Church Launches Official Web Sites for Individual Countries

In a continuing effort to make the gospel message available to all people through a variety of means, the Church is expanding its Internet presence to serve individual countries and languages. Areas have begun creating country-specific Web sites, which serve as the official Church presence on the Internet in a given nation.

“Technology has blessed us with many new innovations to spread the message of the gospel through satellite systems, our own … Web site, television, radio, as well as the written text in our magazines and newspapers,” said Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “All of these add to our delivery systems, which greatly increase our ability to receive the messages that are delivered” (“‘Thou Shalt Give Heed unto All His Words,’” Ensign, May 2000, 25).

Area Presidencies are assessing the needs of the Church in their areas to determine what the scope of their local Internet presence should be. At press time, eight country sites had been launched, with 26 additional sites under construction. The live sites include Austria, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Country sites serve a variety of purposes both for Latter-day Saints and for those who would like to learn more about the Church. For instance, on Sweden’s site, visitors can refer friends to the missionaries; on Austria’s site, media professionals can access information regarding the local Church; on Norway’s site, visitors can find news about the area; and on Chile’s site, members can read messages from the Area Presidency and other local Church leaders.

“The purpose is to strengthen the members of the Church with inspirational content,” says Elder Oscar Chavez, an Area Authority Seventy in Chile. “It is a great privilege to participate during these times with these forms of communication, especially in our respective callings and assignments, to bring to pass the work of the Lord.”

Links to individual country sites can be found at www.lds.org. Click on “Country Sites” in the upper right corner of the home page for a current list.

The Church’s Web site in Germany is one of several country-specific sites recently launched.