President Smith
Dear friends.
The long-awaited time has come. We need to get smart phones right away!
Below is the email we are sending to your parents and priesthood leaders. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY and follow the instructions. There are a few of you whose parents have expressed that they are not able to afford a phone at present. We will take care of you!
For everyone: DO NOT SET UPMTHE PHONE until we schedule that with you. We all need to be set up by Zone Conferences which begin on Feb. 9. Details to come. You may charge your new phone when you receive it, but that is all.
The document referenced in the letter below, as well as a lot of other training and information, is now on your portal. Please study all of it between now and your zone conferences.
Questions?
Contact me, the Office Elders or the Assistants.
This is a going to be a great way to enhance our efforts to Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts. Please always remember that is the reason we have these devices.
We love you so! Pres forward.
Much love,
President Smith
Dear Parents and Leaders,
We are excited to roll out smartphones to our missionaries. There are two primary objectives with this initiative: First, we want to enable our young missionaries to become wise stewards for how they use and apply technology for the rest of their lives, and second, this tool will allow us to share the good news of the gospel and more broadly and effectively than ever before.
Our missionaries have been preparing by studying Safeguards for Using Technology and have also received online instruction on how they are to use the devices. We are focused on helping the missionaries remember their purpose of inviting and helping all come unto Christ and we have high expectations for how they will use and take care of this important resource.
As these devices will be owned by the missionaries, the family is responsible to purchase a device for use in-field. The mission will cover the expense of the service charges and data plan. The mission and the Church will be supplying phones only for the following: Missionaries who are going home on or before May 3, and those from countries other than the US and Canada. Those phones will belong to the mission and will remain here when they leave.
For all others, you will need to purchase a phone and arrange for it to be sent to your missionary in the next two weeks.
We understand and appreciate that some families have expressed concern about the cost. Please don't worry about that! We have also had several offers from generous parents to purchase extra phones. (If you are one of those, please go ahead and purchase the additional phone and have it sent to the mission office. Let me know, and we will watch for them and share them with our missionaries. Thank you!!)
The instructions we have received from the Church to purchase a device follow. Detailed instructions are also in the attached document. Please strictly follow these guidelines.
Approved Smartphones
The Samsung Galaxy J, A, S, and Note series are the only smartphones approved for young missionaries. The smartphones must meet the following requirements:
· Runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system or higher (this can be verified in the product description or in the About Device section of the smartphone’s settings)
· Is unlocked to work with any GSM carrier (you cannot purchase a phone from AT&T, Verizon, TMobile unless it is specified as unlocked)
· Has at least 16GB internal storage
· If the missionary already owns an unlocked Samsung phone as described above, it can be used instead of a new purchase.
· The missionaries are not authorized to use any smartphone that does not meet the requirements listed above. Do not purchase a tablet.
Highly Recommended Accessories/Services
· *Protective case
· *Screen protector
· *MicroSD memory card (32GB or higher)
· Warranty Service (for loss, theft, or breakage)
*can be purchased in-field if desired
There are two options to consider for ordering your missionaries’ smartphone… You can order from www.insight.com/missionarysmartphone at a negotiated price (2 phone options available with all the recommended accessories/services available), or you can purchase from other local or online stores. New phone prices generally begin at approximately $140 US dollars. A google search for any of the specified unlocked Samsung devices above will also return a number of options for you to consider. You may want to communicate and counsel with your missionary on their preparation day regarding your budget and how you want to proceed.
Additional Details
The mission pays the cost of the service and data plan. Each area will have one active SIM card that will serve as the primary phone number. Missionaries will share the data plan by enabling the hotspot option on the active phone.
The Church has created proselyting resources that will enable the missionaries to become more effective and efficient in their efforts. Facebook and other social media tools will be made available to them, but strictly for missionary oriented activities.
The missionary is 100% responsible for the care and protection of their mobile device. If they lose or break their phone, the mission will not have any responsibility to replace it for them.
If the missionary abuses or misuses their phone, the mission president has the discretion to suspend use of the phone until they are able to demonstrate the ability to use it wisely and effectively.
The missionary will own their device and will take it home with them as they return from their mission.
Timeline and Next Steps
We would like to do a mission wide launch of the new smartphones February 9-23. For pre-MTC missionaries, if they have enough time, we recommend that they purchase and set up their smartphones before they go into the MTC. (We have attached "Acquire and Set Up a Missionary Smartphone" to help you complete this.) For all other missionaries, we would ask that you purchase and send your missionary's smartphone directly to your missionary so that it will arrive no later than Friday, February 2, 2018.
We are excited to use these wonderful technologies to further the Lord’s work. We know your missionary will develop patterns and habits with these important tools that will bless them for the rest of their lives. If you have any questions, please let me know and we will respond to you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your support, sacrifice, and willingness to let us care for, love, and serve your amazing sons and daughters.
The long-awaited time has come. We need to get smart phones right away!
Below is the email we are sending to your parents and priesthood leaders. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY and follow the instructions. There are a few of you whose parents have expressed that they are not able to afford a phone at present. We will take care of you!
For everyone: DO NOT SET UPMTHE PHONE until we schedule that with you. We all need to be set up by Zone Conferences which begin on Feb. 9. Details to come. You may charge your new phone when you receive it, but that is all.
The document referenced in the letter below, as well as a lot of other training and information, is now on your portal. Please study all of it between now and your zone conferences.
Questions?
Contact me, the Office Elders or the Assistants.
This is a going to be a great way to enhance our efforts to Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts. Please always remember that is the reason we have these devices.
We love you so! Pres forward.
Much love,
President Smith
Dear Parents and Leaders,
We are excited to roll out smartphones to our missionaries. There are two primary objectives with this initiative: First, we want to enable our young missionaries to become wise stewards for how they use and apply technology for the rest of their lives, and second, this tool will allow us to share the good news of the gospel and more broadly and effectively than ever before.
Our missionaries have been preparing by studying Safeguards for Using Technology and have also received online instruction on how they are to use the devices. We are focused on helping the missionaries remember their purpose of inviting and helping all come unto Christ and we have high expectations for how they will use and take care of this important resource.
As these devices will be owned by the missionaries, the family is responsible to purchase a device for use in-field. The mission will cover the expense of the service charges and data plan. The mission and the Church will be supplying phones only for the following: Missionaries who are going home on or before May 3, and those from countries other than the US and Canada. Those phones will belong to the mission and will remain here when they leave.
For all others, you will need to purchase a phone and arrange for it to be sent to your missionary in the next two weeks.
We understand and appreciate that some families have expressed concern about the cost. Please don't worry about that! We have also had several offers from generous parents to purchase extra phones. (If you are one of those, please go ahead and purchase the additional phone and have it sent to the mission office. Let me know, and we will watch for them and share them with our missionaries. Thank you!!)
The instructions we have received from the Church to purchase a device follow. Detailed instructions are also in the attached document. Please strictly follow these guidelines.
Approved Smartphones
The Samsung Galaxy J, A, S, and Note series are the only smartphones approved for young missionaries. The smartphones must meet the following requirements:
· Runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system or higher (this can be verified in the product description or in the About Device section of the smartphone’s settings)
· Is unlocked to work with any GSM carrier (you cannot purchase a phone from AT&T, Verizon, TMobile unless it is specified as unlocked)
· Has at least 16GB internal storage
· If the missionary already owns an unlocked Samsung phone as described above, it can be used instead of a new purchase.
· The missionaries are not authorized to use any smartphone that does not meet the requirements listed above. Do not purchase a tablet.
Highly Recommended Accessories/Services
· *Protective case
· *Screen protector
· *MicroSD memory card (32GB or higher)
· Warranty Service (for loss, theft, or breakage)
*can be purchased in-field if desired
There are two options to consider for ordering your missionaries’ smartphone… You can order from www.insight.com/
Additional Details
The mission pays the cost of the service and data plan. Each area will have one active SIM card that will serve as the primary phone number. Missionaries will share the data plan by enabling the hotspot option on the active phone.
The Church has created proselyting resources that will enable the missionaries to become more effective and efficient in their efforts. Facebook and other social media tools will be made available to them, but strictly for missionary oriented activities.
The missionary is 100% responsible for the care and protection of their mobile device. If they lose or break their phone, the mission will not have any responsibility to replace it for them.
If the missionary abuses or misuses their phone, the mission president has the discretion to suspend use of the phone until they are able to demonstrate the ability to use it wisely and effectively.
The missionary will own their device and will take it home with them as they return from their mission.
Timeline and Next Steps
We would like to do a mission wide launch of the new smartphones February 9-23. For pre-MTC missionaries, if they have enough time, we recommend that they purchase and set up their smartphones before they go into the MTC. (We have attached "Acquire and Set Up a Missionary Smartphone" to help you complete this.) For all other missionaries, we would ask that you purchase and send your missionary's smartphone directly to your missionary so that it will arrive no later than Friday, February 2, 2018.
We are excited to use these wonderful technologies to further the Lord’s work. We know your missionary will develop patterns and habits with these important tools that will bless them for the rest of their lives. If you have any questions, please let me know and we will respond to you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your support, sacrifice, and willingness to let us care for, love, and serve your amazing sons and daughters.
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