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Congratulations on having a missionary in the field! Their mission will be an awesome experience for you and your family. . . .

My Mission helps LDS missionaries organize and share their favorite missionary pictures, stories and experiences with their family and friends back home.

It's very easy to use once you understand how it works. You will really enjoy having all of your missionary pictures, emails and stories organized in an App on the phone in your pocket and on the Web. When their mission is finished, you can also just hit the "Print" button to print a very nice set of Mission Books.

Objective

My Mission helps missionary parents organize and manage all the pictures and emails, etc. that their children send home from their mission.

How it Works

The basic concept is simple, you just (1) add the photos and emails, etc. that they send home to a database, and then (2) share the items that you like most with your family and friends. Everything that you add is confidential and you choose what to share.


Step 1: Create Your Own Account
People who are new to My Mission should (1) go to the website (www.MyMission.com), (2) click the "Login" link in the top-right corner, (3) click the "Create an Account" link in the popup, and (4) follow the instructions to fill in the form.


Step 2: Create an Account for Your Missionary
Next create a "missionary account" for your missionary. To do this, just (1) go to the My Mission website (www.MyMission.com), (2) click the "Login" link in the top-right corner to login, (3) use the "Missionary" menu at the top to select the "Add a Missionary" option, and then (4) just fill in the form. This will create a new missionary account that YOU manage and control.


Step 3: Missionary Account Organization
Next, go to your Missionary's home page. . . . My Mission automatically sets up a custom home page and several special content pages for each missionary. You can find your missionary's home page by either (1) logging in, going to the MyMission.com home page (www.MyMission.com) and clicking the Missionary's name (a link 1/2 down the page on the right), or by (2) using the "Missionaries" menu at the top to select the "Browse Missionaries," option and then finding and clicking their name in the directory of missionaries.

The organization of your Missionary's website is very simple:

Menu – The menu on the left gives you access to every page.

Pages – Pages on the right display the content (photos and emails) that your missionary sends home.

Missionary Admin – "Missionary Admin" (the last or bottom option in the left menu) is very IMPORTANT. It gives you full access to control everything in your missionary's account. Only users who have "Missionary Admin" rights can see and access the Missionary Admin pages.

Step 4: Adding Content
We provide 3 quick and easy ways for missionaries or Missionary Admins (parents) to add content (photos, emails, etc.).

InContext Editing – My favorite way to add content is to use the blue "+Add" buttons located at the top-right of each page. So, for example, on the Letters page, there is a "+Letter" (Add Letter) button on the right. On the Pictures page, there is an "+Photos" (Add Photos) button on the right. ONLY users with "Missionary Admin" rights can see these "+Add" buttons. Other people visiting your missionary's website will not. All you do to add letters, pictures, etc. is (1) go to the page, (2) click the blue +Add button on the right, and (3) fill in the form and click Submit.

Missionary Admin – The Missionary Admin page ALSO includes duplicate ways for you to add content. Only "Missionary Admins" (users with special rights) will see the Missionary Admin menu option in the left menu and can access the Missionary Admin page. The Missionary Admin page is a control panel that gives you full control of EVERYTHING in your missionary's account. You can add and edit any content, and you also have full access to a full range of settings that control how your missionary's website works.

Automatically Loaded Via Email – Sending emails to your missionary's website is BY FAR the easiest way to add content. Every missionary is given a private My Mission email address. The easiest way to add pictures and emails it to send them to their private My Mission email address. For example, whenever I send an email to our missionary, I ALSO "cc" (copy) private My Mission email address. Whenever they send emails or pictures home, they "cc" the private My Mission email address too. These pcitures and emails are all the automatically processed and added to their account. (See "AutoPost Emails" below for information about this option.)


Step 5: Let's Get Started
Let's get started. . . . I encourage every Missionary Admin (missionary or their parents), to do 4 specific things first:

Home Page – The first thing everyone wants to do is add their mission call information and missionary picture to the home page. This is easy . . . just (1) click "Home" in the left menu to go to your missionary's Home page. Then (2) click the blue "Edit" button on the right and (3) fill in the form. Upload your favorite missionary picture where it says "Missionary Photo" by clicking the "Choose File" button. Remember to click the "Submit" button at the bottom of this form to save your changes.

Add Photos – Let's add some pictures. . . . (1) click "Pictures" in the left menu to go to the Pictures page. Then (2) click the blue "+Photos" button on the right. When the "Add Photos" page comes up, (3) click the "Select Photos" button to upload your pictures. Several pictures can be upload at the same time. After your pictures are upload and saved, (4) on the Pictures page click any small photo to a large picture popup, then (5) click the small blue "Edit" button (at the bottom-right of the large picture) to add/edit the descriptive information about each picture.

Print Photo Albums: After you've loaded a few pictures, try printing your own Missionary Photo Album to see how easy that is. On the Pictures page, just click the blue "PDF" print button in the top-right. The system will create a nice missionary Photo Album in PDF format ready to print.

Add Emails – Let's add some emails (or letters). . . . (1) click "Letters" in the left menu to go to the Letters page. Then (2) click the blue "+Letter" on the right. When the "Add Letter" page comes up, (3) copy and paste the contents of your letter to the "Letter" field and fill out the form. Attach pictures to your letters by clicking the "Attach Photos" button in this form. Always save your work by clicking the blue Submit button at the bottom of the page.

Print Mission Books: After you've loaded a few letters and pictures, try printing your own Mission Book to see how easy that is. On the Letters page, just click the blue "PDF" print button in the top-right. The system will create a nice Mission Book in PDF format organized with a Table of Contents and page numbers ready to print.

AutoPost Emails – Now that you're an experienced user, let's use "AutoPost Emails" to automatically add pictures and emails for you. . . . (1) click "Missionary Admin" in the left menu to go to the Missionary Admin page. (Only Missionary Admins can see this page. It gives you full control of your Missionary's account.) (2) Click the blue "Automation" button to see the Automation sub-menu. (3) Click "More" button to open AutoPost Emails and find the private My Mission email address created for your missionary. Send any email to this private My Mission email address and it will automatically be processed and loaded into your missionary account. Finally, after you've sent (or forwarded) some emails to this private My Mission email address, ruturn to this Missionary Admin >> Automation (button), >> AutoPost Emails (feature) and click the "Process Email Now" button to force My Mission to process and load your emails. Check to make sure that your pictures and emails were processed and loaded correctly by looking at their respective pages.

Experienced missionaries and parents will always use the "cc" (carbon copy) in their weekly emails to send their email to their missionary's private My Mission email address and use the system to automatically load their letters and pictures.
That's it! Now you have it! You're an experienced user!

All of the other pages in your missionary's website work the same. So now you know how to add content to any page. Please try to add the content you like to each page now. Good luck!

Your mission is VERY important! We want My Mission to work perfectly for you. Please contact us immediately if you have any questions or concerns.

We recommend that all missionaries setup an account and start using My Mission and our Called to Serve mobile app just as soon as they get their call.

• Your Mission – Our Called to Serve app in particular has pictures and maps of your mission. It also has a Counter that will countdown the days, hours, minutes and seconds until you leave. This app is fun for the missionary to download and share with their friends before they leave.


• Loading Pictures – Many missionaries start uploading pictures before they leave. They usually load pictures of (1) their family and friends, (2) opening their mission call, (3) shopping, (4) going to the temple for the first time, (5) getting their missionary haircut, (5) speaking in church, (6) their open house, (7) saying goodbye at the airport, etc., etc. Many missionary Photo Albums start with a pre-mission chapter (i.e. "Pre-Mission, {City, State}") that show who the missionary was before they left for their mission.


• Tell Your Friends   You can also help your family and friends download the Called to Serve app and load it on their phones. By sharing the app BEFORE you leave, everyone will be setup and can begin following your mission.


• AutoPost Email Address   Make sure that your missionary and parents know their AutoPost Email address and test it before they leave. You should try sending one or two emails to this address before they leave (these emails can then be deleted). This way everyone will know how this feature works and can use it correctly from day one.

By using the Called to Serve app BEFORE you leave will get everyone off to a great start and you will hit the ground running.

The first thing everyone wants to do is add their missionary picture and mission call information and to the home page. This is easy . . . just (1) click "Home" in the left-menu to go to your missionary's Home page. Then (2) click the blue "Edit" button on the right and (3) fill in the form. Upload your favorite missionary picture where it says "Missionary Photo" by clicking the "Choose File" button. Remember to click the "Submit" button at the bottom to save your changes.

To add letters (or emails) simply (1) click "Letters" in the left-menu to go to the Letters page. Then (2) click the yellow "+ Letter" (Add Letter) button on the right. When the "Add Letter" page appears, (3) copy and paste the contents of your letter to the "Letter" field and fill out the form. Attach pictures to your letters by clicking the "Attach Photos" button in this form. Always save your work by clicking the blue Submit button at the bottom of the page.

Post Letters to Facebook

Yes, you can post missionary letters to Facebook! In fact, with just one click you can post your missionary's letters to multiple Facebook accounts! (For example, you can post your missionary's letters to (1) your own Facebook account, (2) your spouse's Facebook account, (3) your missionary's Facebook account, (4) other sibling's Facebook accounts and (5) even their grandparent's Facebook accounts all with just ONE click.)

Post Letters to Facebook from the "Edit Letter" Page

Use the Edit Letter page to post letters to Facebook. In the lower part of the Edit Letter page, you will find the Facebook checkbox. When you check this box, the list of Facebook accounts associated to this missionary will be displayed. If your own account is not listed, you will see a button to let you link your Facebook account and add it to the list. There is an Edit button that takes you to the Missionary Admin > Share page where you can manage the list of Facebook accounts linked to the missionary.

At the letter edit page, when you select to post to Facebook, you see the list of Facebook accounts to which you can post the letter. There are buttons to turn each of the accounts On and Off, so as to post only to the desired accounts. The post will contain: the main letter picture, if any, otherwise the missionary profile picture; the text you type in the Summary box and a link to the letter.

After you've loaded a few letters and pictures, try printing your own Mission Book to see how easy this is. On the Letters page, just click the blue "Print" button in the top-right. The system will create a nice Mission Book in PDF format organized chronologically with a Table of Contents and page numbers ready to print.

After you've loaded a few pictures, try printing your own missionary "Photo Album" to see how easy this is. On the Pictures page, just click the blue "Print" button in the top-right. The system will automatically create a very nice missionary Photo Album in PDF format ready to print.

To add pictures, first (1) click "Pictures" in the left-menu to go to the Pictures page. Then (2) click the yellow "+ Photos" button on the right. When the "Add Photos" page comes up, (3) click the "Select Photos" button to upload your pictures. Several pictures can be upload at the same time.

After your pictures are loaded, (4) on the Pictures page click any photo to open a large picture popup, then (5) click the small blue "Edit" button (at the center-right of the large picture) to add/edit the descriptive information about each picture.

All My Mission pages work the same, you (1) click the page you’d like to work on in the left-column menu, and then (2) click the “Add” or “Edit” button on the right to work on that page. (For Maps, the right button is actually named “Pins” and it allows you to add pins (or locations) to the Map.) You can add a Pin for each area your son serves.

Our Map pages uses Google Maps and are extremely accurate. When you see pin in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (by Africa) that is where the equator (0° latitude) and the prime meridian (0° longitude) intersect. That means Google Maps returned nothing (a null value) because it had no address.

The trick here is that you MUST fill in both the (1) Name AND the (2) Address for every Pin. The Name can be anything, that field is the name you want to call this location. However, the Address must be included. The Address field is what Google uses to place the pin. Always enter all of the Address you know. If you only know the city and country, that’s fine, just use those. Google will place the pin in the middle of whatever address you use. (If you only put the city and country, the Pin will be placed in the middle of the city.)

Mobile Apps
Your My Mission account will also let you login to either of our mobile apps, (1) My Mission, or (2) our totally new Missionary Display:

Apple App Store (iPhones and iPads)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-mission-lds/id921028798
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/missionary-display-lds/id986154900

Google Play (Android smartphones and tablets)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appdevelopers.mymission
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.AppDevelopers.MissionaryDisplay

Our “My Mission” app helps LDS missionaries organize and share their favorite missionary pictures, stories, and experiences with their family and friends. (You can follow unlimited missionaries, but you view them one at a time.)

Our new “Missionary Display” app is designed to help LDS families organize and share their collective missionary experiences. (It works great for large groups including Families, Stakes, Wards and Seminaries.)

Last year our “My Mission” mobile app won two awards at LDSTECH, including (1) the "People’s Choice" award, and (2) 3rd Place in the "Family" division, in the LDS Church’s first ever “Gospel App & Game Contest” (see flyer attached). This year, our NEW “Missionary Display” app is even better, so we’re very excited to see if it wins anything. (We’ll find out this Thursday if it wins any awards.)