Legal notices

1. What the Site is

The Site is an independent, volunteer-run tool for one local ward. It shows the Sunday program (with live meeting state when enabled), ward announcements, a newsletter and archive, news from the Church Newsroom, the FamilySearch Center page, a missionary dinner calendar, optional member accounts, optional push notifications, a Virtual Lesson study companion and Weekly Uplift message (both generated by artificial intelligence), and a For Kids page of small games. You can read everything public without an account.

2. Relationship to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Site is not created, owned, operated, endorsed, supervised, or funded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the “Church”) or by Church-affiliated entities such as Intellectual Reserve, Inc., except that local ward or stake leaders may choose to use or promote it in their local capacity. No officer, agent, or entity of the Church assumes any responsibility for the Site, its content, availability, accuracy, or security. Church names and marks appear only descriptively; all rights in them remain with their owners. News items are fetched from the Church's public Newsroom feeds and remain the Church's content.

3. Just visiting: what the Site records

Browsing does not require a name, email address, phone number, or account. To run the Site we keep three small things:

• Viewer count. A random, anonymous identifier in your browser's sessionStorage lets the program page show how many devices are watching. It is not tied to you and is discarded when you close the tab.
• Site activity log. So ward leaders can see how the Site is used, we record the pages opened and the tabs or marked buttons tapped, with a random per-visit identifier (also in sessionStorage, new every visit, so it cannot follow you between visits or to other sites), the referring site's domain, and whether the device is a phone or a computer. We do not store your IP address or your browser's user-agent string in this log, and web addresses are recorded without their query strings. The log is readable only by the site administrator, is never sold or used for advertising, and page-activity entries are deleted automatically after 90 days. If you are signed in, actions you take (a dinner signup, a post, a sign-in) are logged under your account email so they can be traced back if something goes wrong.
• Technical data. Our hosting provider processes IP addresses, timestamps, and similar metadata to deliver pages and protect the Site, under its own terms (see section 10).

4. Missionary dinner calendar

When you sign up to feed the missionaries we ask for your name, phone number, email address, the night and time, the kind of meal, and optionally your address (or a note that it is in the ward directory) and any notes such as allergies. This is shared with the missionaries and the ward members who run the calendar so the dinner can happen; the missionaries may receive it as a text message from the ward's texting service, and they will contact you to confirm. We email you a confirmation with a private link to move or cancel the night, and we email you again if the night is moved or cancelled. Your name may appear on the calendar to other members as the family covering that night. Signing up creates a member record for your email so your dinners live in one place; you can set a password for it or leave it as it is.

5. Ward announcements

To post an announcement we ask for your name and email address, the announcement itself (title, text, and event date if any), and optionally an image or a PDF flyer. Before anything is published, the text and any attachment are reviewed automatically by an AI service (see section 8) for clearly inappropriate content; the service may also write a short description of an image so screen readers can present it. Published announcements are public: they appear on the announcements page, may be read aloud or shown in the Sunday program, and may be included in the ward newsletter. Your name is shown as the poster. We email you when the post goes live. Site Admins and the Bishopric can edit or remove any announcement. Announcements you post are covered by the content terms in section 17.

6. Member accounts

Accounts are optional. An account stores your email address, a password (hashed by our authentication provider, never readable by us), your name, any phone number or details you add, and any roles a Site Admin gives you (for example Bishopric, Staff, Music Leader, Meal Calendar Manager, or FamilySearch Specialist). We send account email only when needed: confirming or setting up a password, resetting it, changing your email, and telling you when a role is granted. Site Admins can see the list of accounts, their roles, and each account's activity in the log. There is no self-service delete yet — email us and we will remove the account.

7. Push notifications

If you turn on notifications, your browser gives the Site a subscription (an endpoint and keys created by your browser vendor's push service). We store it so Site Admins can send ward-wide notices, and we drop it when it stops working. Turn notifications off in your browser or device settings at any time; nothing else about you is attached to the subscription.

8. Artificial intelligence features

Some features send text to OpenAI (or another AI provider configured for this deployment) to generate a response. They are:

• Virtual Lesson (Tommy) — what you type, with the conversation so far, goes to the provider to produce a reply. Conversations are kept only in your own browser (localStorage) so they can resume on the same device; clear site data to remove them. Optional voice input uses your browser's or device's speech recognition under that vendor's terms.
• Weekly Uplift — a read-only weekly message generated from the calendar week and curriculum hints; nothing you type is sent.
• Announcement review — the text and any attachment of a submitted announcement, for the automated review and image descriptions described in section 5, and, when an admin asks for one, a flyer drafted from the announcement.
• Newsletter summaries — public Newsroom articles, to write short blurbs. No reader data is involved.

Tommy is software, not a person, and not Church leadership; its answers can be incomplete, wrong, or unsuitable, and nothing it produces is doctrine or official Church communication. Scripture, the Come Follow Me manual, General Conference, and living prophets and apostles remain the authorities. Do not type information you would not want an AI provider to process, such as health details or confidential membership matters. For the provider's practices see the OpenAI Privacy Policy.

9. Cookies and on-device storage

Visitors who do not sign in get no account cookies. Signing in sets authentication cookies from our backend provider that keep your session and protect member and admin pages. The Site also uses your browser's storage for conveniences that never leave your device: the two anonymous identifiers in section 3, your light/dark theme and text size, Virtual Lesson conversations, and your best scores in the For Kids games. If you install the Site as an app (PWA), your browser caches pages and assets for offline and faster loading. We use no advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

10. Who processes data for us

We use a small set of providers, each only for its job, under its own terms: Vercel (hosting and delivery), Supabase (database, authentication, realtime, and file storage — see its Privacy Policy and Data Processing Addendum), Resend (sending the email described above; for ward-wide emails like the newsletter it also tells us whether a message was opened and which links in it were tapped, which the Bishopric and Site Admins can see per issue), a text-messaging service (the missionary calendar's texts), OpenAI (section 8), your browser vendor's push service (section 7), and YouTube (Google) for videos embedded from the Church's channels, loaded in YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode so YouTube sets no cookies until you play one (see the Google Privacy Policy). Data is hosted in the United States. We do not sell personal information and we do not share it for advertising.

11. How long we keep things

Page-activity log entries: 90 days. Other log entries, dinner signups, announcements, and account records: as long as they are needed to run the ward's calendar, announcements, and site — announcements until removed, accounts until you ask us to delete them. Push subscriptions: until you turn notifications off or the subscription expires. Virtual Lesson conversations: on your device until you clear them.

12. Children

The For Kids games are designed for children to play during the meeting, and they are built to collect nothing: no accounts, no names, no chat, no scores leaving the device. Everything else on the Site is meant for ward members and visitors generally. In line with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13; a dinner signup, announcement, or account should be made by an adult. If you believe a child has given us personal information, email us and we will delete it.

13. Your choices and rights

You can use the Site without an account, clear your browser's site data at any time, turn off notifications in your browser, and move or cancel a dinner from the link in your confirmation email. To see, correct, or delete information we hold about you — including under the California Consumer Privacy Act — email connect@mtshastaward.com. We do not sell or share personal information as the CCPA defines those terms, and we will never treat you differently for exercising a privacy right. If you access the Site from outside the United States, you consent to processing there.

14. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures for a volunteer-run site: encrypted connections, hashed passwords, access limited to the people who need it, and logging of administrative actions. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If a breach requires notification under applicable law, we will notify affected people and authorities as required.

15. Using the Site

Use the Site for its purpose: following and supporting ward life. Do not try to access other people's accounts or data, interfere with the Site, scrape it, post content you have no right to post, or use it for anything unlawful or contrary to the standards of the Church. We may limit or end access for misuse.

16. Accounts

Keep your password to yourself and tell us if you think someone else has used your account. One account per person, with accurate details. Roles are granted by Site Admins for ward callings and can be withdrawn at any time; a role lets you act on the ward's behalf only as your calling allows.

17. Announcements and other content you post

You are responsible for what you post and must have the right to post it, including any image or flyer. Posts should be ward announcements, events, or faith-appropriate ward news — not a discussion forum, complaints, or opinion pieces — and consistent with the beliefs and standards of the Church. By posting you give the ward a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to show, copy, edit for clarity or moderation, and include your post in the Site, the Sunday program, the newsletter, and ward notifications. The automated review may decline a post; Site Admins and the Bishopric may edit or remove any post, and are not obliged to publish anything.

18. Email and text messages

We send email for things you asked for or set in motion: account messages, dinner confirmations and changes, announcement confirmations, and role grants. If you are on the ward email list, you may also receive the ward newsletter and an occasional ward-wide note — for example when the missionary dinner calendar has many open nights, never more than once every two weeks — and every one carries an unsubscribe link. By signing up for a dinner you agree that the missionaries and calendar managers may contact you by phone or text about that dinner. Notifications are opt-in and can be turned off any time.

19. Program content and local responsibility

Programs, names, hymns, announcements, and other materials are supplied or approved by local ward leaders or their designees. The Site is a convenience; it does not replace printed programs, announcements from the pulpit, or instructions from local leaders where those control. Third-party content, including Newsroom articles, belongs to its owners.

20. No warranties

THE SITE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE, ITS LIVE MEETING STATE, ITS AI FEATURES, OR ITS MESSAGES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, ACCURATE, OR ERROR-FREE.

21. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE OPERATORS OF THE SITE, THEIR VOLUNTEERS, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE.

22. Release of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS AND ALL RELATED ENTITIES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, VOLUNTEERS, SUCCESSORS, AND ASSIGNS (THE “RELEASED PARTIES”) HAVE NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER, IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGE, LOSS, OR EXPENSE ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE, INCLUDING ANY CONTENT, AVAILABILITY, INTERRUPTION, ERROR, OMISSION, OR SECURITY INCIDENT. YOU RELEASE, WAIVE, DISCHARGE, AND COVENANT NOT TO SUE THE RELEASED PARTIES TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT USE THE SITE.

23. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the operators of the Site and the Released Parties from claims, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the Site, your content, or your violation of law or these terms.

24. Governing law, changes, and the whole agreement

These notices are governed by the laws of the State of California, and any permitted dispute belongs in the state or federal courts located in California, except where law requires otherwise. If a provision is unenforceable the rest stands. We may update these notices; the new version is posted here with a new effective date, and continued use after that means you accept it. These notices, together with anything presented at sign-up, are the entire agreement between you and the Site's operators on this subject.

25. Contact

Mount Shasta Ward site stewards — connect@mtshastaward.com. Privacy requests and questions about these notices are answered there; ward matters go to local ward leadership.