The LDS Mission Network Needs Financial Help

This last couple of weeks I have been examining all the sites on the LDS Mission Network as I have trying to compile in one place a comprehensive LDS Mission and Missionary Resource. I am not trying to duplicate the efforts of the LDS Mission Network nor the other few sites that concentrate on missionaries. I have merely been trying to make sense of the information out there. As I have looked at a few mission sites on their aggregator I noticed a small paragraph on some of the pages that finally caught my attention:

URGENT PLEASE READ:

We have been very fortunate to have internet access previously provided by Deseret Book however, at this point it has come time for LDS Mission Network to find hosting elsewhere. The LDS Mission Network may need to pay for Bandwidth, there are also hardware maintenance and internet registration costs that occur on periodic basis. These as well as other costs drive the need for further donations to survive. Please donate here. Thanks again for your support!

About twenty-five returned missionaries have held the organization together over the past twelve years. They have sacrificed their time and money to touch the lives of thousands of returned LDS missionaries. 210,647 LDS families have been affected by their selfless service.

I guess for the last few years that Deseret Book has provided hosting to the LDS Mission Network site and allowed them to use hosting on their site.

It is not clear to me whether due to the increase in bandwidth that was needed to continue supporting the site that the management of Deseret Book asked them to pay or just encouraged them to go elsewhere. I am sure it was a great help to the hundreds of web administrators and the founders of the LDS Mission Network to have associated themselves with Deseret Book. I am a little baffled by why Deseret Book no longer feels the need to support such a valuable and important service. The LDS Church does not officially support any mission sites which is a puzzlement to someone trying to find out about the history of the various missions and find out about past mission companions. Some missions have active sites that do much good to keep connections going others are more passive but the information found on them is better than nothing.

The LDS Mission Network provide a vital service for LDS missionaries to stay in touch with fellow missionaries and members. Newly called missionaries and their families can find out information. I personally feel that the LDS Mission Network should be brought officially under the domain of the LDS Church whether through the Public Affairs Department or the Missionary Department. The volunteers could be guided through worthwhile suggestions by the Information CIO Joel Dehlin.

I can not dictate to the LDS Church what to do but I feel that Chris Hardy should not have to beg for money to support his enterprise. I am not sure of what caused the group to go elsewhere from Deseret Book whether financial or philosophical. I do know that the ten men men who oversee it and the hundreds of volunteer webmasters need our support. I have eight children with four in college but I feel that even my paltry ten dollar contributions shows I appreciate what these men are giving back to the LDS community.

I looked over the list of donors as they try to raise the $3600 to keep the site going. They have raised about half the money in the past few months. I didn't see Sheri Dew, President of Deseret Book or any of their officers on the list of donors. I didn't recognize any significant donors but rather general members like myself. I can't imagine how such a little amount of money could have caused Deseret Book much concern or why the LDS Church doesn't institutionalize such a valuable service.

If you would like to contribute to them as I have please click here.