During official church meetings, leaders communicate official information through announcements over the podium or in the weekly bulletin. They would never think of allowing anyone to come to the podium and announce whatever they wish, church related or otherwise.

However, many leaders have turned the digital podium over to anyone to do or say anything they want. This is not wise. Leaders should control official information and it should be broadcast through appropriate channels.

We Only Need One Master Email List!

Just imagine what a nightmare it is for numerous people to compile their own email lists. They are all collecting the same information and spending inordinate amounts of time doing so. None of the lists will be completely accurate or remain so.

It makes sense to compile one master list for everyone, not a bunch of little ones that only one, or a handful of members, have access to.

With this in mind, all people have to do is create an LDS Account and subscribe to the emails they want via their profile and account settings. As more and more people add and update their profiles, the master email list is created.

It will remain accurate and relevant, no matter how many leadership and other changes there are. People update their own information. No one has to get the information from them and do it for them.

The Church Created it for Church Use, so Use It!

The Church's email system is uniquely set up to make it easy to communicate with members about all sorts of things.

Some people do not use email, you say. So what! Communicate with those who do and reach the others in more traditional ways.

Email reaches more people much faster than any other correspondence tool we have.

The Church's Email System Complies With Law

Privacy and other laws, like spamming, apply to email correspondence. The Church has structured its email system to comply with all these laws and has its own privacy procedures.

For example, one federal law in the United States requires every email recipient to be able to digitally unsubscribe themselves from any list, via instructions on the bottom of every email message. The Church's system provides for this by adding a footer to every email sent out through its system. Private email lists compiled by members or leaders do not.

Use the Church's email system and you will not end up violating any laws.

How Leaders Should Send Email

Any local leader and any local clerk has access to the leadership email system. Log in to your LDS Account and the Leader and Clerk Resources page appears. Look across the top for "Send A Message" and click on it. Members can view what the leader portal looks like.

You can send a message to any category of leader or member you want. Simply select one like the  Elders Quorum presidency or Relief Society members. The system creates an email with all email addresses blind copied. All you have to do is type in your message and click send. The system tells the recipients who the email is from and how they can opt out via a footer added to each email on the bottom of the message.

Members Control What Information They Receive

Members can make their email address, as well as other personal information, invisible to other members by selecting these options on their profile and account settings.

However, they can still receive emails from leaders through the system, even though their email address is not visible to others. For this reason, emails with official information should go out through this system, rather than the one the members have access to.

People who are inactive can remove their email address and information from view, but still access all the tools themselves and receive or discontinue any emails they want!

How Members Should Send Emails

Any member using their local Directory can look for a button that reads "Email [Insert Name/Group]" and it will list all the emails suitable for copying and pasting into your own personal email message.

However, people who have removed their email addresses from view cannot receive these messages, because they have chosen to hide their email address from other members.

For this reason, members should request that official messages should go out via a local church leader or clerk, to insure all are included or else all who wish to be.

Leaders Should Learn it and Use It!

If you are not a convert yet of the Church's email system on the LDS.org tools, it is time to learn it and start using it. If you do not, you are bypassing a phenomenal tool that can only help accomplish the Lord's work better and faster!

The only person that benefits from a private email list is the member that created it. The only purpose it serves is a selfish one. It actually prevents the Church from emailing its own members, because it bypasses the official system.

Church purposes are better served by using the Church's email system. It may take some learning, but it is well worth it.