Last summer, I had the opportunity to jump on an inflated rubber tube and float down a river. It was fun to be out in the cold water with my wife and friends on a hot day.
The water level in the river was high enough for smooth sailing, but not so high that we were bounced back.
Halfway down the river, I pulled my phone out of my zipped pocket. I took a few pictures and then handed the phone back. After a few minutes I took it out and shot a quick video of us.
My confidence grew too quickly.
One last time, I pulled out my phone to take some more photos and videos of us meandering down the calm river. There were no steep hills or steep descents, so I felt confident that I could hold my phone in my hand.
At one point the current turned me around and I was slowly flowing backwards down the river. This gave me a chance to see this adventure from a different angle.
Unfortunately, these photos and videos cannot be shared.
As I floated backwards closer to the river bank, overhanging branches politely pointed my cellphone at the rocks and water below.
I jumped out of the tube and immediately started searching the riverbed. My wife and friends also tried it. It was no use. My phone has stopped working.
The photos and videos taken that night were lost, but some of the most important data on the phone was not.
I’m logged into the Gospel Library app, so all my highlights, annotations, tags, and notebooks are synced with my church’s servers. Users can take advantage of all these features without logging in, but their efforts are wasted when they encounter an overhanging branch along the river.
I still have the first scripture my parents gave me when I was baptized. I have a set that I used in seminary. And I have both the English and Spanish sets I studied during my mission. I would be heartbroken if I lost any of them.
Similarly, it would be sad to lose the notes you studied in the Gospel Library.
Regular scripture study is part of what President Dallin H. Oaks called a “basic spiritual maintenance plan,” which also includes personal prayer and frequent repentance (see the April 2025 general conference message entitled “Divine Help for Mortality”).
It is a great blessing to be able to create your own links from one verse of a general conference message to the next, or from a verse to a line.
The app uses tags to manage your own personalized list of study topics, such as the name of the Savior, counsel to parents, and promises to those who keep the commandments.
I also save the notes I created for calls and as a diary of my impressions in the app.
Nowadays, I also like that I can track my own learning for consecutive days. It’s a good reminder for me to try my best to study a little bit every day. This streak is something only I see, and it may not be such an amazing total to some people. For me, it’s just a useful reminder.
Being logged in also means that you have instant access to the hymns sung each Sunday in your ward’s sacrament meeting. The ward music coordinator selects the hymns and everyone in the ward knows what we will be singing. Clicking on a title will open the Gospel Library and play that hymn. that’s great.
The elders quorum president selects the lessons, and all elders can view them. There’s no need to maintain large group texts or outdated email lists. The same goes for Relief Societies. Also, if you forgot for a week or want to remember something you studied together a few months ago, you can check the history of the messages you studied.
My Patriarchal Blessing is also available on the app.
You can also create your own music playlists in the Gospel Library app, which has been around for a few months now. In December, I made a song using my favorite Christmas songs. I have another favorite song from the youth-themed albums over the years.
When I log in with the app, I know that no matter what river swallows my phone in the future, I’ll be able to continue what I’m learning for years to come. This way, when you are logged in, you can continue your efforts to study and learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ every day.
— John Ryan Jensen is the editor of Church News.
