directed to ChurchofJesusChrist.org when they enter LDS.org into their web browser and to Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org when they use MormonNewsroom.org.
The Church continues the work to unify and restructure all these websites into what will become a new, more cohesive and personalized experience under the ChurchofJesusChrist.org domain.
Updated May 16, 2019
Mobile Apps: Many of the Church’s mobile apps are being renamed to align with recent direction from Church leaders regarding the naming of Church products.
- LDS Tools is now Member Tools. This app provides a congregational directory and calendar, missionary referral tools and directions to nearby chapels and temples.
- LDS Media Library is now Gospel Media on the mobile app as well as online. This app is the Church’s library of all public video, images and music. The media is organized into collections that help users find, use and share media at home, at church and on the go. The mobile app enables Latter-day Saints to create media presentations and download media to present offline. Members can also trim videos, mark favorites, sync presentations across devices and share their presentations with others.
- LDS Music is now Sacred Music. This application offers sheet music in addition to text-only versions of hymns and songs, audio recordings (instrumental and vocal) and indexes for topics, authors and composers. Playlists can also be created and shared.
- LDS Sing-Along is now Sing-Along Hymns. This app provides beautiful imagery to accompany sacred hymns and songs. Words on the screen and a bouncing ball to indicate which word should be sung make it easier for children to sing along as they learn the music the Church uses to worship at home and at church. Playlists can also be created and shared.
- The Gospel Library app keeps the same name.
Various other services and mobile apps, such as LDS Seminary and Institute, will simply remove “LDS” from the name.
Also, Mormon Messages is now Inspirational Messages. These videos usually feature an inspirational story about a Church member or a teaching of a Church leader. They can be found in Gospel Media, in the Gospel Library app and on the Church’s YouTube channel.
The terms “LDS” and “Latter-day Saint” should not be used to qualify objects, such as temples, scriptures or doctrine, that belong to the Lord or His Church. Instead of “Latter-day Saint temples,” for example, the appropriate references would be “temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” or “house of the Lord.”
Original article, published March 5, 2019
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the name of the Church Latter-day Saints believe came by revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (see Doctrine and Covenants 115:4). “Jesus Christ directed us to call the Church by His name because it is His Church, filled with His power,” President Russell M. Nelson has said.
The Church is now making changes to many of its communication channels to reflect the faith’s full name and better convey commitment to follow Jesus Christ. More than getting the name right as an institution, the invitation to use the full name of the Church is an opportunity for Latter-day Saints to refocus their lives on the living Christ.
“Every day we should ask ourselves, ‘How can we better live as Jesus Christ taught and lived?’” President Nelson said. “This mindset will help fill our lives, our homes, our neighborhoods, and our churches with more of Christ’s light and power.”
The changes the Church is making apply to many aspects of Church communications. Four areas are of note for Latter-day Saints and the general public:
Websites: The Church’s official website will become ChurchofJesusChrist.org. This change is effective today, March 5, 2019, when the domain name ChurchofJesusChrist.org begins pointing to the LDS.org home page. In the coming months, the ChurchofJesusChrist.org domain name will replace what were the following:
- LDS.org (ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
- MormonNewsroom.org (Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
Eventually, Mormon.org will be incorporated into the new domain as well. However, because its primary audience is those outside the Church, merging it with the Church member-focused ChurchofJesusChrist.org will take more time.
Work is underway to unify and restructure all these websites into a new, more cohesive and personalized experience under the ChurchofJesusChrist.org domain. Until that time, Mormon.org will change to ComeuntoChrist.org.
Social media: Several Church social media accounts will consolidate and give greater emphasis to the name of the Savior’s Church. These social media channels will publish content more focused on living and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- A new Facebook group has been established to build community and better inform individuals about Church news and updates. This group is called “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—Inspiration and News.” This group is designed to be a place of community and connection for Latter-day Saints.
- The Church’s Twitter account display name will continue to be called “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” with the username of @ChurchNewsroom and will be the primary source on social media for news from the Church.
Email Domain: The email addresses of all Church employees, general Church leaders and many volunteers will begin using the @ChurchofJesusChrist.org domain instead of the current @ldschurch.org. Like other changes, this adjustment is intended to help keep the name of Jesus Christ prominent in all the Church does.
Much work remains, particularly as the Church make changes to products in numerous languages throughout the world. The First Presidency asks Latter-day Saints and others “to be patient and courteous as changes are made.” Read the First Presidency letter.
A History of the Name of the Church
Church scripture and history show that getting the Church’s name right has been an evolving process from the faith’s earliest days. In the Book of Mormon, for example, Christ’s disciples could not agree on what to call the Church. Christ’s answer was to “take upon you the name of Christ.” In 1830 the Church was organized as the Church of Christ. The Church adopted a resolution in 1834 to change the name to the Church of the Latter Day Saints to distinguish it from other Christian denominations of the time. Then in 1838, the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to Joseph Smith that the name of the Church is to be the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Over the years, the Church standardized the spelling and hyphenation of its name, making it The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as it is used today.
Since the first year of the Church’s founding, critics and others have sought to call the Church and its followers by other names — names Latter-day Saints used out of convenience at first but then came to embrace themselves. It’s hard work to undo nearly 189 years of history, culture and practice. But with God the impossible is possible. As President Nelson made clear in August 2018, “we have work before us to bring ourselves in harmony with [God’s] will.” Church leaders understand that this is a complex, multifaceted effort.