Ward Website Tutorial

• Getting Started

• Using Ward Website

Getting Started on the Ward Website

The information on this flier need only be done ONCE, so you may recycle this sheet once you have done these things. If you have any problems or questions, contact your ward webmaster, your bishop should know who that is.
Once you have turned on your computer and you are running the operating system (for example, Windows) you should
>Get on the internet by opening your favorite internet browser (double-click on the icon), wherever it is in your computer. (Often it is on the main page in the operating system, i.e. the “desk top”)
Examples of internet browsers are Windows Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari.
> Near the top of your internet browser, there will be a white box with some text, starting with “http”. This is the website address. Click with your mouse in that box, delete what is there and type in: lds.org and push “enter”
>This is the church’s website home page. There is a menu of 6 things just to the left of the statue of Christ and the word “Welcome”, The very first option is “About the Church”. Click on that.
>Along the left side of the screen, there is a list of options starting with “About the Church Home”, then “Answers to Questions”. Go down to the very last option “Stake and Ward Websites” and click on it.
-You have now made it to the ward website sign-in screen! Great job!! To make it easier to get here in the future, it is a good idea to “bookmark” this webpage. Here’s how in 3 different web browsers:

For Internet Explorer users
Right-click on a blank portion of the page and click “Add to Favorites”. You will be asked to give the bookmark a name and location. I suggest using “Ward Website” for the name, and you can use a location that is most convenient for you (or the default location. Just be sure to remember
where that is!) When you’ve filled both of those out, click on the button that says “Ok”.

For Mozilla Firefox users
Once you are at our ward website, right-click on a blank portion of the page and click “Bookmark This Page”. You will be asked to give the bookmark a name and location. I suggest using “Ward Website” for the name, and you can use a location that is most convenient for you (or the
default location. Just be sure to remember where that is!) When you’ve filled both of those out, click on the button that says “Done”.

For Safari users
At the top of the screen, click on the menu that says “Bookmarks”. In the drop-down menu, click on the phrase “Add Bookmark”. You will be asked to give the bookmark a name and location. I suggest using “Ward Website” for the name, and you can use a location that is most convenient for you (I recommend in the bookmarks bar) When you’ve filled both of those out, click on the button that says “Add”.

>You will need a User Name and Password to login.
-If you have a User Name and Password, then click in the box below “User Name” and enter your user name. Then click in the box under “password” and enter your password. Now click the “Sign in” button with your mouse.
-If you have not already created one: click on the blue underlined text that says “Obtain an LDS Account”, located below the blue “Sign In” button.
-You will first be asked to fill in your membership record number. You can find this on your temple recommend or your baptismal certificate. If you have neither of these, contact the ward clerk, he should be able to help you. Click in the box below the words “Membership Record Number:” and
type in your membership number.
-Now you must enter your date of birth by clicking on the box that says “Day”. A menu will drop down with a list of numbers. Click on the number that corresponds to the day you were born. If you cannot see the number (the list doesn’t go up high enough) you may have to scroll down by clicking on the down arrow at the bottom-right corner of the pull-down menu, until you see the day of your birthday. Ex. If Libby was born on September 29th, she would click on the word “Day”, then the down arrow until she could see 29, then she would click on the number 29.
-Once you have clicked on the day of your birth, click on the box just to the right that says “Month” and similarly click on the month of your birth.
-Finally, click on the third box, just to the right, and type in the year you were born.
-For security measures, you must now click in the box below the phrase: “Type the letters you see in the image:”, and do just that, type the letters in the image in the box above the button that says “New image”. If you are having trouble telling what the word in the box says, you can click the button
that says “New image”.
-Once you have typed in the security word, click on the button at the bottom of the screen that says “Next Step”.
-The next screen will be similar. Click in the box below the phrase and type in the information asked for. Your first and last names should be already filled in for you, and your country and language should also already be filled in.
Note: you may have to scroll down to see all the information needed.
-If you do not have an email address, you may select that option, otherwise it is highly recommended you fill it in.
-When creating a username, I recommend using the first part of your email address, so you don’t have to remember anything new. Ex. John’s email address is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and so for his username, he could use “johndoe”.
-Once you have filled in all the information, click the blue button at the bottom that says “Create My LDS Account”. Once you have made your username and password, you must go to your email inbox and open the email sent to you that confirms your account. There will be a link in this email and you need to click on it. Now you can move onto the next handout! (Feel free to recycle this one now, you shouldn’t need it again.)


Using Ward Website

If you have never been to the ward website, please see the handout “Getting Started on the Ward Website” first. If you have any problems or questions, contact your ward web master, the bishop should know who that is. (Most wards should have one now, but if yours doesn’t, encourage your bishop to call one.)
>Get on the internet by opening your favorite internet browser (double-click on the icon), wherever it is in your computer. (Often it is on the main page in the operating system, i.e. the “desk top”)
Examples of internet browsers are Windows Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari.
>Go to the bookmark you created (or see how to create the bookmark by using the instructions on the “Getting Started on the Ward Website” hand out). Here’s how in 3 different web browsers:
For Internet Explorer users
In the top-left of the window, click on “Favorites” and a drop-down menu will appear. Click on “Ward Website”.
For Mozilla Firefox users
In the top of the window, click on “Bookmarks” and find “Ward Website” in the drop-down
menu.
For Safari users
In the top of the window, click on “Bookmarks” and go to where you saved the Ward Website.
-You should have a User Name and Password, so click in the box below “User Name” and enter your user name. Then click in the box under “password” and enter your password. Now click the “Sign in” button with your mouse.
You’re in!! Congratulations!
Now, let’s see what you now have available at your fingertips.
A few important things to notice:
The main menu along the left side of the screen- “Stake Home”, “News and Information”... “Stake and Ward Websites”. This is where most active items will be located, such as adding to the ward calendar or looking up contact information.
The announcements along the right side of the screen- this is where ward announcements and the most current events from the calendar will be listed; a convenient shortcut to see what is happening the next couple of days without having to go to the calendar. Any of these items can be clicked to find out the full details.
Other Links in the center portion of the site, will contain whatever your ward web master thinks pertinent. Some examples may include the Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching messages, and the online Priesthood/Relief Society Manual.
If you start clicking things and get “lost”, you can always get back to your ward home page by doing the following: look for the tan bar running along the top of the page (just below a blue bar that says “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”) that says:

“Home > Your Stake Name > Your Ward
Name > ‘some other location’”. This list shows you the hierarchy of web pages you are in. So, the “some other location” page is where you currently are and is a part of “Your Ward” website which is a part of “Your Stake” website, which is a part of “lds.org”. You can click on any of these other 3 phrases to get to said website. So, if you were to click on “Your Ward” you would get back to the your ward home page. If you were to click on “Your Stake” you would go to the stake home page, etc.
This is always visible from every page in our website and you can always click on “Your Ward” here to get back to your main page.
Note: if you are at the Stake home page, you will no longer see “Your Ward” since you are in the level above. You can get back to your website by looking in the middle of the page where there is a section called “Wards and Branches” that lists the wards in your stake, in tan. Click on “Your Ward Name” to get to your website.
If you would like to...
Look Up Contact Information (phone, address, children/spouse names, see a picture):
>In the left-hand column, click on “Membership Directory”, the 5th option from the top.
>If they are in your ward, click the letter of the alphabet that begins their last name and scroll down
until you find who you are looking for. The families are listed alphabetically by last name. Ex. If you
were to look up “John Doe’s” contact info, click on the letter “D” for “Doe”.
>If they are not in your ward or you do not remember their last name, on the right, just above the letters of the alphabet is the word “Search”. Click on it. If you do not know which ward they are in, type in as much information about their name under “Member Name”. If you do know their ward, then under “Ward” click on the box that says “All wards...” and the names of each ward in your stake will appear. Click on the ward you wish to search, and then click in the box under “Member Name” and type in the name of the person you are searching for. Then click the “Search” button below (to the left). The search results will appear below. (you may have to scroll down to find the right person)
Note: Their full name is used for searching. For Example, if you were trying to find the contact info for “Jim” (and can’t remember his last name) you might need to search for his full name, so you would need to type in “James”.
>If a family’s picture is up on the website there will be a little camera in the upper-right of the box with that family’s contact information. Click on the camera to see the picture and to close that window, click on the little “X” in the upper left of the window. If your family is not there, submit a photo to your ward web master!
>Some people have email addresses as well. If they do, there will be a little envelope to the right of their name. Click on it to send them an email.
Look at or Make Changes to the Ward Calendar
>In the list on the left side of the screen, click on “Ward Calendar” (the 4th option down).
>The current month will show up. If you wish to look at a previous month or the next month’s calendar, you can either
-click the words just above the calendar on the left “Previous Month” or on the right “Next
Month”, to see the previous or next month, respectively.
-select the exact month by clicking on the little box that states the current month (it is in
between the current month name and the phrase “Next Month”) an then selecting the month you wish to see. You can also change the year by using the box directly below in the same fashion. Then push the small “Go” button.
>If you would like to see more information about a certain event, simply click on the event title.
Note: Churchwide events are in Black, Stake events are in Blue, and Ward events are in Red.
>If you would like to submit an event, on a day with no event already scheduled, click on the number of the day it will occur, OR
>If you would like to submit an even on a date that already has an event scheduled, click on the number of the day. It will take you to a page that lists all activities going on that day. Under the tan title “Your Ward Name’s Calendar”, there is a blue phrase between “Format for Printing” and “Contact Administrator” that says “Submit Event For This Day”. Click on it.
> Fill in the relevant information by clicking in the boxes and typing in or clicking on the appropriate information. Give your event a title so that it is clear who the event is for (RS, HP, EQ, YM, YW, Primary) if the whole ward is not invited. You need not enter an end date or end time if there isn’t one. Press the “Submit” button at the bottom of the screen when you are finished and it will take you back to the calendar.
Note: Before your event can show up in the calendar, it must be approved by the
web master, so do not fret when you don’t see it immediately after posting.
>When you are done here, to get back to the main ward website page, there is a tan bar running along the top of the page (just below a blue bar that says “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”) that says: “Home > Your Stake > Your Ward > Calendar”. Click on “Your Ward” to take you back to your ward home page.
View Gospel Doctrine or Relief Society Lesson Schedules
>In the list on the left side of the screen, click on “Lesson Schedules” (3rd option down).
>By default, the Gospel Doctrine Schedule will be displayed. If you wish to read the lesson from the manual, click on that lesson name and it will take you to an online version.
>If you with to view the RS lesson schedule, just to the right of where “Gospel Doctrine” (surrounded by a blue rectangle), there is a tan rectangle that says “Priesthood/Relief Society”. Click there to see the RS lesson schedule.
>If these are not yet displayed, encourage your ward web master to get it up-to-date by sending him/ her a message. You can easily do this by clicking on “Feedback” at the top right of the screen. (Just to the left of “Help”)
Find Leadership Information
>In the list on the left side of the screen, click on “Leadership Directory” (6th option down).
>By default, the Bishopric will be displayed. All other groups are listed below where it says “Your Ward Leadership Directory” in tan, and above where the Bishopric members are listed. Click on the name of the group you are interested in finding out who to contact regarding each group. For example, if you would like to know who to contact about putting an announcement in the program, click on the last option “Other” and scroll down until you find the “Sacrament Meeting Program Coordinator” who is listed. You can then click on the little blue envelope to the right of his/her name to send him/her an email with your announcement.
Find Out About Missionaries In/From Your Ward
>In the list on the left side of the screen, click on “Missionary” (7th option down).
>A list of the ward mission leaders, as well as missionaries serving from your ward with their mission addresses will appear.
>If your missionary is not listed, or you know someone has returned from the field, inform your web master by clicking on “Feedback” at the top right of the screen. (Just to the left of “Help”)
Reserve a Room at your Ward Building or the Stake Center or Another Resource
>In the list on the left side of the screen, click on “Resources” (8th option down).
>Each item that is available for scheduling will be listed and instructions for who to contact, or how to reserve an item, is listed below the item.
View or submit ward News and information
>In the list on the left side of the screen, click on “News and Information” (2nd option down).
>You will see a list of announcements and their details.
>To submit an announcement, look to the upper-right, within the white portion, just above the tan line that says “Submit News and Information”. Click on that phrase.
>In the box just to the left of “Title:” click and type in an appropriate title. It is a good idea to use abbreviations such as “RS”, “EQ”, “HP”, “YM”, “YW” or “P” so that the appropriate groups of people will know if it pertains to them or not.
>Next to “Removal Date:” click on the boxes that say “Day”, “Month”, and “Year” and fill those out so that the announcement will be removed when no longer relevant.
>In the box to the left of “Information:” write the specific details of the announcement, such as who to contact or who is involved, as it pertains to your announcement. Ex. Title: “Help take dinners to Sis. Criddle”, Info: “Sis Criddle recently had hip surgery and we are providing dinners for her. Contact Jane Doe if you want to help”.
Note: Events should probably be put in the ward calendar, instead of under news and
information.
>If you would like an email notification to be sent, check the box next to the appropriate groups.
>Click submit.
Note: this will not immediately show on the home page, as it must be approved first.
Find Information at the Stake Level
>In the list on the left side of the screen, click on “Stake Home” (1st option).
>From here, you can view any ward website in your stake, look at the stake calendar, leadership directory, search for a member, or reserve a room at the Stake Center.
Note: stake events are automatically in the ward calendar and you can search for a member in any ward from your ward directory page.