New Policies, Procedures, and Products

Youth and temple work. The First Presidency has announced changes in temple policies that give young men and young women more opportunities in temple work and help Primary children better prepare to serve in the temple.

Preventing, identifying, and responding to abuse. In a continuing effort to counsel leaders on how to prevent, identify, and respond to abuse, on March 26, 2018, the First Presidency sent a letter and a resource document to Church leaders in the United States and Canada. The document includes updated guidelines for how bishops and stake presidencies should counsel victims of sexual abuse and how they should conduct interviews with Church members.

Changes to Young Women camp. Changes to the Church’s Young Women camp program, included in a new camp guide to be released in the coming months, include eliminating certification and emphasizing youth leaders.

Meant to be “globally applicable” for young women living in all areas of the world, the new Young Women Camp Guide is currently available in English (and eventually in 23 languages) as a resource for Young Women presidencies, camp specialists, and youth camp leaders at youngwomen.lds.org.

Music submissions. Recent changes to the Church music submission process now make it quick and easy for members to submit original sacred music to the Church. Music can be submitted at apps.lds.org/artcomp.

“How To” video channel. The Church has launched a new channel on YouTube called “How To” that provides simple, practical help for real-life challenges. Billed as a “one-stop channel for finding the help you need when you need it,” the channel currently has more than 600 videos sorted into nine categories, each with multiple playlists of videos on a variety of related topics in English, with some Spanish and Portuguese content. Check it out at HowTo.lds.org.

Scripture translations. The Church has announced planned translation projects for 34 additional languages, plus a new process that will allow individuals to study draft portions of translations prior to publication of final translations, which means members will have earlier access to the scriptures in their language.