I was asked to speak in church today about the internet, and missionary work. It really opened my eyes. Did you know that over 1,966,514,816 people use the internet? That is a lot of people! Did you also know that 40% of Americans read blogs. Crazy huh… As I was researching for my talk there was so much info that it was almost overwhelming. There have been several talks given about what and how you can spread the gospel through your online profiles, blogs etc. Here are just a couple:
Here is a quote from M. Russell Ballard’s talk he gave at BYU Hawaii in December of 2007
“Now, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration. Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true. You can download videos from Church and other appropriate sites, including newsroom.lds.org, and send them to your friends. You can write to media sites on the Internet that report on the Church, and voice your views as to the accuracy of the reports. This, of course, requires that you understand the basic principles of the gospel.”
Then later in his talk he said:
“The Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ has no doubt had a powerful impact on your life. It has, in part, shaped who you are and what your future will be. Do not be afraid to share with others your story—your experiences as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. We all have interesting stories that have influenced our identity. Sharing those stories is a nonthreatening way to talk to others. Telling those stories can help demystify the Church. You could help overcome misperceptions through your own sphere of influence, which ought to include the Internet.”
If you haven’t been to mormon.org lately I would highly encourage it. When you first enter their site, a profile of a member will be there with a picture, then it will slowly scroll through several other profiles, and one about “what is the purpose of my life, who am I, why am I here, what happens when I die? Every member has the opportunity to create a profile and share their story. It is awesome, members and investigators can go on and search for members like them. They give you several search tools, gender, age, ethnicity, continent, previous religion, and a blank box to type in whatever you choose to add to your search, like hobbies, career’s etc.
I know there is a lot more that I personally can do, I can’t imagine my life without the gospel, and the help, answers, and peace that it brings. I wanted to put a link on my blog to mormon.org because of some of the council that I read. I searched and searched for a button that I really liked. They had some super cute ones with the Salt Lake Temple, but none with the Vernal Temple, so I decided to create my own. If you think it is cute, and would like to link your blog or website to mormon.org you are more than welcome to take it and use it.
Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!
