Gospel Living Retirement Notification

[johnshaw]

That was a very odd way to receive a notification, especially on a day they announced changes to the program that didn't include this app going away. But as they are saying most of what they want to keep is being integrated into Gospel Library - thanks for helping me find the 'notification' that people received.

This has always been a great tool for the content it had, but circles was nearly impossible to adopt, the app is aimed at the youth, and what I've been able to gather along the way, poorly adopted, espeically among the youth. When i was work the Deacons and Teachers I had 1 or 2 out of a dozen or so boys that even had phones with apps on them, some had phone/text devices only, but most didn't. This was the biggest problem with adoption, you couldn't use it for the first 4 years of youth experience. It was doomed for failure from the beginning... See the 185432 page post on this board about the app that we've been talking about since it came out.

[ldsrussp]

Honestly this was pretty awful of them to announce this without any details on what if anything will replace circles. Argh! I for one hope they replace it with the ability to actually set up groups for texting and send group texts. Doubt they will do it though.
My thoughts:

1) email is worthless. I never bother with it any longer as the members won't usually read it
2) circles for many is an app/feature they don't want as it's just a place for someone to ask them to do something often . Frustrating as can be but seems to be true.
3) text is the one place they do respond but needs a method to avoid big reply chains so therefore needs to be done with a texting service like Twilio. I've thought about setting one up for our EQ but just have not spent the time/money on it yet.

[russellhltn]

3) text is the one place they do respond but needs a method to avoid big reply chains so therefore needs to be done with a texting service like Twilio.

And I personally detest text as it tends to be something that demands your immediate attention. Messages from church rarely fall into that category.

[ldsrussp]

Well, I suppose. Text can be annoying and that is why reply chains should not be allowed. However, I'm growing weary of not being able to get the brethren to do anything and then telling me things like 'I didn't know' because they refuse to look at the church apps. It's pretty frustrating. Text is often the only way I can get a response so I hope the church makes that easier going forward.

[BrianEdwards]

I also found it interesting that as part of the coordinated rollout of the updated C&Y program, both the General YW and General YM Presidencies released discussion videos covering the changes and the reasons behind the changes. They discussed resources like the Youth church webpage and Gospel Library content, but never mentioned either the Living App or the Circles functionality. And since we then simultaneously saw a message in the app that it's being discontinued due to the C&Y changes, the Church must have something pretty well-along in development to replace or transition Circles. And it would be nice to also have recognition that the Living App isn't just for youth, but also widely used by adults (since many of us have been slowly beaten into submission and finally made the effort to try and adopt Circles at the local level).

I have positive hopes that what we end up getting will be an improvement. But given the track record of Circles and the lack of current information, I'm not sure why I'm hopeful

[betaylor]

Has there been any discussion on the Thoughts function in the Gospel Living app? I have used it extensively for a journal and have over 1000 entries, many of which are long. And I am troubled to think that they may be erased or lost. And the thought of trying to move this data is also problematic, because 1) I don't know a good secure place to move to, right now, and 2) If I have to scroll, highlight, cut, paste, retitle, and redate each of these, it's going to take a few minutes. 3 mins x 1000 is 50 hours. So, I am wondering what may happen regarding app and feature.

[mjenney14]

How do we provide feedback to the Church on this? It would be a shame to loose Circles. It's an easy way for members to chat without texting. Wards within our stake use it to share updates for activities, etc. Some wards have been very successful with communicating this way. Most recently and entire ward was evacuated for weeks during a wildfire and the ward members used Circles to check in with leaders and communicate about resources. It was so much easier than trying to create large text groups.

[russellhltn]

The best way is in the app itself. From the home page, gear icon, Send Feedback.