Church Website Tutorial #3 - Upload a family picture

In Tutorial #2 I said I would be doing more on Mormon.org. Well, I decided that a quick tutorial about the new membership directory would be so much more fun!

When you go to lds.org to view your ward website (you did know that your ward has an official church website, didn't you??), you will notice off to the right, there are two links with pictures, under the heading CHECK OUT THE NEW LOCAL UNIT TOOLS. One says New Calendar, and one says New Directory. This new directory is what I want to focus on today - specifically uploading a family picture to this directory..

Click on New Directory. This will take you to a sign in page. You will need an account to access this. You can easily create one. You will need your membership number - which you can get from your ward clerk, or off your temple recommend.

Once you sign in, it will take you to the main *new* directory page. Once there, click on HOUSEHOLD in the left column. Then scroll down to your name and CLICK on it. This will take you to your family's information (other ward members can view this info, too).

Now click EDIT PROFILE. This will take you to a page that you can edit your information and upload your family picture. To upload your family picture, click on the button that says CHOOSE FILE. This will pop up a box of uploading guidelines (copyright info), click CONTINUE. Click SELECT PHOTO to get to the file of your photo. Find the file you want and click UPLOAD NOW. When it is done uploading, it will show you the picture with the rest of your information.

If you ever need help with these new tools, click on the help button on any of the pages and it will help you tremendously!

Now that you have uploaded a picture of your family, view it in PHOTOS (in the left hand column beneath households). This will bring up photos of your whole ward. Scroll down to your name - and there you are!!

Here is what my ward's looks like - I am only one of two families that have taken advantage of this cool new technology in my ward as of today. I am sure it will get filled with photos soon.

Family Picture in Sunny California

Over the Christmas break, we spent most of our time at my dad's house in San Diego, along with all of my siblings and their families. While there, we decided to take a family picture on the beach. Can I just say...disappointed. We didn't get a "real" photographer, just used family members. We got one semi good picture (see beach picture below). My hair is being blown by the ocean breeze, but other than that, it is printable. What a let-down. I was so much hoping for a nice little photo album of cute beach pictures. Oh well. You live and learn - and Carl and I have learned to hire a professional the next time we travel 12 hours to find a nice backdrop for a family picture.

I just ordered my 24x36 print of this picture to hang in our living room to replace the cool family picture we have up right now of us by a helicopter. It is a few years old, and the kids have changed so much. I ordered it from MPIX. If you haven't discovered them yet - you need to! They are great and very inexpensive and such high quality if you are ordering large format prints, like I do.

So my advice for the day - hire a professional photographer when traveling to sunny California for a family picture.