A Beginner's Guide For Gospel Library App

Gospel Library is the application designed for Android, Windows Phone, and iOS platforms. It is the gospel learning app of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here users can find all the information related to the church’s activity and the gospel guides. The materials include music, learning manuals, information about conferences, scriptures, videos, gospel arts, and much more. In this article, we want to help you to figure out the app’s functionality and capabilities. The guide includes the answers to the most popular “How to” questions about the Gospel Library app. Let’s start!

How to Install the Application? 

Gospel Library is available on Google Play and Apple Store for Android and iOS platforms, respectively. You can download and install it for free. Not so long ago, the developers released the version for Windows Phone. So, you can get it on Microsoft Store too. 

Google Play: Android Version

To install the Gospel Library app on the Android device, you can find it in the Books & Reference category or just type ‘Gospel Library’ in the search bar. Then, push the button ‘Install’. Wait for a couple of minutes while the application is downloaded on the mobile phone. That’s all! Now you can open Gospel Library and go to the next section. 

Apple Store: iOS Version

A curious fact, Gospel Library is ranked #28 in the Reference category. The actions for installing the application on the iOS device are very similar to those described for Android. Follow these steps:

• Open Apple Store;
• Search the Gospel Library app with the black icon and white angel Moroni depicted on it;
• Press the blue button with a cloud and arrow. Wait for a minute. Once you see ‘Open’ instead of this icon, the application was installed. 

Microsoft Store: Windows Phone

The steps are very similar to those described in iOS and Android versions:

• Open Microsoft Store; 
• Find the Gospel Library app; 
• Tap the ‘Get’ button and wait until it loads. 

That’s all! Now that we are confident that the application is installed on your mobile device, let's move on. In the next section, we will tell you about basic navigation.

How the Navigation in the Gospel Library App Works?

We like this application because it uses a simple and intuitive interface. It also contains a large number of tips to help you quickly and easily deal with navigation. For example, when you open the application for the first time after downloading or updating, Gospel Library automatically shows you new features, as well as how they work. Of course, at any time, you can click ‘Skip’. 

The first and the main screen you will see it is the Main Library, which consists of the grid of images for all sections. Each section contains the collection of books. For example, by tapping on the Scriptures image, you will find different guides and tutorials that can help you to understand Scriptures. Other sections:

• Come, Follow Me;
• General Conference;
• Notes;
• Study Plans;
• Music, and so on. 

Imagine, you choose the first section — Scriptures. Then, you will see a number of different books. Click on the item you want to read. Let it be Book of Mormon. Now, you can choose a specific chapter. In our example, you can click Alma and 37. This will take you the Alma, chapter 37. Users can always return back to the previous section. For this, find and tap the ‘Back’ button that looks like the arrow directed to the left in the top left corner. 

If you want to back to the Main Library, there is another, faster way to return. Tap the title at the top. This action will display a drop-down navigation menu where you can press the Main Library and return to the home screen. Moreover, the application automatically remembers where users were so they can pick up where they left off. 

How to Read the Content?

The Gospel Library app provides you with a wide range of functionality aimed to simplify the reading and understanding processes. Suppose, we open Alma 37 chapter that is in Book of Mormon. 

Throughout the chapter, you can see the footnotes appear in blue. If you tap on one of them, a related content bar will open. Here you can see a full list of all footnotes available for this chapter. If you use the application on the devices with large screens, for example, iPad, the sidebar is pinned open, hence, you can see the whole content side by side. On the bottom of the page, there are page numbers in the right margin. By default, the content is not displayed in a full-screen mode, but you can switch it. For this, just do a double-tap near the middle of the screen. To exit, double-tap again. Also, swiping sideways from the middle of the window to the right or left goes to the previous or next chapter, respectively. 

How to Play Audio and Video Files?

As we mentioned above, a lot of materials in the application are audio and video files. Similar to books, the developers added a lot of functionality to work with such type of files. Let’s explore them more closely. 

Not all files have the audio representation. To check whether a defined chapter or audio has it, look at the bottom right corner. If you notice the floating audio button, so this file is available in audio, otherwise, no. Tapping this button, you can open the audio player. It is very similar to almost all players. In the middle, there is a play/pause button. If you want to close the player, press the ‘Close’ button on the top of the screen. Around the play/pause button, you can notice the options that allow you to jump 10 seconds backward or forward. Similar to articles, Google Library remembers where you stopped listening to file. Hence, you can always resume listening from where you left off. 

Commonly, video files have conference talks or interviews. Only several chapters have such types of files. To play a video, tap the ‘Play’ button in the bottom left corner of the video thumbnail. 

This is Only a Beginning … 

The Gospel Library app has a lot of useful functionality. For example, if you do not know in which section you can find the book, you can just tap the ‘Search’ button at the bottom of the screen that opens the search panel. Also, you can use the application on the different devices, and your information will be synchronized among them due to the LDS Gospel Library feature. What are the most unusual options you’ve found in the app? Share with us in the comments below.