tech.lds.org on KSL

KSL has an article specifically mentioning tech.lds.org.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=4590932

Yes, KSL got the article wrong. In the article they blur the Patriarchal Blessings web site which is still in development and the LDS Tech web site. To avoid further confusion, we have taken the Patriarchal Blessings article down until we can get the information straightened out.

Tom

Yes, I heard it today on KSL radio morning news. I have been telling every church leader I work with about tech.lds.org and encourage their participation, and now it is out in KSL news.

Tom, can someone contact KSL on this? I hope that they received information through some official channel and didn't just read a thread and assume it is official.

DJC wrote:...and didn't just read a thread and assume it is official.

I know I heard about this Patriarchal Blessing project somewhere, but I can't seem to find it here on the Wiki or the Forums.

However, I think this journalist got their information from the following Deseret News article, which appears to have quite a bit more correct information:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,51 ... .html?pg=1

mkmurray wrote:I know I heard about this Patriarchal Blessing project somewhere, but I can't seem to find it here on the Wiki or the Forums.

However, I think this journalist got their information from the following Deseret News article, which appears to have quite a bit more correct information:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,51 ... .html?pg=1

And according to the Deseret News article, it got it from LDS.org (can't tell if it was the homepage or the Newsroom). Apparently, from Tom's comment below, there was a "Patriarchal Blessings article" that they "took down" until this gets straightened out.

I am willing to bet that this KSL reporter saw one of these two articles and mistakenly butchered the correct information.

Thanks Mike. I am just hoping that the story wasn't written by something they saw on a forum.

DJC wrote:Thanks Mike. I am just hoping that the story wasn't written by something they saw on a forum.

Actually I think I remember there being an article on LDS Tech main page itself about this patriarchal blessing project. And I just now confirmed it by looking in my RSS Reader's history (it was called "Patriarchal Blessings Meet the Digital Age"). Plus, the General Conference stats in the Deseret News article come from LDS Tech's main page as well.

I bet both Deseret News and KSL journalists saw the article and tried to do a write up. There is incorrect information in both articles, and it appears that both journalists think there is a project called LDS Tech (one thinks it's the whole Wiki, the other thinks it's the Patriarchal Blessing project). The Deseret News article is at least mostly correct and it appears the journalist tried to do her homework as best she could. The KSL article though is not very well done at all, in my personal opinion.

tomw wrote:Yes, KSL got the article wrong. In the article they blur the Patriarchal Blessings web site which is still in development and the LDS Tech web site. To avoid further confusion, we have taken the Patriarchal Blessings article down until we can get the information straightened out.

Tom

I actually thought the article here at tech.lds.org was very clear. When I read the KSL story, I thought it didn't sound quite right, so I looked up the article, couldn't find it. Tried google, and sure enough it had already been indexed so I was able to read the "cached" version. The important points from the tech article that were left out of the news story were:

1. The CURRENT changes that are being planned apply to Stake Presidents, Patriachs, and Church History Employees.

2. The new system is planned to be finished in APRIL 2009.

3. At some point in the FUTURE (ie, SOMEDAY), Church members will be able to download the transcriptioin of their own blessing from lds.org. (Although the tech article doesn't mention this, SOMEDAY, we'll be able to do much more with records through LUWS than we currently do, and I suspect that we won't see copies of patriarchal blessings online until there are a lot of other nifty features online too).

Could someone explain to me why this online-Patriarchical blessing idea is exciting and worthwhile? Don't we all have our Patriarchical blessings printed out and safely stored??? How often does someone actually lose a blessing?

I just don't see the value.

Brad O.

Brad O. wrote:Could someone explain to me why this online-Patriarchical blessing idea is exciting and worthwhile? Don't we all have our Patriarchical blessings printed out and safely stored??? How often does someone actually lose a blessing?

I just don't see the value.

Brad O.

While most individuals who value the event would hold onto the blessing, there's occasions, often through no fault of their own, where a blessing has been lost. It would also be exciting to be able to review the blessing given to an ancestor.

The ability to "retrieve" a lost blessing or review one from an ancestor has been available for some time. The church is simply making it more convenient by taking advantage of the technologies available to them.

The news article probably enlarged on the event a little

Brad O. wrote:Could someone explain to me why this online-Patriarchical blessing idea is exciting and worthwhile? Don't we all have our Patriarchical blessings printed out and safely stored??? How often does someone actually lose a blessing?

I just don't see the value.

Brad O.

Yeah, I think it's the ancestor factor that is the most striking. Maybe also the fact that the blessings will be digitized.

Brad O. wrote:Could someone explain to me why this online-Patriarchical blessing idea is exciting and worthwhile? Don't we all have our Patriarchical blessings printed out and safely stored??? How often does someone actually lose a blessing?

I just don't see the value.

Brad O.

Eventually you would be able to look up your great grandfather's blessing. I was in the Church History Library a few months back and I was able to find my great grandfather's blessing as well has my great grandmothers blessing. It was wonderful to read them. Not everyone has access to the Church History library because of their location. So this would be one big benefit.

Tom

DJC wrote:Tom, can someone contact KSL on this? I hope that they received information through some official channel and didn't just read a thread and assume it is official.

The Church's PR department told us not to do anything.

Tm

tomw wrote:The Church's PR department told us not to do anything.

Tm

Can the original article from you guys go back up on the LDS Tech main page? Or has it proven to be a liability this early in the project's lifespan?

tomw wrote:Eventually you would be able to look up your great grandfather's blessing. I was in the Church History Library a few months back and I was able to find my great grandfather's blessing as well has my great grandmothers blessing. It was wonderful to read them. Not everyone has access to the Church History library because of their location. So this would be one big benefit.

Tom

Ah, I wasn't thinking of ancestors blessings. That would be nice.

mkmurray wrote:Can the original article from you guys go back up on the LDS Tech main page? Or has it proven to be a liability this early in the project's lifespan?

Not at this time. Sorry.

Tom

tomw wrote:Not at this time. Sorry.

Tom

That's too bad, that article really caught my attention, more so than most of the articles posted on LDS Tech's main page (don't get me wrong, I love the articles posted). Apparently, it caught some other attention as well and created a huge miscommunication.

Hello Brad,

That's the bit that gets me -- yes, my blessing is tucked away safe -- but, several thousand miles from where I'm currently living. From England to Southern California if a good distance, and parents just don't always know how to find stuff that you need that are packed away.
Howard from Devon

would these be tied into everyone's LDS ACCOUNT info?

myldslinks wrote:That's the bit that gets me -- yes, my blessing is tucked away safe -- but, several thousand miles from where I'm currently living. From England to Southern California if a good distance, and parents just don't always know how to find stuff that you need that are packed away.

Under the circumstances, if your parents cannot locate what you need, I think you could request that a copy be sent to you at your current location. While not electronic, you still would have it in a few week's mail time.

That is really great
http://www.amfedrine.com

Any news about this project, guys???

lajackson wrote:Under the circumstances, if your parents cannot locate what you need, I think you could request that a copy be sent to you at your current location.

What is the current method (web, email, fax, phone, snail mail) to use in ordering copies?

You can obtain a copy of your Patriarchal Blessing or of your direct ancestor. Instructions can be found on LDS.org:
http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/archives/pbinfo

Having just asked my father who is a Patriarch the handling process of his blessings, it appears that things are a bit behind the technology curve.

Can anyone offer any insight as to plans to address the uploading of blessings from the Patriarchs themselves? Or are they going to continue sending in hard copies to SLC and then scan a version in to the database?

He doesnt know for how long he should be keeping them on his hard drive and frankly his method of tape recording them, retyping them and then mailing them seems a bit sluggish and vulnerable to multiple points of failure.

I have the same oppinion as you, since my father is too a Stake Patriarch. I hope if any good news are coming.