How-To Guide
Latter-day Search is built on a simple idea: a good search tool should help you find what someone faithful already wrote, not replace them with a machine that sounds like them. Type a question, even a vague one, even a half-remembered phrase, and the tool surfaces real passages from the libraries you have chosen, shown word for word with full citations. Nothing is summarized. Nothing is generated. The study is yours. These articles explain how to get the most out of it.
Start here
Getting started
The basics: what to type, what comes back, and where it comes from.
- Your first searchType a question or a half-remembered phrase and read what comes back.
- What this tool does, and does notReal passages, shown word for word. No summaries and no generated answers.
- How search worksWhy results match by meaning rather than by matching words, and what that changes.
- The librariesWhat each library holds, the years it covers, and how often it is updated.
Writing queries
Ask by meaning, then narrow with quotes and operators.
- Asking by meaningHow to phrase a query so the best passages surface, and what to try when they do not.
- Exact phrases with quotesWrap words in double quotes to require them, word for word.
- Filtering by speaker or authorSPEAKER: and AUTHOR: keep results to one person.
- INCLUDE and EXCLUDERequire extra wording, or leave a phrase out entirely.
- Looking up a scripture referenceType a reference such as Moroni 10:4 and the verse appears above the results.
- Operator cheat sheetEvery operator on one page, with its syntax and limits.
Topics
A reviewed set of topics, applied to every talk and article.
Filters and results
Choose where to look, then read and arrange what you find.
- Choosing libraries and yearsTurn libraries on and off and set a year range.
- Reading a result cardWhat every part of a card means, from the colored badge to the topic chips.
- The source cardWhen you quote a passage or name a verse, its likely source appears above the results.
- Arranging resultsDrag cards into the order you want, and remove the ones you do not.
- Citations and linksCopy a formatted citation, or open the passage at its source.
- When nothing comes backEmpty pages, error messages, and what to try next.
History, notebooks and sharing
Keep what you find and pass it along.
Your account
Free, optional, and yours to delete.