Getting started (Maps)

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LDS Maps is computer-mapping software that combines the mapping power of Bing Maps, Google Maps, and ESRI maps with location information about facilities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Using LDS Maps, you can view location information and get driving directions to Church facilities. A choice of map providers is offered because road and satellite coverage varies between Bing, Google, and ESRI maps.

Search

To search for and view location and other information about Church facilities:

• Use the search field
• Use the place marker
• Use the layers icon on the navigation bar
• Click the View Your Ward link (for Church members).

The search results may include the following:

• The residential congregation (ward or branch) assigned to the address entered.
• The address of a meetinghouse.
• The time of the first meeting and the time of the worship service.
• A driving directions link.
• Information about Church facilities (not congregations) including hours of operations and contact information.

Use the search field

Enter an address, location, facility name, or other information in the search field and press the Return key or click the Search icon.
When a meetinghouse or facility is found, LDS Maps will place a location icon on the map and display location information in a box to the left of the map. If no Church meetinghouse or facility can be located, follow instructions on the left side of the map. When a location is identified, an information box will display the following information:

• The name of the Church congregation (the Assigned Residential Ward) or facility. Click on the name of the Assigned Residential Ward and a box will open with links to meeting schedules, leadership, and organizations (stakes, missions, temple districts) to which the congregation is assigned.
• The address.
• Meeting times.
• Driving direction and website links (if available).
• A Nearby link that will open a list of other Church congregations or facilities nearby.

Use the place marker

1. Zoom to the area where you want to find a meetinghouse or Church facilities.
2. Click the Place Marker icon on the Navigation Controls.
   
   
   
   
3. When the Selected Location box opens, click the Find LDS Places nearby link and a box will open on the left side of the map with the following information:

• The name of the Church congregation (the Assigned Residential Ward) or facility. Click on the name of the Assigned Residential Ward and a box will open with links to meeting schedules, leadership, and organizations (stakes, missions, temple districts) to which the congregation is assigned.
• The address.
• Meeting times.
• Driving direction and website (if available) links.
• A Nearby link that will open a list of Church congregations and facilities that are nearby. Click any of the facilities that are listed to see more information.

Use the map layers icon

Zoom to the area where you want to find a meetinghouse.

1. Click the Layers icon on the Navigation Controls.
   
   
   
2. When the Layers box opens, click the check box next to the Church facilities you would like to find.
   
   
   
3. If no meetinghouse or other icons appear, zoom out to view a wider area.
4. When you see one or more icons, click on one and a box will open with information about the congregations or facility.
   
       
   
   
5. To get driving directions, click Directions.

Click the View Your Ward link

Church members who click this link are asked to sign into LDS Maps using their LDS Account user name and password. See LDS Account for more information about creating an account. Members can view information about their congregation (ward, branch, stake, district).

Members who log into LDS Maps using their LDS Account may be able to see the location of members of their ward or branch or stake or district if other members make their location visible to other members.

Members may also be able to see the following boundaries that apply to their location:

• Ward or branch.
• Stake or district.
• Mission.
• Area.

Users of LDS Maps who are not Church members will not be able to view boundaries of Church congregations or other Church boundaries even if they have an LDS Account login.

Sign in

Church members and some leaders can view additional Church facilities when they create an LDS Account and sign in to LDS Maps.

Those who are not Church members can still create an LDS Maps account and enjoy the following benefits:

• LDS Maps remembers your last search.
• LDS Maps takes you to the location viewed when you last used LDS Maps.

See LDS Account for more information about creating an account.

Navigate the map

You can control the way a map looks by:

• Zooming in to an area (viewing a smaller area).
• Zooming out (viewing a larger area).
• Moving the map up or down, right or left.
• Selecting the map provider and map style.
• View maps in full screen mode by clicking the Toggle Full Screen icon on the Navigation Controls.
  
  
  

How far you can zoom in to a map depends on the type of image you are viewing (roads or aerial) and the map provider (Google, Bing, or ESRI). The quality of aerial images depends on the area of the world and the map provider. If a zoomed aerial image is not available or not clear, switch to another map provider (Google, Bing, ERSI).

Zoom in or out on a map:

• To zoom in, point the mouse to an area on the map, and then click the left mouse button two times.
• Move the scroll wheel on the mouse up or down to zoom in or out.
• Click the plus or minus sign on the Navigation Controls and move the slider bar up or down. Or, click one of the map icons to the right of the slider bar. The map icons provide the following map views:

• Street
• City
• Region
• State
• World

Navigation controls

The Navigation Controls at the top of the map will help you easily change the way the map looks.

The Navigation Controls include the following icons:

• Show My Location:

When you click this icon, LDS Maps will display the latitude and longitude of your location. ‘’’Find LDS Places’’’ nearby and Driving Directions links are on the window that opens.

• Placemarker:
  

Click this icon and then click a location on the map and LDS Maps will place an icon on the map and open a window that includes links to ‘’’Find LDS Places’’’ nearby, Send Feedback about a missing location, and a link to get Driving Directions for this location.

• Zoom In and Zoom Out icons: Click the plus or minus icons and a slider bar and zoom selections appear. Move the slider bar or click on one of the zoom selections to change the map view.
  
  
• Map Movement
  

The map movement arrows lets you chose the direction to move the map: up, down, left, and right.

• Map Layers

Maps Layers lets you select what Church facilities will appear on the map.

• Map Types

Using Map Types, you can select which map provider is best for your location. Some map providers may have better images than others for certain areas of the world. View different map providers to find the best maps for your location.

• Toggle Full Screen

By clicking this link, you will only see the map with the Navigation Controls and the Search field at the top of the map.

• Options

By clicking the options button, you can change the:

• Measurement System (Metric or U.S.)
• Marker Scaling (Scale or Static)
• Location Status (Hide or Show)
• Opted-Out Household (Hide or Show)
• Emergency Response (Hide or Show)
• Special Needs (Hide or Show)
• My Household (Hide or Show)

Church facilities information

Information displayed by LDS Maps comes from a variety of sources. Maps are provided by Google and Bing, and ESRI. Address information for Church facilities is provided by Church entities.

Map details

Map views and detail available from Google, Bing, and ESRI may be different for different parts of the world. If you cannot see enough detail or the image quality is poor when viewing maps or satellite images from one provider, try viewing the same area with the other provider.

View or hide facilities on the map

You can select which facilities to view. Click the Layers icon on the Navigation Controls to open a list of map layers available. The layers available will depend on you LDS Account login. Visitors to LDS Maps, Church members, and leaders may see different facilities.

Click the check box next to the facilities you want to see on the map. If you don't see any Church facilities or you want to view facilities in a wider area, zoom out to see a larger area.

To remove facilities from a map, click the check mark next to the facility name, and the icons will disappear.

Click the X in the upper right corner of the Layers box to hide it from view.

If several types of facilities are selected to view on a map or image, some categories of facilities may not be visible if you are zoomed far out. For example, if you choose to view all Church facilities in North America, the icons representing some facilities may cover up the icons for meetinghouses.

Information

Location information

Location information is provided by different Church entities. LDS Maps interprets the information as latitude and longitude coordinates and places an icon in the location according to the address. Occasionally, LDS Maps users may find that the mapped location is incorrect. You can click the Feedback link and enter information to correct the location of some Church facilities.

Congregation meeting times and other information

Congregation (ward and branch) meetings and meeting times are provided by the individual congregations. If meetings or meeting times are incorrect, contact congregation leaders and let them know the information is incorrect. The leaders are responsible to correct meetings and meeting times.

Facility balloon

The facility balloon opens when you click on a facility icon or on the number or name in a list of facilities. The balloon contains information about the location of the facility. Other information may also be available, such as hours of operations, leader's name, and so on.

A Driving Directions link is also available in this balloon.

Congregation balloon

A congregation (ward or branch) balloon opens when you click on a congregation icon. One or more congregations may meet in a meetinghouse. A list of congregations may appear on the left side of the map. Information about the congregation(s) includes the name, address, the time of the first meeting, the time of the main worship service (called "sacrament meeting"), and the name and phone number of the congregational leader(s).

Meeting times and schedules are provided to LDS Maps by the local congregation. If this information is incorrect, contact the congregation leader (bishop or branch president) to request corrections.

A Driving Directions link is also available in this balloon.

View driving directions

A Driving Directions link is available in many areas of LDS Maps. Click the link to get directions from a given location to a Church facility. Directions are turn by turn, which means the directions tell you which way to go and when to turn. The route is also identified on the map. Driving directions are provided by the map providers.

If you enter an exact address when searching, or when zooming in to a location, and use the Place marker to identify a specific location, the driving directions will be more accurate. If you just enter the name of a city, the driving directions to a Church facility will likely begin from the city center.

Correcting information

If any of the following information is incorrect, contact the bishop or branch president and give him the correct information or ask him to correct the information:

• Meeting times are wrong.
• The bishop's name or contact information is incorrect.

Ward leader's name or contact information is wrong

If the bishop or branch president's name is not correct, local leaders must change this information in the Member and Leader Services (MLS) software.

Boundary corrections

If ward or branch boundaries are incorrect, the bishop should work with the stake president to correct the boundaries. The stake president is responsible for preparing the documents to change the boundary and then submit the request to the administrative office.

Correct a facility location

If the location of a facility is incorrect, you can help correct it:

1. Click on the facility to open its balloon.
2. Click Move.
3. Click the location on the map where the facility should be located.
4. Click Submit.

Your suggested location remains on your map for your current session, so you can see what feedback you have submitted.

LDS Maps staff will review the information or send the updated information to the group responsible for the location. The responsible group will determine when and how to update the location information.

If you visit LDS Maps again before the LDS Maps staff has reviewed and updated a location, you will not see your suggested changes and the old location will still be shown. It may take several weeks for corrections to be made.

Congregation is shown in the wrong meetinghouse

Click on the meetinghouse icon to view more details, and then click Feedback to submit a correction.

Meetinghouse street address is incorrect

If the meetinghouse appears on the map, but the address or other details are incorrect, click on the facility to view more details, and then click Feedback to submit a correction.

Household locations are wrong on the map

Church members who sign in to LDS Maps and find that their household on the map is in the wrong location can move it to the correct location. To do that:

1. Click on your household icon.
2. Click the Move button.
3. A Set Location box will open on the left side of the map.
4. Click the Start Move button, then move the cursor to the correct location.
5. Click the Submit button.
6. A ward leader will review the changes and confirm the move. Ward leaders have the responsibility to confirm all changes in household location.

Household name, address, or contact information is wrong

Church members must give correct information to a member of the bishopric or branch presidency or a clerk. The leader or clerk will make the appropriate change.

Print

You can print a variety of maps, satellite images, and lists with LDS Maps.

• The general public can print maps and satellite images.
• Church members and leaders can print maps and lists of ward and stake members when they sign in to LDS Maps.

General printing tips

To print maps from LDS Maps:

1. Zoom into the area of the map that you want to print.
2. Click the Options button on the Navigation Controls and select view options and icons you want to view on the map. Note: Priesthood leaders, do not distribute maps that include member location symbols if the member has chosen to hide their personal information or if all member information is hidden because of privacy laws. See Visibility of member information for information about privacy controls.
   
   
   
3. Click the Layers button and select which facilities icons and boundaries you want on the map.
   
   
   
4. Click the Print button at the bottom of the list of households.
   
   
   
5. Select the desired Page Setup, Sort By, Columns, and Text Size options. Make sure the Page Setup selection in the LDS Maps Print window matches the page setup for your browser.

Note: Do not use your browser's print command to print maps and lists. The print quality will be poor. Use only the Print button on the left side of the map at the bottom of the screen.

When you click the Print button, the Print-friendly screen opens. Zoom and pan to select the map you want to print. Icons and information balloons that are visible when you click the print button will appear on the map.

The Page Setup, Display Options, Sort By, Columns, and Text Size options allow you to determine how a map will look when printed. Some options will be available only to Church members who sign in to LDS Maps. They see additional information that can be printed with maps.

LDS Maps and lists are for Church use only. They should not be used for commercial, business, or political purposes.

Other print formats

To print a map in common graphic formats (pdf, jpeg, png, etc.), use your computer operating system tools to take a picture of your computer screen or a portion of it, and then print the picture from your operating system. Below are the titles or common names for screen capture programs for different operating systems. To find how to use these features, click the operating system help button or link, and type in the appropriate screen capture name. Instructions are available in the operating system help file.

• Windows XP: The screen capture capability is called "Screen capture" or "Print screen."
• Windows 7: The screen capture capability is called the "Snipping Tool."
• Apple Macintosh: the screen capture capability is called "Capture screen shots."

Also, there are several free applications available on the Internet that create a PDF of screen captures.