Feedback from Gospel Library app users has led to a new update that makes searching for inspirational resources easier than ever.
“Our app team has been working hard this year to deliver an improved search experience,” said product manager Rob Jex. “We invite you to try this new experience to help you find what you’re looking for more easily.”
Improvements
Here are some of the improvements the Church has made to the search function:
Searches All Content
The Gospel Library app previously searched only downloaded content, but now it searches all Gospel Library content. This means that older general conference talks, magazine articles and videos will be included in your search results.
Includes Better Filters
Search results can be narrowed down by speaker, topic, date, content collection and other useful filters.
Let’s say you remember that Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf has shared analogies about airplanes in several of his talks and you want to review them, but you don’t remember which talks. You can type in “airplane” as your keyword and narrow your search results to “general conference” as the content collection and “Dieter F. Uchtdorf” as the speaker. This will return the 10 general conference talks where Elder Uchtdorf spoke about airplanes.
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The newest version of the Gospel Library app lets you narrow your search by speaker, topic, date, content collection and other useful features. For example, you could type in “airplanes” as your keyword and narrow your search results to “general conference” and “Dieter F. Uchtdorf” to find the 10 talks where Elder Uchtdorf spoke about airplanes. 2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Provides Better Search Suggestions
In the Gospel Library search bar, you can quickly navigate to a verse or hymn by typing abbreviated scripture references or hymn numbers. For example, typing “ne37” provides a shortcut to 1 Nephi 3:7.
You can also find shortcuts to entries in Gospel Topics and Guide to the Scriptures.
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In the Gospel Library search bar, you can quickly navigate to a verse by typing abbreviated scripture references. For example, typing "ne37" provides a shortcut to 1 Nephi 3:7. 2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Uses Improved Sorting Options
Search results can now be rearranged more easily using the “Sort by” feature. Instead of only being sorted by relevance, you can now view results using the “Sort by Most Recent” option to find the most recent content. You can also use the “Sort by Book” option to find scriptures arranged in the order they appear in the Standard Works.
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Search results can now be rearranged more easily using the “Sort by” feature. Instead of only being sorted by relevance, you can now view content using the “Sort by Most Recent” and “Sort by Book” features. 2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Provides Faster Results
Search results will now appear much faster than in previous versions.
Why These Improvements Matter
These improvements can help you find resources much more quickly and effectively than in past versions of the app, whether you’re using it for your personal study, sharing a resource with a friend or preparing to give a talk or lesson.
“These continuing improvements to the Gospel Library app search experience will help users find more quickly and precisely the content they seek,” said Elder Randy D. Funk, General Authority Seventy. “With such an abundance of inspired and inspiring resources in the Gospel Library, our desire is that users are able to easily access it to learn, teach and share with others.”
What’s Next
According to Jex, more search improvements are in the works. Future versions of the app will include support for misspellings and related words, suggestions based on search trends and more visual results for videos and images. Other updates will improve search results based on relevant scriptures that may not contain the keywords but match the intent behind the search.
A customizable home screen is also being planned where you will be able to see the sacrament meeting hymns and general conference messages to be sung or discussed during the current week in your ward. How-to video tutorials and notifications options for featured content in the Home section will also be added soon.
“We welcome members’ feedback about these improvements and future ideas for improving search and other aspects of the app,” said Jex. “Recognizing that members study in many different ways, we ultimately want Gospel Library to enable members to regularly have inspiring and revelatory experiences with the word of God.”
You can submit your feedback through the “Help” section in the app. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the app, select “Help,” then click “Send Feedback.”