Church to Send Email Newsletters to Members Worldwide
Contributed By Ryan Morgenegg, Church News staff writer
As part of an effort to find more effective ways to communicate with a growing global membership, the Church is contacting millions of its members via email to share important announcements.
“One purpose of email newsletters is to assist members in becoming aware of Church resources that will strengthen their faith in Christ, bless their families, and help them serve in the community.” —Elder Anthony D. Perkins of the Seventy
For the first time, the Church is contacting millions of its members via email to share important announcements. On December 3 and 4 batches of emails will be sent to members who have provided an email address through their LDS Account. The content is a message from the First Presidency and two messages concerning the holiday season.
In the email, the First Presidency writes, “We are pleased to announce this new Church email newsletter that we will regularly publish and share with members throughout the world. This newsletter is part of our effort to find more effective ways to communicate with our growing global membership in order to share timely and valuable messages that can strengthen our love for Jesus Christ, for our families, and for those around us.”
To be respectful of members’ needs and choices, it will be possible to unsubscribe from the emails. To make sure that members receive the emails, they will need to register with an LDS Account online and include an email contact address. If members have already registered, they will need to make sure their account is updated with a current email address. Church newsletters will be translated into 10 languages.
“In a world where communication channels are so numerous and fragmented, delivering a message that does not become distorted along the way is increasingly difficult,” said Elder Anthony D. Perkins of the Seventy. “The Church has a unique advantage in that millions of faithful members have entrusted their email address to us. We feel the time has come to utilize these personal email addresses to improve the effectiveness of our communications to Church members.”
The first email is part of the “News and Inspiration” email subscription. The specific content for the email is a welcome and introduction by the First Presidency addressing the purpose of the email and giving a personal greeting. The email also contains information about the Church’s Christmas message, “He Is the Gift.” The third and final part of the email contains details about the First Presidency’s Christmas devotional.
“One purpose of email newsletters is to assist members in becoming aware of Church resources that will strengthen their faith in Christ, bless their families, and help them serve in the community,” said Elder Perkins. “We plan that over time members will have a few more specific choices in newsletters they would like to receive. But this email channel could also be used to notify members during emergency situations or for matters of urgent importance to the First Presidency or the Twelve.”
