New tool to manage local search listings for meetinghouses
This week the Church announced a change that may help more individuals find their way to local meetinghouses.
When looking for a place to attend church with the help of tools like Google Maps, Siri or Waze, some have found that the Church’s nearly 19,000 meetinghouses can be difficult to find or identify correctly.
Example of the meetinghouse information that can be edited with a new tool announced on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023.
Screenshot from Google Maps
This new tool will enable local management of the address, building description, working phone number and meeting hours. It will also provide better ways to make note of languages spoken or customs observed in specific meetings at each location.
Working phone numbers, meeting hours and answers to questions can all be input with the Church’s new map tool announced Jan. 12, 2023.
Screenshot from Google Maps
In a notice sent Thursday, Jan. 12, to area, mission, stake and district presidencies, bishoprics and branch presidencies, the Church Communication Department said, “We hope this new approach will allow people to more easily find us and join with us in our meetings and activities.”
The tool’s users will have additional abilities to answer questions posed on different mapping platforms as well.
Local Church leaders have flexibility in determining who will be responsible for implementing and maintaining the new tool at their level.
The move comes after two years of pilot efforts in various locations in North America, Europe and the Pacific.
While this new tool will help with search engines and online mapping tools, it will not replace the current Meetinghouse Locator tool found on the Church’s website, as the two tools serve different purposes.
