Cost of Website Change and Rebranding!

[Dusty52]

I guess all the changes have cost millions of dollars, where will the money come from? tithe payers?
So unnecessary and so meaningless

[Robin Hood]

I guess all the changes have cost millions of dollars, where will the money come from? tithe payers?
So unnecessary and so meaningless

For crying out loud Dusty, what on earth is the matter with you!
If Christ returned tonight you'd probably post "inconvenient or what!"

[JohnnyL]

Dusty52,
May I introduce you to our fellow poster, "ahmedcrow"? I think you two will become very, very good friends.

[Lizzy60]

I guess all the changes have cost millions of dollars, where will the money come from? tithe payers?
So unnecessary and so meaningless

Most of the cost will be in salary to church IT employees. They have already been employed by the Church, so this is just another assignment. Job security.

[Dusty52]

I guess all the changes have cost millions of dollars, where will the money come from? tithe payers?
So unnecessary and so meaningless

Most of the cost will be in salary to church IT employees. They have already been employed by the Church, so this is just another assignment. Job security.

And to the marketing department!

[creator]

Cost of purchasing domains that they previously didn't own could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. They didn't purchase churchofjesuschrist.org until October 2018.

Also, that's a lot of work for their SEO team...

[Dusty52]

Cost of purchasing domains that they previously didn't own could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. They didn't purchase churchofjesuschrist.org until October 2018.

Also, that's a lot of work for their SEO team...

Who did they buy it off?
An offshoot of RLDS?
Why couldn't of Hinkley brought it in the 1990s when domains were selling for peanuts!

[creator]

You can see the domain history here: http://www.hosterstats.com/historicaldn ... christ.org

[Joel]

I wonder if they are trying to buy one of these

the redirects could have been worse

www.latterdaysaintnewsroom.com

www.latterdaysaintnewsroom.org

[Col. Flagg]

So all of the previous prophets all the way back to Joseph Smith were under the influence of Satan for using the names 'Mormon' and 'LDS'? This is such a mess and can of worms. Basically, the corporation is re-branding itself.

[oneClimbs]

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is today.

The world is in a constant state of flux and thank goodness we are not stuck in some kind of Pharisaical standstill. There is always a chance to do things better especially when there is time and opportunity to do it.

Personally I didn’t like the whole “I’m a Mormon” campaign and I didn’t like the whole Mormon.org thing but I didn’t flip out about it. I mattered so little in my life as does this. They are making a statement that will be felt for generations and it’s where things should be if you ask me.

[drtanner]

How much was that alabaster oil used to anoint Jesus with?

[oneClimbs]

Cost of purchasing domains that they previously didn't own could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. They didn't purchase churchofjesuschrist.org until October 2018.

Also, that's a lot of work for their SEO team...

Who did they buy it off?
An offshoot of RLDS?
Why couldn't of Hinkley brought it in the 1990s when domains were selling for peanuts!

Why didn’t they buy Apple stock way back in the day? Why didn’t God have the temple built somewhere other than the temple mount so people wouldn’t all be fighting for the same spot of ground? I don’t think that’s how things work.

[Michelle]

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is today.

The world is in a constant state of flux and thank goodness we are not stuck in some kind of Pharisaical standstill. There is always a chance to do things better especially when there is time and opportunity to do it.

Personally I didn’t like the whole “I’m a Mormon” campaign and I didn’t like the whole Mormon.org thing but I didn’t flip out about it. I mattered so little in my life as does this. They are making a statement that will be felt for generations and it’s where things should be if you ask me.

I wasn't a fan either.

I felt like the I'm a Mormon campaign was to highlight fringe or boundary-pushing members to help missionary work, but to me it felt like the salt losing its savor.

If we are just like everyone else, why join?

I dislike much of what happens at the ward level because it feel like the church competing with the world for "most fun."

In reality, we lose to the world for "most fun" every time.

We need to compete for souls where it counts: we have the ordinances necessary for salvation, we have the power of the priesthood, we have access to the Holy Spirit as a constant companion. Yet, for all of this, we seem to often ignore these gifts and focus on fun. Then we are sad when not just the YM/YW choose the world over church, but when the adults do as well.

I vote we cancel all activities for the ladies that have anything to do with "spa nights." I vote we cancel all activities for kids that include candy for things like bringing scriptures. I vote we cancel all men's activities that center around watching sports. Those can all be done with friends, including people that are part of ministering, but please, not as an official activity!

I certainly wouldn't mind more activities where we actually access those gifts that are unique to our Church as listed above, but it is hard to turn back the hands of time, and so many expect to be paid with candy and entertainment at Church and Church activities now.

Super sad.

[Rand]

Not that it would matter to many here on this forum, But Elder Anderson commented on this, and the blessings that accompanied this change in emphasis. He said that two domain names came available just before it became public news that the church was changing this emphasis, and that the price was very low compared to what it could have been on both sites. I don't remember numbers, but it was reasonable. Funny how upset some non tithe payers are about what the Lords church does with the tithing money they don't contribute.

[oneClimbs]

I wasn't a fan either.

I felt like the I'm a Mormon campaign was to highlight fringe or boundary-pushing members to help missionary work, but to me it felt like the salt losing its savor.

If we are just like everyone else, why join?

I dislike much of what happens at the ward level because it feel like the church competing with the world for "most fun."

In reality, we lose to the world for "most fun" every time.

We need to compete for souls where it counts: we have the ordinances necessary for salvation, we have the power of the priesthood, we have access to the Holy Spirit as a constant companion. Yet, for all of this, we seem to often ignore these gifts and focus on fun. Then we are sad when not just the YM/YW choose the world over church, but when the adults do as well.

I vote we cancel all activities for the ladies that have anything to do with "spa nights." I vote we cancel all activities for kids that include candy for things like bringing scriptures. I vote we cancel all men's activities that center around watching sports. Those can all be done with friends, including people that are part of ministering, but please, not as an official activity!

I certainly wouldn't mind more activities where we actually access those gifts that are unique to our Church as listed above, but it is hard to turn back the hands of time, and so many expect to be paid with candy and entertainment at Church and Church activities now.

Super sad.

Exactly, I had the same thought. If we are the same as everyone then what is the point? I love what makes us different and I think we are moving in a direction where we are embracing those differences more. Honestly, it is a bit of an unexpected but welcome turn.

I'm not too familiar with the ward level trying to compete for fun. We do some fun things but everyone is pretty focused on the spiritual things where I am, I enjoy it quite a bit. Spa nights! I'd enjoy one of those actually. I agree with the candy thing, we need less of that. I don't watch sports and I've never attended an activity where the men watched sports, where do you live?

Wards can be drastically different, but the good news is that we can have an impact on the culture because the population is small. If you'd like to make some things better, pick a few things and get a few people on board and you may be surprised what a positive impact you can have. Sometimes things don't change because nobody ever speaks up. Some things you'll never change and you've got to accept that.

[oneClimbs]

Not that it would matter to many here on this forum, But Elder Anderson commented on this, and the blessings that accompanied this change in emphasis. He said that two domain names came available just before it became public news that the church was changing this emphasis, and that the price was very low compared to what it could have been on both sites. I don't remember numbers, but it was reasonable. Funny how upset some non tithe payers are about what the Lords church does with the tithing money they don't contribute.

I know someone who owns a bunch of very good LDS-themed domains. I mean REALLY good ones. There has been contact with church lawyers and they've never asked to buy them just if they would donate them. They may donate them at some point, but if they did sell them, they wouldn't ask for insane amounts of money, they are a faithful individual. We were going to do something with them at some point but haven't yet, he's been buying them up for years mostly to protect them.

So that doesn't surprise me. Domain names are not much different than real estate, it's rare to just get a good one for a base price. Nowadays you have to pay for decent ones, typically a couple grand ($2-$5k) and maybe in the tens of thousands but not like millions or anything. That sounds like a lot of money but it's not nowadays and not for a good domain name. Getting all the social handles, that's another challenge. Often you can pay someone even less than for domains and get those.

[friendsofthe]

Cost of purchasing domains that they previously didn't own could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. They didn't purchase churchofjesuschrist.org until October 2018.

Also, that's a lot of work for their SEO team...

And on the other hand, they may have only spent a few bucks per domain.

[Finrock]

Cost of purchasing domains that they previously didn't own could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. They didn't purchase churchofjesuschrist.org until October 2018.

Also, that's a lot of work for their SEO team...

Who did they buy it off?
An offshoot of RLDS?
Why couldn't of Hinkley brought it in the 1990s when domains were selling for peanuts!

The WWW existed in the 90's, but very few people knew about it and very few people were using it. In the 90's it was still mostly internal networks that you dialed in to, like AOL, and bulletin boards, etc. The WWW didn't really start going until late 90's and early 2000's and the rest is history.

In any case, God isn't a micro-manager. Also, the leaders of the Church are just men so we can't expect them to always have all the answers and to have perfect intuition and vision. Plus, we can only speculate as to the answer to your question. And, it isn't fair to place such an expectation on Hinckley.

Why didn't I invest in google.com in 2004? Why didn't I do this, or that, etc.? Why didn't you do <some missed opportunity>? Did you know that you are just as entitled to receive revelation as Hinckley is for your own life and for your own stewardships?

The reason why we recognize the weakness and the fallibility of our leaders is not so that we can criticize and abandon them, but so that we can extend mercy, grace, and understanding towards them when they make mistakes. If there were mistakes made here, then they are fairly minor. Unless one articulates who has been harmed by these things, not just some hypothetical harm, but a real harm, then it is my opinion that one is just hyperventilating for essentially nothing of consequence.

But, you know, we all have our tolerance levels and our expectations so, I'm not gonna get all bent out of shape either because I perceive this as being not worthy of criticism.

-Finrock

[Thinker]

How much was that alabaster oil used to anoint Jesus with?

Inaccurate comparison which I think Christ would take issue with. I love how many members serve in Christ-like ways without compensation. Yet, paid church leaders don’t act like Christ, in financial dealings like withholding tithes from the poor. Christ asked us to prioritize helping those in need - yet that is not the priority, despite using his name to make money in secret.

The story about the woman using expensive oils to wash Jesus’s feet is similar to the story of the widow’s mite. God looks on the heart. Looking at the extravagant way sacred money is handled, I’m reminded of this scripture:

• “For behold, ye do love money, & your substance, & your fine apparel, & the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor & the needy, the sick & the afflicted. O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies – because of the praise of the world?” –Mormon 8:37-38

[Hie'ing to Kolob]

At least it is no longer a "major victory for Satan."

[endlessQuestions]

I guess all the changes have cost millions of dollars, where will the money come from? tithe payers?
So unnecessary and so meaningless

For crying out loud Dusty, what on earth is the matter with you!
If Christ returned tonight you'd probably post "inconvenient or what!"

[endlessQuestions]

I guess all the changes have cost millions of dollars, where will the money come from? tithe payers?
So unnecessary and so meaningless

You guess? Why are you troubling us with your guesses? Go get some facts and then come back with your complaints.

[Joel]

I wonder if they are trying to buy one of these

the redirects could have been worse

www.latterdaysaintnewsroom.com

www.latterdaysaintnewsroom.org

www.churchojesuschrist.org

[Rand]

I wonder if they are trying to buy one of these

the redirects could have been worse

www.latterdaysaintnewsroom.com

www.latterdaysaintnewsroom.org

www.churchojesuschrist.org

I don't get the deception in the above link.