Member Tools Reviews

TIRED of having to actually delete MemberTools every time I want to sync. Across multiple of my devices, then there’s the older folks in the ward who think they’re doing something wrong because it give them the message about syncing or you’ll get logged out, but then says it can’t sync and eventually becomes worthless. Amazing that deleting and re-installing IMMEDIATELY allows syncing again (for a while). It’s like working on Windows (except I don’t have to reinstall iOS).

When it works, it’s a great time saver compared to the church website (which is non-standards compliant and fails all over the leader tools section if you don’t use Chrome — but doesn’t tell you that: just seems like it doesn’t work). Anyway. Good idea, but something fundamentally wrong with MemberTools.

iOS 14.5.1 - app wanted to update all the time and would always fail but I could still use it after it failed - finally I chose to log out in effort to obtain a successful update but then it still failed and now I can no longer access member information because now it fails back to the log on screen. I have also deleted and reinstalled it several times trying to get a clean start but same behavior - I can no longer use MemberTools because it will not update. It authenticates me then stops at 1/4 or almost 1/2 of the update circle then hangs and never finishes. Sometimes it advances to almost 1/2 then after a minute or so will rewind the spinner and start over but then only get 1/4 the way and hang again - Updating…

I removed MemberTools from my phone months ago, and every so often (once a month?) I try redownloading it to see if the issues have been fixed. Not a chance. I am not able to download/sync my data/properly sign in regardless of how often I uninstall and reinstall MemberTools. It just stays stuck on the “updating” wheel. On the random occasions it does sign in (when whichever stars seem to be aligned), it refuses to remain signed in and/or doesn’t let me navigate away from the “Updates” page to access my actual information. I think the last time I was actually able to access my ward info from MemberTools was maybe... June or July? I’ve kinda given up on MemberTools . Maybe one day they’ll fix it, but in the meantime I have been using the church website’s Ward/Stake portal to get ministering and committee information—which is a lot worse in terms of design and UX, and is a headache to use, but at least it LOADS.

Around the beginning of 2020 MemberTools stopped working. Occasionally I will be able to use it briefly before it starts “updating,” & seizes up. I’ve done everything—restarting MemberTools , deleting & reinstalling MemberTools , & even deleting it from settings. Nothing works. Since I have a leadership position this is really inconvenient.

It seems to me like the church’s tech was great until the end of 2019. Then it was like they were too ambitious & trying to change everything at once. Websites & content that I used before couldn’t be found, apps (including Tools) weren't navigable & crashed, & I’ve even been disappointed with the Gospel Living app. It hasn’t delivered on promises. Perhaps covid has complicated everything? Maybe my 6S+ is too old to smoothly install the updates? I’m not sure. 😟

MemberTools definitely provides all the functionality it promises, under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, despite having enabled automatic updates and allowed MemberTools to update while wifi is off, MemberTools will not update, not even manually. I just get an eternally spinning progress wheel. This shouldn’t be hard. The amount of information that needs to be updated isn’t large. MemberTools should always be up-to-date.

Instead, I’m left with a months-old directory that’s missing a good half of my new ward members, has several dozen people that have moved out, and is full of out-of-date callings. I live in a student ward. There is tons of turnover. The main functionality of MemberTools is hamstrung by an out-of-date directory that does not update. I can’t in good conscience give MemberTools a good score.

App has worked great up until several months ago. Using iPhone 11. No longer remembers my credentials, kicks me out multiple times a day. Once I do log back in, after 3-5 minutes of updating it may or may not let me back in. Submitted a ticket for this issue and was given three steps:
Turn off the mobile device completely, wait a couple of minutes, then turn it on again. Rebooting will reset MemberTools .
Delete MemberTools , wait a few hours and then download it from MemberTools Store or the Play Store. The wait time is crucial to ensure that the old version isn't pulled back up.
Go to the More Menu > Settings > Refresh Data. This will kick-start the automatic updates as well.
After going through the steps twice on separate occasions, still have the same issue.

I am having syncing issues it seems. Not able to see current information in the directory. Member’s phone number is changed but I still see the old phone number. She and another sister I checked with is able to see the correct phone number. I have synced twice, no change. I turned off my phone and left it off for over three hours, and still the same. I have deleted MemberTools , waited for several hours before installing again and the same thing. I have deleted it from all my devices, but no different. I do not get the option to reinstall, only to open because it is in the “cloud”. Please advise how to avoided installing the same corrupt app. It is not showing in iCloud in settings.

MemberTools is a handy little thing to use and it’s awesome! Well, when it works, at least. It worked for the first little while, and it was nice to be able to find phone numbers so I can contact ward members. It’s a great way to see who to contact to get information on activities, meetings, etc. It’s a great app, but recently it hasn’t been working. It stopped working a few months ago. It randomly signed me out of my account and whenever I open MemberTools , it brings me to the login screen. The problem with this is it won’t let me tap on anything, it won’t let me type in anything, no matter what I do it stays frozen in place. I have MemberTools fully updated, including the most recent update from Feb. 3rd, but yet, it still does the same thing. I know other people such as my brother who are having the same problem. Please fix this! It’s not just a bug, it’s a major problem. I can’t even use MemberTools or do anything with it except look at the pretty cover (which by the way is a beautiful color). Please, please, please fix this! Otherwise it’s an awesome app. It comes in handy to have. Nice job, with the exception of that problem, but otherwise it’s great 👍🏻

I have been frustrated with app since was created. It is hard to sync, sometimes MemberTools just don’t let you sync. I used to see the self reliance missionaries of my ward and know it says that i have no access to it. Sometimes I open it and close itself immediately. Sometimes just start syncing for ever and never end. Many times it says that my password and id is incorrect and i know it is not. I had to change passwords a lot because this don't let me used my real id and password. I took MemberTools from my apps and put it back and still the same problem or a new one. I am just annoyed by the church’s apps. I have the same problems with the Gospel Library app, Memory and Family tree. For a week I wasn’t able to see all my memories. They just disappeared. I was so scared of losing my journal entries. Anyway, this is a negative review for another app.

Please dedicate my time on this apps and fix these problems. I would not use this apps but because of my callings I have too.

These apps are very useful when they work properly. Let take advantage of technology and make the best of this apps so we can do our callings better. Thank you.

Consistent crashing. Syncs do not work. Signing in fails and so a reset of the password is requires. Resetting the password takes 12 hours to register. Tried to contact support and needed to sign in to contact them, which obviously isn’t possible because of the need to rest the password. The workflow isn’t working, there are often failures in buttons, a request to sync. I am often stuck in “update” or “sync” mode. Nothing is improving. And as I have moved I still cannot get in (1 month later) to find a ward and times. Additionally, there should be an option for me, as a user and member, to request my records to be moved - and it should be automated. I shouldn’t have to find a local priesthood leader, which I cannot identify because I can’t find a ward because MemberTools doesn’t work, to get my records moved. It’s record movement, not furniture moving. This really should work better.

Fraught with so many little problems I may become Hindu.

- Forced updates (even when you’ve supposedly selected the manual update option), so you can’t even access the program to do anything while the update struggles with the overtaxed servers in Salt Lake.

- Did you login? How about logging in again? Oh, you’d like to see the ward directory? Let’s login again just to make sure. You’d like the face recognition option like all your other apps? Sure. Tomorrow we’ll have you type it again… then it will lockup on the update. Then ask you to login again. Wash, rinse, repeat.

- Need to send a text to your district? Best wishes. After you login for the fourth time, and wait for the update, it will display the message window on top of a line of names. If you choose to start typing it will become an indecipherable collage of names and text. Try to edit and you’ll select names, or a bit of the message. I found if I swipe up MemberTools two times it will eventually display the information correctly, but you have to type in three lines of text first for it to change. I should say retype three lines of text.

After that it will kick in the update. Such a needed app, yet so frustratingly incapable of doing what it needs to do.

I don’t know what happened but ever since the auto update feature came on board the information in MemberTools doesn’t match what’s online. For instance, I moved a record in and online information confirmed it but after making numerous attempts to sync the member showed up in the member list but to this day doesn’t appear in the members moved in list. Moved a record out yesterday and he doesn’t show in any report in MemberTools but does show online. MemberTools is more convenient when in a meeting but only when the information is true and correct. I’d recommend getting rid of auto update until it can function correctly.

Each time I have to sync I have to delete MemberTools and then reload it from MemberTools Store. If I try to sync it just says that member services is unavailable at this time. It’s good for basic things, usually. Not always.

The ramifications of this are that as long as I keep deleting and downloading anew, I get the latest stake and ward and church info for anyone who’s also deleted and re-downloaded. If someone doesn’t do this, they’ll never get updated. I found this out just now. My records had been moved to a new ward. They read in my name. But LDS tools still showed me in my old ward.

You have GOT to fix this.

**UPDATE**

This is the 2nd review I am sending in. Still having issues with syncing. Please take some time to fix this issue! I would like the benefit of being able to access ward information from my phone in order to fulfill my church calling.

I haven’t really had any issues with MemberTools in the past, but lately it has consistently been having issues with not being able to sync manually or automatically. Would really appreciate it if MemberTools could have a major fix through, I use MemberTools for my church calling constantly and it’s frustrating that MemberTools isn’t working on my phone.

Like several others note MemberTools suddenly and recently stopped being able to finish it's sync process. This may have been triggered by multiple attempts to sync while the Church's web site was having seizures yesterday. Since the Church's web site became functional again I tried to sync repeatedly (because MemberTools wouldn't let me do anything else), and I tried the usual iOS methods for removing and restoring MemberTools . The fix this time was to go deep in iOS settings and delete MemberTools along with it's data and documents. (Try Settings, General, iPhone Storage, open the Tools app listing and choose Delete App.)

MemberTools still needs fixing. Maybe allow customers to kill an obviously stalled sync process and/or clear failed sync downloads from within MemberTools . Maybe prevent MemberTools from trying to sync when Church web resources are glitching.

Like others I've learned to expect MemberTools to catastrophically fail at the most inopportune times and function reasonably well only when it's not really needed. Having functioned as a ward, assistant, or stake clerk for around 35 years MemberTools is the only tool so far that has not been reliable.

I've been wishing it would get better since it was made available. Function increases have been great. It now needs stability/reliability fixes.

Wonderful app that’s gone through many necessary changes and updates over the years. It’s gotten progressively better, but has one huge flaw: It’s dependent on members to actually participate and get things done. Lol. This is the Church’s issue in microcosm!

C’mon people, get your photos posted and info updated. It only works when you do!

One thing I’d love is the ability to view a photo roster of any organization in your ward or the entire ward. It used to have this ability back in the day, but has now been removed. This would be super helpful for new move-ins and Stake visitors. Hate fumbling over peoples names!

Great app that makes it easy to connect to your ward, and easily contact anyone. The newest update has also made the UI much cleaner, and up to date with today’s standards. It is very nice.

What would make it even better is having the ability to not I only search or categorize by last name, but by first name also. It would also be very helpful if all the pieces of information were standardized in their format such as the phone numbers where some appear with dashes, an others without them. The dashes make it much easier to read when you need to write down a phone number.

Overall I think MemberTools is great! I think it does a great job when it comes to contacting members and finding peoples numbers in my ward, which I find is very necessary at times. It also is a really great tool when I want to see who the new people in the ward are and their names so I don’t constantly ask them “hey, sorry what’s your name again?” I just look it up haha.

A few things I think would make it better are 1. I often find that I need to find someone from another stake but I don’t have access to the stakes around me, it would be infinitely more convenient if I could see as far as the stakes in the area around me to be able to contact people in those wards as well. 2. Another thing is age, it has been very difficult for me to figure out who people in my ward are when they don’t have a picture or ages on MemberTools. I know that only a few people can access age but I feel that it is a very important identification tool and would help immensely if everyone could see age and birthday (even if it’s just for individual wards).
These are just a few things I would suggest.
Thanks for keeping these in mind!

So the syncing issue, for me anyway, has been going on for quite some time. I’ve developed Apps in the past and finally had some time to dig in and dedicate to testing this one, to see if I could find a pattern to the issue. I’ve been able to reproduce the issue and fix it multiple times now. Here are steps I took to fix the Syncing issue. For reference I am on the latest update of iOS on an iPhone 11 Pro. - Here is the fix - Open MemberTools and immediately click Help in the upper right of the screen, Click Sign Out / Reset and then OK. Then, Delete MemberTools from your phone and then re-download it. Sign in and accept the permissions. Sign in and let it update. The update will likely take a while, a few minutes (3-5) for me. It should work. It worked for me a few times on a few devices. Here’s the other important thing. If you want to make updates much much faster go to Settings, under the More... menu and turn off Download Photos. The issue may actually be caused by turning on Download Photos. This is a great app, when it’s syncing. Enjoy.

Normally I have no complaints about MemberTools. It’s great and very useful! However, specifically this weekend when I’ve tried to do a manual update it’s been giving me an error message saying that the church site is down for maintenance. That’s not true. I’ve checked and the website works. I’m watching Conference right now through the Gospel Library which I believe it powered by fhe website. I’ve been on the website and it’s not down. What’s going on. I was at a friend’s for the morning session and her app was working just fine. Why doesn’t mine work?

Latest bug as of June 30 is that after syncing I can no longer see ministering reports. I am EQ secretary and could access the reports fine this morning. I foolishly took a chance at syncing and reports are gone now. Makes it impossible to update ministering interviews. My guess is that it will start working again tomorrow when it is too late to enter data for Q2.

Sync frequently ‘down for maintenance’ on Sundays. ‘Down for maintenance’ seems to be the catch all message for any issue including things like not supporting iOS 10 which leads to extra confusion and frustration for users.
MemberTools will be used heavily on Sundays so it would seem that this should be accounted for.

I avoided updating MemberTools and now regret having done so. Sync is forced periodically and it doesn’t always accept my password, presumably due to sync issues. This could be acceptable from time to time but it locks you out of MemberTools so you cannot access the saved data, which means you cannot access any contact info. Two days in a row it has forced me to log in again, and both times it has not accepted my valid password, even though it worked for a short time earlier today. Makes it impossible to do my calling. Why is it set up to force sync twice in 2 days??

It would be nice if fixing login and sync issues could be made the highest priority instead of adding new features.

A couple of years ago MemberTools worked flawlessly.

According to church app support, MemberTools no longer works per new Apple protocols unless you have iOS 11 and higher. Nothing can be done. Older iOS will no longer work. They church app support suggestion is to do the online internet search to find the info needed. I can't update my OS because will lose access to 9 apps I paid for that no longer exists that I use weekly if not daily. Wish I had known about losing member tool access with the latest syn before hand. Would have saved important member contact info into contact app before hand. Just wanted to warn others that you may lose MemberTools if you do the next syn, and sooner or later, all will have to syn. Older devices are being left behind as the church moves forward.

I’m locked out of MemberTools because it constantly tells me the church website is down for maintenance when I try to sync. That is completely untrue as I am able to log in to the church site easily every time. So it’s stuck on the opening sync screen, telling me it can’t sync. I have a new phone as of one year ago & I'm running a current iOS. I’ve deleted & reinstalled MemberTools with no improvement. Since we no longer receive paper ward or stake directories, what are we supposed to do to reach other members when MemberTools doesn’t work? MemberTools is an important tool for members. It’s baffling to me that the developers still haven’t fixed it. It could be great but unfortunately it’s completely unusable. Please fix it!

MemberTools seems like a decent enough idea in theory, but in practice it’s caused me a lot of grief. See, I haven’t been involved with the Mormon church in several years, but since the local membership and clergy has full access to my contact information (which I can’t seem to erase myself) I still get frequent contact from local leaders and members. I have no ill-will toward the local members in my area, but frankly they’re wasting their time with me. I’m not interested in going back to their church.

Please, please update this with an option to either hide or erase my information so that the local members can focus on people who are actively interested in being involved.

MemberTools was working fine all long until a couple months ago. It asked to be sign in then it tells me that it may take a few minutes to download. The download is complete but it just sit there and does not do anything else. I'm clicking on any button I can find and it took me to MemberTools Store. It gives me the Open feature but when I click on it, it just takes me back to the login page with the download message still on. The only access I have is to write this review. This is a great app when it works and I depend on it heavily for my church calling. Please, fix this or if anyone knows of what I'm doing wrong, let me know. Thank you.

I access MemberTools about once a week. Not very often. Every single time I open it, it asks for my password, if I want to enable touch ID and if I want to sync it. Such a pain. Why cant it be like every other touch ID app and recognize it every single time? Whats the point of touch ID if you have to verify your password regardless? Let’s be honest, how much personal information is on here? My banking app has more personal information available than MemberTools and I have only signed in once. That was when I installed it and set up touch ID. Now, touch ID works every single time. MemberTools should have the same functionality or its just a waste of time.

I’m changing my review because MemberTools has gotten better, but I do have another suggestion that came about because of a frustration.

I’m living in a new area and recently there was an activity at the stake center. Well, MemberTools kept sending my google maps to a location where there is no church building! I at least knew not to follow it, but then I was stuck for awhile trying to figure out how to get to the stake center. It was frustrating and I was late. I would appreciate it if in the “Chapels” tab, that instead of it just opening straight to a map that it first gives you the addresses of each building in YOUR STAKE and labels them (e.g. Stake Center, Ward 22, Sun Ward, etc.) so you can copy and paste the addresses. Then below that there should be the option to “open map” so you can see a map of all the buildings in the world like it already does. Thank you.

MemberTools has been a lifesaver so many times for helping me stay in touch with my ward or fulfill callings! This year however it has been very hit and miss as to whether I can use it. Between mandatory syncs that freeze up, but still lock me out of my contacts until they are done, error messages when trying to contact support, and intermittent issues with biometrics for login, I never know if I’ll be able to use it or not. I appreciate the new features over the last few years, but can we please go back to basics and make MemberTools reliable again before anything else?

I’m sure there’s a reason for it (I’ll reserve judgment on whether it’s a good one or not), but it’s seriously obnoxious, since if I’m opening MemberTools , it’s because I want to look something up, but can’t until I jump through the required hoops. Please at least add an extension for 1Password so that when it forces me to sign in again for the 800th time I don’t have to leave LDS Tools, go into 1Password, and go back to LDS Tools. Small complaint? Maybe, but iOS has had the ability to use extensions since iOS 8, which was released in 2014.

The controls at the bottom are extremely difficult to use for my 92 year old father-in-law. Too small. Consideration needs to be given for poor eyesight and motor control. He relies on Member Tools as a member of the Elders Quorum Presidency, but it’s just too difficult to navigate compared to older versions. Having been required to update due to the fact that his version was no longer supported, he is now left with an app he struggles with. The same issue applies to LDS Library! Thanks.

I use MemberTools all the time and it works amazing! So glad we have an app like this now and how we can easily connect with the missionaries as well. There are only two things I would want changed to MemberTools. First, is to be able to save events to other calendars than just apple calendar(I have an iPhone). It won't let me choose my Google calendar to transfer an event from MemberTools calendar to my calendar. Second, it would be amazing to be able to add events in MemberTools and not have to go to the website to do it.

Thanks for all the amazing improvements that you keep putting into MemberTools .

It’s easy to take this for granted, but I remember the days of printed Stake directories. We have it good.

I use this reliable, intuitive app for a hundred little tasks and questions: getting around on splits with missionaries, keeping track of kids’ names and birthdays, helping youth sign up for FamilySearch accounts, reviewing new move-ins, and much more.

Would love to see in future releases: a map module like the one on LCR; my location and option for driving directions; ability for clerks etc to update info in MemberTools ; and reporting for HT (now ministering).

I woke up early to go to the temple with my wife and son and when checking to make sure I had my recommend, I realized that I had misplaced it somehow. Anyway, I had to send the two of them off and it later occurred to me that MemberTools shows my temple recommend status as being active. I don’t know if this would have sufficed, but it did give me pause thinking that a digital version, one that could be added to my ewallet would be very convenient.