Ward calendar (new LDS.org site) - Getting started

I have recently been called as my ward's 'communication specialist' to activate and run my ward's calendar, and I keep running into issues with gaining access to get started. One of the counselors in my bishopric got help from a man in our stake who helped him create some kind of profile/permissions for me, but I still have no idea where to go to get started, and the counselor in the bishopric is older and not computer-savvy, so he's nice but not much help. Can anybody give me information on where to go to log in, and how to make sure that I have been set up correctly with the correct permissions to add things to the ward calendar?

Any help is MUCH appreciated!

Emily Spanos

emilysparkle wrote:I have recently been called as my ward's 'communication specialist' to activate and run my ward's calendar, and I keep running into issues with gaining access to get started. One of the counselors in my bishopric got help from a man in our stake who helped him create some kind of profile/permissions for me, but I still have no idea where to go to get started, and the counselor in the bishopric is older and not computer-savvy, so he's nice but not much help. Can anybody give me information on where to go to log in, and how to make sure that I have been set up correctly with the correct permissions to add things to the ward calendar?

Any help is MUCH appreciated!

Emily Spanos

Your calling of "Communication Specialist" sounds like a custom calling to me. You need to designated as the Website Administrator for your ward and that designation needs to be entered in the MLS program. This will give you access rights to your ward calendar.

The calendar help files are a good place to begin. However, keep in mind that the development of the calendar on LDS.ORG is still under way with the next version currently in Beta testing. The helps haven't been updated yet for the newer version.

In regards to logging into the calendar - At the top of the LDS.ORG page is a link titled "Sign In/Out" - you click on that and then enter your LDS account and password. Once signed in then click on "Tools" then on Calendar.

First thing we need to establish if which calendar you're dealing with. There's the Classic LUWS. When you look in your web browser, you'll see "lds.org/units" as part of the URL.

Then there's the "new" calendar. With it you'll see "lds.org/calendar" when you're in it.

Which one are you using? The two are very different. Note that currently Classic is scheduled to go away at the end of the year. It's probably best if you start with the "new" calendar. But it's not really designed for one central person to manage.

RussellHltn wrote:Then there's the "new" calendar. With it you'll see "lds.org/calendar" when you're in it.

That's actually lds.org/church-calendar

crislapi wrote:That's actually lds.org/church-calendar

I stand corrected.

Thanks for the help!

With the help of a member of my bishopric, I recently set up an account for myself on the computer in my clerk's office at church, that is supposed to be where I log in to begin working on my ward's calendar. However, I forgot my username and password for this new account that I set up when I was there. Is there a way I can retrieve this login information?

emilysparkle wrote:With the help of a member of my bishopric, I recently set up an account for myself on the computer in my clerk's office at church, that is supposed to be where I log in to begin working on my ward's calendar. However, I forgot my username and password for this new account that I set up when I was there. Is there a way I can retrieve this login information?

They set you up an account to log onto the ward computer or they created an LDS account for you and you can't remember the log in? I'm going to assume you forgot your LDS account info.
The calendar is on the internet. You can access it from any internet-enabled computer, including the one you are using to post on this forum. If you forgot your username and/or password, go to the URL (lds.org/church-calendar) and click on the appropriate "Forgot your ..." link. Follow the instructions to recover the information.

So I went into my ward clerk's office two weeks ago and asked the bishopric member who had originally set me up, to help me retrieve my username and password that he had helped me create. However, when he scrolled through the list of names in the white box, he said my name had disappeared out of there. I think it was the MLS. Like I said before, this man is nice but is not good with a computer at all. I am thinking that at this point, whatever he previously set me up on, he didn't do it right.

Does anybody in these forums have access to the MLS, to see if I do currently have an account set up under my name?

Or, at this point, do you recommend that I ask my ward clerk (who is better on a computer) to just set me up as a new user on the MLS, as 'website administrator'?

If you were called as the Ward Website Administrator, your Ward Clerk (or Assistant Ward Clerk) would normally be the one to enter you into the calling on MLS. You don't need access to MLS to edit the calendar - your Calendar-editing permissions are transmitted from MLS to Church Headquarters after your calling is entered and the ward does a send/receive in MLS.

I think it takes a day or two, but after that you should be able to log in to lds.org with your LDS Account and your ability to edit the calendar will be automatic.

emilysparkle wrote:So I went into my ward clerk's office two weeks ago and asked the bishopric member who had originally set me up, to help me retrieve my username and password that he had helped me create. However, when he scrolled through the list of names in the white box, he said my name had disappeared out of there. I think it was the MLS. Like I said before, this man is nice but is not good with a computer at all. I am thinking that at this point, whatever he previously set me up on, he didn't do it right.

Correct. MLS has nothing to do with the online calendar. He must list you as the Ward Website Administrator IN MLS in order for you to perform your calling, but you will not need access to MLS or the clerk computer and software to perform it.

emilysparkle wrote:Does anybody in these forums have access to the MLS, to see if I do currently have an account set up under my name?

No. These are local accounts on your computer only. They do not appear online and are not transmitted to CHQ except as online backups for the ward. However, it doesn't matter - MLS accounts grant you no access to online sites.

emilysparkle wrote:Or, at this point, do you recommend that I ask my ward clerk (who is better on a computer) to just set me up as a new user on the MLS, as 'website administrator'?

Yes and no. You do not need an MLS account. He just has to list your calling in MLS as "Website Administrator" and transmit. He needs to use the standard calling name (marked with a star) when doing this so that it is recognized in the church system. It is listed in the "Other Callings" section of MLS > Organizations.

You can verify this has been done correctly by going to your ward's online directory, selecting "Ward Leaders and Organizations" and looking in the "Other Callings" sections to see if you appear as the Website Administrator. Once the calling is listed in MLS, it may take a couple days to appear online.

In the mean time, you should create an LDS account for yourself (if you have not done so already) at ldsaccount.lds.org. You will need your membership number to complete the account creation. Once you have an account, login to lds.org/church-calendar and go through the help files and generally familiarize yourself with it. Once you have administrator rights, you'll be able to approve calendars, manage calendar editors, etc.

crislapi wrote:In the mean time, you should create an LDS account for yourself (if you have not done so already) at ldsaccount.lds.org. You will need your membership number to complete the account creation. Once you have an account, login to lds.org/church-calendar and go through the help files and generally familiarize yourself with it. Once you have administrator rights, you'll be able to approve calendars, manage calendar editors, etc.

She already has an LDS Account since that is required to logon and post to these forums.