HELP WITH LAMPSTAND

How to use Lampstand.

Find out how to ask questions, choose sources, make studies and plans, and save passages from your Bible app.

For Lampstand 1.0 (7) · iOS and iPadOS 26+ · TestFlight beta

Start here

Lampstand is a native iPhone and iPad companion for Bible questions, short studies, and personal reading plans. This TestFlight build requires iOS or iPadOS 26 or later. Included WEB Scripture and starter studies work offline; AI requests and ESV reading need internet access.

Start on Today. Open a short study or continue your active plan.
Use Ask for questions about a topic, passage, or Christian belief.
Find saved passages, studies, plans, and previous answers in Library.
Open Settings using the sliders button at the top of Today. The guide and walkthrough are in Help & getting started.

Ask a question

You can explore Scripture, context, application, and differing Christian interpretations. Lampstand provides AI-generated explanations with source evidence. It is a study aid, not a pastor, spiritual authority, emergency service, or a substitute for professional advice.

Open Ask and enter a question of up to 2,000 characters. Use the send arrow.
On your first AI request, review the cloud-processing disclosure and choose Continue with AI if you agree.
Choose a suggested question or write your own. Try: Help me understand Philippians 4 in context.
Use New question in the top-right corner to clear the current conversation and open the keyboard. Saved previous answers remain in Library → Questions.
Use Study this or Make a plan beneath an answer to continue exploring.

Choose sources and perspectives

The selected teaching material and the actual Scripture corpus shape an answer. Choosing a name does not import everything that person, church, or denomination has said. Perspectives guide interpretation and do not constitute official church statements.

Tap Answer from my sources or the books button in Ask; you can also open Choose sources & teaching material in Settings.
Select up to five specific sources. Use a public HTTPS page or a pasted sample of 30 to 12,000 characters.
Name the source and choose a type: denomination, theology, pastor, church, singer, author, sample, or other. Audio and video need a text excerpt or transcript.
Choose Broad Christian, Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, or Compare traditions in Settings.
The included canon contains 66 Old and New Testament books; deuterocanonical books are not included in this beta.

Inspect citations and evidence

Numbered citations connect a generated claim to supporting material. A matching excerpt proves text provenance, not that the AI interpretation is necessarily correct.

Tap a numbered citation to see its claim, supporting excerpt, and original source.
Expand Sources & supporting evidence to see used, unused, or unavailable sources.
Read the original passage or source page in context.
If a selected source cannot be retrieved, Lampstand reports the issue instead of pretending it read the source.

Read Scripture: ESV and WEB

ESV is the default reading preference. While Crossway API approval is pending, ESV passages open in Crossway’s official online reader. The AI’s actual Scripture source and included offline text remain the public-domain World English Bible (WEB), clearly named in citations.

Tap a passage reference in a study or answer.
Use ESV · Online or WEB · Offline in the reader. Your reading preference is remembered.
Turn on Read the full chapter for more context.
The WEB reader includes Open in YouVersion; supported links may open the Bible app or its website.
Change your preferred reading translation in Settings → Bible reading. ESV text is not bundled for offline use.

Create a short study

A short study is designed for one meaningful sitting. Lampstand includes starter studies and can create a study for a theme, question, Bible passage, or life season.

Open Studies and choose Create, or choose A short study on Today.
Describe the theme or topic. Choose a reading time of 5, 10, 15, or 20 minutes, your audience, and sources.
Audience options include Just me, A couple, My family, and A small group.
Read the selected passages, context, reflections, discussion questions, practice, and optional prayer.
Bookmark a study to find it in Library → Saved. Use Mark as complete after reading; tap again to undo.

Create and follow a reading plan

Plans turn a theme into several short daily sessions. Your place and completion history stay on the device.

Open Plans and choose Create, or choose A personal plan on Today.
Describe your goal and choose 3, 5, 7, or 14 days, reading time, audience, perspective, and sources.
Choose Begin this plan. Your active plan appears on Today and the Home Screen widget.
Open a day, read the passage, reflect, and mark it complete.
Use Continue reading to return to the next incomplete session. You can revisit completed days.

Use your Library

Library brings saved passages and studies together with generated material, completed studies, and previous questions. It is stored on this device and does not synchronize with YouVersion or another device.

Saved contains imported passages and notes, bookmarked studies, and saved plans.
Created contains AI-created studies and plans. Completed lists completed studies and plans. Questions contains saved AI questions and answers.
Use search to find a title, topic, passage text, or previous question.
Press and hold a saved card for its removal action. Removing a saved passage does not remove studies or answers already created from it.

Keep reflections and progress

Personal reflection notes belong to you and remain on your device. They are not automatically included in AI prompts.

Open a study or plan session and type in Your reflection. Notes save as you edit.
Use Mark as complete to record reading progress.
In Settings → Your privacy, export your library and reflections through the iOS Share Sheet. Choose the destination yourself.
Delete all local data removes your library, saved passages, questions, sources, notes, progress, and pending shared items, and disables daily reminders. Export anything you want to keep first.

Set daily notifications

Choose one daily invitation at your preferred time. Notifications are scheduled locally on your device. iOS permission, Focus modes, and notification settings control delivery.

Tap Set a daily reminder on Today, or open Settings → Notifications & reminders.
Turn on Daily notification and allow Lampstand notifications when iOS asks.
Choose your time and either Read & reflect or Explore a question. The question option rotates through the week.
For Read & reflect, an active plan’s next session is used when available. Tapping opens Today; question notifications open Ask with a suggested question. No AI request is sent until you submit it.
Use Send a test notification to see a notification after a few seconds, even while Lampstand is open.
If permission was denied, use Open iOS notification settings. Turn notifications off in Lampstand or iOS Settings whenever you wish.

Add the Home Screen widget

The small and medium Home Screen widgets show your active plan and reading progress. Tapping the widget opens Plans. They are not Lock Screen widgets in this beta.

Touch and hold an empty area of your iPhone Home Screen, then use Edit → Add Widget.
Search for Lampstand, choose a size, and add it.
Start a plan in Lampstand so the widget can show its next session and progress.
iOS controls widget refresh timing. Open Lampstand if the widget has not caught up.

Use Siri, Shortcuts, and the Action button

Ask Lampstand is available through App Shortcuts. It opens Lampstand with your question; it does not speak a generated answer in the background.

Try asking Siri to Ask Lampstand, or add the Ask a Bible question action in Shortcuts.
You can create a personal shortcut that passes a question to Lampstand.
On a supported iPhone, assign that shortcut to the Action button in iOS Settings if you want quick access. You choose this setting yourself.
Sharing a link or image to Lampstand is another way to capture a question without searching for the app.

Share and study with others

Studies support individual, couple, family, and small-group reading. The current beta shares content through the iOS Share Sheet rather than a synchronized group account.

Choose an audience while creating a study or plan to tailor discussion questions.
Use the share button on a study, answer, saved passage, or WEB passage to send text through an app of your choice.
Invite another person to read the same passages and discuss the included questions.
Personal reflection notes are not automatically included in a study share. Review anything you export before sending it.

Privacy, AI processing, and support

Lampstand has no ads or advertising-tracking SDK in this beta. AI features require consent and send prompts, selected sources, and relevant recent conversation to OpenAI through Vercel AI Gateway. Crossway handles the separate online ESV reading session.

Turn off Allow cloud AI processing in Settings to stop new AI requests. Included Scripture, starter studies, notes, and saved material remain usable.
Avoid including sensitive personal information in questions or source samples.
Use Settings → Privacy policy, Terms & conditions, and Help & support for current details.
Email dbhurley@me.com for help. Include the Lampstand version and build number from TestFlight and describe the problem without sending private notes or API keys.
This beta has no Lampstand account, cloud library synchronization, public App Store release, or direct YouVersion account connection.

You can also open this guide and a replayable walkthrough in the app: Today → Settings → Help & getting started.