Technology and the Church

 Last week I talked with some people that work at the Church's Information and Communication Systems (ICS) Department. One of them mentioned that he used to think that the Church was full of older, gray-haired people that still programmed in assembly code or other really primitive languages. He then explained that the church is actually using cutting edge technology. He said that the Church doesn't just stay up to date with technology, but that it is always evaluating and implementing the newest technologies to see if they can be used. It is exciting to know that the Church does everything to stay up to date and to facilitate the use of Church systems to make church work easier for members and leaders. We, as members, need to be familiar with these technologies and how they work. There are many websites and systems available to us. I will just give one example. The Employment Resource Services department has a website that is little known (ldsjobs.com). Through this site, the Church uses available resources to help people that have lost a job, gain additional skills to improve their employment situation or hire-ability, which helps return many people to the workforce and helps ward leaders know how to help the less-fortunate members in their wards. The work of the Lord keeps moving forward at a faster pace with the implementation of these technologies and because of it, the work is now easier for Church leaders, members and even missionaries. It is up to us now to learn and utilize these resources to further spread the Gospel and share our testimonies around the world.