Scriptures as a Service (API for LDS Scriptures)

Discussions about the Notes and Journal tool on LDS.org. This includes the Study Toolbar as well as the scriptures and other content on LDS.org that is integrated with Notes and Journal.
lajackson
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Re: Scriptures as a Service (API for LDS Scriptures)

#41

Post by lajackson »

I am always intrigued by some of the things my children notice and comment on as they read the scriptures. I do not think I would really be bothered if they could share their notes with me. Last I checked, there were scriptures and there were notes, two separate things in the app, even though they are tied together.

Honestly, I do not use notes or highighting in the app at all. It is a reliability issue with me.
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johnshaw
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Re: Scriptures as a Service (API for LDS Scriptures)

#42

Post by johnshaw »

robmerrill wrote:Six years later, and I wonder if there’s a way to recommend a feature to LDS Library product managers:

Feature Request:
- Enable a method to share my links, notes, tags, etc with other gospel library users.
- To limit security challenges, this seems best if user-to-user, and only through only approved church applications.
- Perhaps just those members of my family, but why stop there? Many members would be able to share their scriptural insights to each other. Perhaps in a RSS-style format or something the architecture could be built to enable a security-based sharing protocol of notes, tags, links, notebooks, etc.
- Some thought will have to be given to making this too easy to share. Perhaps an intentionally one-to-one sharing model is better than a one-to-many sharing model to help keep so called Celebrities from being pressured to share their notes. Perhaps certain notes can be shared “publicly” like a public calendar feed, but the only way to share ALL your notes would be in a specifically one-to-one sharing method.

Many times over my life, I have heard stories of scriptures being passed down from generation to generation to pass on both the Living words of the Gospel, but also the notes, inspiration and highlights of our ancestors, combined with their interests, passions and journal entries. Surely, this kind of behavior helps ground the current reader in the reality and testimony of their ancestors and could more-fully help assist with the urgent effort I have heard in recent years from church leaders to grow more strong, multi-generational families that have been the backbone of the Church for many years.

To that end, and with current technology, in some future date, I envision the capability for me or my wife to share our notes and scriptural insights together and with our children and their children. Would it not enhance gospel learning to see a small, unique icon highlighting a verse for you to tap on and read a note from your great grandfather telling of how that verse changed their life or brought about a more fervent testimony or even a simply linking of that verse to another verse thereby deepening the scriptural understanding and insight AND strengthening the bonds across time and even the veil.

This has been impressed on my mind in one way or another for more than 10 years. I cannot shake it. The reality is that EACH TIME I make notes in the Gospel Library, I fear that content will eventually be digitally discarded and walled off from MY OWN CHILDREN and their children at some future date when I shuffle off this mortal coil (lol) and no longer need access to my Library in its temporal form.

I said already and I will say it again: I CANNOT SHAKE THE FEELING that we are creating a treasure trove of vast gospel insights that might be an incredible fountain of faith to our children and their children and their children.

Was it not Nephi who, seeing the destruction of his own posterity, endeavored even more fervently to keep the commandment of the Lord to write the words of his soul that perhaps some of his seed might be more diligent in the gospel, and that, in the end, the remnant of his seed (or, perhaps in a major twist of irony, the seed of his brothers,) would Come Unto Christ and be saved?

I dont write this here expecting change to happen soon. But if a PM for the great Church I love is listening or could be forwarded this and just think about it, please consider ways to setup our notes and tags and links today that some kind of future ability to share these notes, tags and links, even upon a member’s death if necessary, could be permitted, even if it was INSIDE the apps and within the security parameters the church needs to maintain.

Consider this a plea to build in some “elevator shafts”* in the current architecture that could be later built out and used, if desired by the leaders of the Church, to enable some careful sharing features of this content, which I think could prove useful to our children’s children’s children someday.

Thank you :)




* I know the elevator shafts in the SLC temple weren’t as revelatory as the urban legends say. Nevertheless, its pretty great that we have elevators in the SLC temple, regardless of the way the shafts got into the designs. Bravo, brother Angell. Bravo.
I totally hear you on this one, I had my missionary scriptures stolen out of my car in the last couple of months before my mission ended. The amount of time, effort, and inspiration that was lost to generations of my family still tears at my heartstrings. Each time I hold a class on Gospel Library I share this story. There is NO reason why we shouldn't be seeing this as functionality to members.
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.”
― Thomas Paine, Common Sense
robmerrill
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Re: Scriptures as a Service (API for LDS Scriptures)

#43

Post by robmerrill »

russellhltn wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 5:32 pm Personally, I think the church is very nervous about mixing the notes of men with scriptures. If a way were found to share notes with strangers, it would only be a matter of time before there would be the "cool kids" notes circulating around from teachers, leaders and whatnot.

I see where this could get out of hand and start substituting for personal reading and pondering the scriptures. It's not hard to read the scriptures and come up with something contrary to what the church teaches. Were it not so, there would be only one sect of Christianity.

The church does take purity of doctrine seriously. Sharing notes is not a bad thing, but doing it in the scriptures app seems like a "mingling" issue to me.
Never thought of it like that.

How about you can only get notes from your direct family members, then… I can read notes from my kids, perhaps their kids, they can read notes from me and my generations backward.

Or what if sharing was, still by family lines, only shared tags or links. Heck, even seeing a little visual cue that “19 members of your family highlighted this” like the kindle app does would be cool even if I had no clue what they underlined that for.
robmerrill
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Re: Scriptures as a Service (API for LDS Scriptures)

#44

Post by robmerrill »

robmerrill wrote: Wed Oct 05, 2022 6:00 am
russellhltn wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 5:32 pm Personally, I think the church is very nervous about mixing the notes of men with scriptures. If a way were found to share notes with strangers, it would only be a matter of time before there would be the "cool kids" notes circulating around from teachers, leaders and whatnot.

I see where this could get out of hand and start substituting for personal reading and pondering the scriptures. It's not hard to read the scriptures and come up with something contrary to what the church teaches. Were it not so, there would be only one sect of Christianity.

The church does take purity of doctrine seriously. Sharing notes is not a bad thing, but doing it in the scriptures app seems like a "mingling" issue to me.
Never thought of it like that.

How about you can only get notes from your direct family members, then… I can read notes from my kids, perhaps their kids, they can read notes from me and my generations backward.

Or what if sharing was, still by family lines, only shared tags or links. Heck, even seeing a little visual cue that “19 members of your family highlighted this” like the kindle app does would be cool even if I had no clue what they underlined that for.
Even being able to see what someone in my family linked to… a conference talk or scripture or hymn… would be interesting.
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sbradshaw
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Re: Scriptures as a Service (API for LDS Scriptures)

#45

Post by sbradshaw »

robmerrill wrote: Wed Oct 05, 2022 6:00 am How about you can only get notes from your direct family members, then… I can read notes from my kids, perhaps their kids, they can read notes from me and my generations backward.
There is a process where a spouse, parent, or legal custodian of the estate can request access to a deceased relative’s Gospel Library notes and annotations. See "Can I access notes created by a deceased family member?" in the Gospel Library Help Center:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/mobile-applications/gospel-library-faq?lang=eng
Samuel Bradshaw • If you desire to serve God, you are called to the work.
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