"There's an app for that!"

The Mormon Church is the "Apple" of religions

It’s said that whenever a problem arises at the Silicon Valley-based company, Apple employees quip, "There's an app for that!" And they mean it. In other words, those folks really consider no challenge too daunting, no problem too complicated that it can’t be solved with a downloadable application to an Apple device.

Similarly, the Mormon Church offers solutions to everyday problems.

For instance, a few days ago a 6.1 earthquake hit the Bay Area, which shook us up a bit (literally and figuratively), and yesterday an acquaintance recalled “The Big One” in 1989. Ironically, at the time she was working for Apple Computer (the official name back then) in the Public Relations department. Within an hour of the tremor, she and her boss were horrified to realize the company had no emergency communication plan. Instead, during the pre-cellphone, pre-Internet era, all employees’ contact information was stored on paper files inside the office building, which did no good at all on that fateful October day since the buildings and parking lots were being evacuated as quickly as possible.

You may think dealing with earthquakes and such lies outside the scope of a religion’s teachings. Not so with the Mormon Church. We’ve been taught for decades to be prepared both spiritually and temporally. Specifically, we’re told to store water and food, set aside necessary medications and important documents, and create family evacuation plans. Furthermore, we’re encouraged to lend support and expertise while coordinating emergency plans within our extended communities.

Not long ago, another example of a Mormon “app” surfaced in a conversation when a newly baptized friend of mine told me she needed to return to the workforce. I casually mentioned our Church Employment Centers where she could get help updating her resume, networking, and practicing her interview skills. “Free of charge?” she wondered. Yes, the Mormons have you covered!

And we don’t stop there. About six months ago when my husband and I were buying furniture, the saleswoman told us of her passion for family history work. Unfortunately, in all her research she’d been unable to find records for her maternal grandmother. So, we referred her to our local Family History Center where the volunteers and I helped her locate documents verifying her grandmother’s birthplace and parentage.

Strange as it may seem, members of the Mormon Church are genuinely concerned about employment, emergencies, and genealogy. However, much more important and far more powerful are the Mormon teachings of forgiveness, healing, and eternal families and the application of such eternal doctrines. Have a problem? The Mormons have an “app” for that!

For more information, check out the following:

https://www.lds.org/topics/emergency-preparedness?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/church/employment?lang=eng

https://familysearch.org/

https://www.lds.org/pages/mobileapps/apple?lang=eng

Note: In 2019, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints changed its logo and all its websites to reflect Jesus Christ. So, now the best way to access the church's online resources is through this website: www.churchofjesuschrist.org.