Is there a way to get the app if you don't have a phone?

[bknudson]

I have several deacons without a mobile phone, and it is hard to use it to communicate with EVERYONE if there are boys without phones. I don't think the church should expect every member to have a cell phone. I ought to be able to access the messaging and calendar from my lds account.

[jdlessley]

Is there a way to get the app if you don't have a phone?

Not currently. But the app is still under development and I am sure they will be addressing a solution for those youth without smart phones.

I don't think the church should expect every member to have a cell phone.

The use of the app is not a requirement for the youth program. It is intended to be a resource for those youth who do use mobile technology. "Elder Gerrit G. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles told youth, 'Properly used, technology can help you live the gospel in a noisy, distracting, and consuming world.' The app has 'many features to give you a safe place to help you focus on what really matters.'"* If a young member does not have a mobile device they are not as distracted by the technology as those who have a mobile device.

I ought to be able to access the messaging and calendar from my lds account.

The Church Account is a credentialing application and does not provide the services you mentioned but rather allows access to the contents of such applications for church members. I am sure there will be solutions to include young members with mobile devices to be able to participate in some manner with the communications afforded by the Gospel Living App. We just have to be patient while they work out the solutions.

* Church Releases Gospel Living App for Youth and Families; Church News, 13 February 2020

[jgrusendorf]

The use of the app is not a requirement for the youth program. It is intended to be a resource for those youth who do use mobile technology. "Elder Gerrit G. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles told youth, 'Properly used, technology can help you live the gospel in a noisy, distracting, and consuming world.' The app has 'many features to give you a safe place to help you focus on what really matters.'"* If a young member does not have a mobile device they are not as distracted by the technology as those who have a mobile device.

As well intended as this might be, there will be conversations going on in the app that my children will not be part of. Their leaders are using the app as a primary means of communication. My kids are going to be left out.

We are being pushed into spending money we don't have for devices we have consciously kept out of the hands of our youngest. We had already invested in mini PCs and laptops that are useless for this purpose because there is no web interface to the app. Sharing devices is not feasible when multiple kids have separate things going on simultaneously and only the currently logged in user receives notifications. The device purchase burden is greater for families with more children.

And how can I know in advance what device the app will work on? It crashes immediately on my Samsung phone that's less than a year old.

[rmrichesjr]

One _possible_ solution might be software that runs on a desktop or laptop compute and emulates a cell phone, including ability to install an external binary app. At least for the emulator software I used at work, it does take some technical expertise to set up and run the emulator.

[jgrusendorf]

My business is IT, so running an Android emulator is well within the realm of possibility, but not ideal. I've been considering it for now, though given how buggy and sensitive to environment the app is, I'm not sure that setting it up will not be wasted time.

Where can I get a definitive answer to whether a web interface is planned? That would be the most preferable solution and I want to strongly encourage it. I'm really unhappy with the way this has been rolled out.

[jgrusendorf]

Here's my problem. According to a YW leader in our ward when I raised my concerns:

We (YW presidency) have been encouraging the girls to sign up for this app since it was introduced during the recent youth firesides and face to face events from Salt Lake that have been broadcast. We were also instructed as part of our leadership training from the Stake that this is how we are to [communicate] with each other, the Stake, and the girls, and how the youth themselves can be safely communicating with each other. We understand that this may take some time to figure out and get everyone signed in and may be tricky in some families where devices will need to be shared or internet access is not always consistent, but ultimately this is how we have been [counselled] to proceed to allow for safe and consistent ways to communicate and avoid the issues with messenger.

This does not seem to me to be consistent with this:

The use of the app is not a requirement for the youth program. It is intended to be a resource for those youth who do use mobile technology. "Elder Gerrit G. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles told youth, 'Properly used, technology can help you live the gospel in a noisy, distracting, and consuming world.' The app has 'many features to give you a safe place to help you focus on what really matters.'"* If a young member does not have a mobile device they are not as distracted by the technology as those who have a mobile device.

I'm stuck in the middle here and I don't know what to do.

[russellhltn]

I'm stuck in the middle here and I don't know what to do.

Personally, I wouldn't make it my problem to solve. I'd tell the leadership they need to take it up with their presiding authority.

I know "they" are aware of the concern, but I have no idea when/how they plan on dealing with it.

[drepouille]

I suspect we all could have predicted the lack of a web interface judging from the demonstration by Elder Gong in the broadcast last year. In any case, as with all feedback, there are two ways to report your comments: app feedback, or up the priesthood chain.

[jgrusendorf]

Is there any way to provide feedback other than through the app itself? I want to talk to someone about policy, not technical concerns. I'm worried that the message of the way the app is intended to be used is not getting through to youth leaders. I have already emailed a counsellor in our stake presidency, but I don't know if my concerns will go beyond that level and find their way to the right people.

[rmrichesjr]

Is there any way to provide feedback other than through the app itself? I want to talk to someone about policy, not technical concerns. I'm worried that the message of the way the app is intended to be used is not getting through to youth leaders. I have already emailed a counsellor in our stake presidency, but I don't know if my concerns will go beyond that level and find their way to the right people.

If it were me wanting to send policy-related feedback, I'd use the 'Feedback' button on the main page of the Church website and state that my feedback is intended to encourage creation of a web interface counterpart for the phone app--for those who do not have and/or cannot afford a smartphone.