More Good Blog

If you're new here, read more about the More Good Foundation. We help members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon church) share their beliefs on the Internet. Learn more about what Mormons believe or talk with Mormons at LDS.net.

You can now receive LDS Church breaking news text alerts on your mobile phone from Newsroom.lds.org. To sign up, text the word ldsnews to 29222 (United States and Puerto Rico). If you’re outside the United States, text the word ldsnews to 447624805710.

The More Good Foundation, as you know, is working to provide honest seekers with correct information and accurate perceptions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members.  We have found that many of the public at large equate us either with the Amish, or with the polygamous groups that have recently been in the news.  In spite of the rise to stardom of many LDS people (David Archuleta, Chelsie Hightower, etc.) and the general knowledge that they are Mormon, people still aren’t figuring out who we are.  Because of this, we desire to add additional images to all the articles on all of our sites to show Mormons in action, going about our daily routines, jobs, church work, recreation, and milestone events.

This is a request that you will network with your own friends, even forward this message, so that we may gather in some great photos.  We need the images in jpg format, and you can email them to email@moregoodfoundation.org.  These can be pics of your own family, weddings, missionaries, humanitarian aid projects, groups of kids playing at games or sports, family home evenings, proms, seminary/institute gatherings, reunions, anything at all that shows who we are and how we look.  If you send us a picture, that means we have your permission to use it.  Please include any info identifying the scene–”Joe and Lizzie Sikes upon their marriage at the Provo Temple, 4/08.” We will upload images without identifying individuals, with generic captions such as “Mormon family temple wedding,” or with first names only, so let us know your preference.  If you have images of Saints in other countries, we would also be very interested in using those permissible as well.

Thanks so much for all your help.

Facebook is now ready to launch its long-awaited Verified Applications platform, to protect users from some of the spammy applications that exist. In addition, it will now share feeds of your friends’ third-party apps, so you can see which ones they have chosen to use.

Speaking of apps, we’d like to remind those of you who include on Facebook some of your LDS interests and background, that there is an LDS Application of Facebook. It includes space for noting your personal scripture faves, and incorporates a few scripture mastery games. You have the option as to whether or not to include the information on your personal profile.

Additionally, take a look at the Ensign Facebook page–a fairly new development. For friends of other faiths visiting, The Ensign is a monthly magazine that shares messages from Mormon leaders and everyday members, includes a monthly message for Mormon Women to share with their neighbors, and Church news from around the world. If you are interested in purchasing a copy for your family, you can learn more about it and order it here.

Facebook is a great way to join the inter-faith conversation online. You can share links, videos, family photos on Facebook in a not-in-your-face kind of way, so that those visiting your pages can see the influence your faith has on your everyday life, inviting questions and participation in conversation with our friends of diverse backgrounds and faiths. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Facebook, inter-faith dialog, LDS app, LDS online, Mormon beliefs, Online missionary work

The LDS Newsroom, providing the latest happenings within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (”Mormons”), now has a presence on Facebook, and is active on Twitter.

The New York Times calls Twitter “one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet.” TIME Magazine says, “Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app,” and Newsweek noted that “Suddenly, it seems as though all the world’s a-twitter.”

For official news and updates of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visit their website

Click here to see current videos created by the Church Public Affairs Department.

You can also now receive breaking news text alerts on your mobile phone from Newsroom.lds.org. To sign up, text the word ldsnews to 29222 (United States and Puerto Rico).

MormonMusic.org

Contact: Karen Merkley, Director of PR & Marketing
Phone: (801) 705-5104 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9 A.M. EDT, March 27, 2009

MORE GOOD FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF MORMONMUSIC.ORG

OREM, UT, MARCH 27, 2009– The More Good Foundation—non-profit creator of quality websites, social networks, and virtual communities facilitating peer-to-peer dialog between Mormons and friends of all faiths online– announced today its highly-anticipated launch of a new website scheduled for April 6, 2009: MormonMusic.org.

MormonMusic.org will provide a rich and flexible platform for online music lovers to stream, download, and enjoy both prominent and new or up-and-coming LDS musical selections—from jazz piano and classical guitar to inspirational vocals and seasonal choral numbers. First featured artists include Abe Mills, Jon Schmidt, Hilary Weeks, Kenneth Cope, Michael Dowdle, Jessie Clark Funk, Jenny Oaks Baker, Sam Payne, and scores more. In addition to these well-known Wasatch Front musicians, over 800 musical selections from newly discovered LDS singers and musicians worldwide, performing in their native language, are featured on the site.

While a couple other LDS Music sites stream music to listeners, MormonMusic.org is unique in its design, functionality, and intent. Features of MormonMusic.org, developed by Heather Newell and Kishor Bachhav, include user-generated playlists—topically, or by genre or artist; top-rated LDS songs, customized user profiles (with favorite albums, videos, most recently played songs); favorites-ranking; selected free downloads of prominent and newly discovered LDS music talent; LDS music news; and variable, embeddable playlists. The site will also highlight each artist, sharing not only their music and upcoming venues, but their lives and beliefs through personal biographies, photo and video galleries, and link-backs to the artists’ own websites and blogs.

This site signifies a significant milestone for the More Good Foundation in reaching out across media channels via MormonMusic.org. According to MGF President, Jonathan Johnson, “The vision is multi-dimensional. First, it is a way to extend the powerful, spirit-filled, expressive medium of music to those across the globe from Kiev to Quatar, some of whom may not have immediate or any access to affordable LDS CDs—providing them with some free downloadable selections of quality orchestral, instrumental, or vocal music streaming in their homes that might not otherwise be possible. Secondly, the site is intended to be a gathering place for friends of other faiths to have a glimpse into our lives and music. By getting to know our artists, listening to uplifting music and reading about their faith-infused lives, misperceptions about us as a people will likely be dispelled and doors opened to conversations about our beliefs.”

The More Good Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit, and is funded by individual donors interested in providing accurate information and quality multi-media content about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints online.

For more information, please visit moregoodfoundation.org, or see contacts above.

-End-

Tags: Abe Mills, Hilary Weeks, Jenny Oaks Baker, Jessie Clark Funk, Jon Schmidt, MGF music site, Michael Dowdle, Mormon artists, Mormon music, Mormon vocalists

Are you a Mormon blogger?  If you are an LDS blogger, then please join our aggregate, Mormonbloggers.com.  Your posts will flow through our homepage with links directed back to your own blog.  The more we share who we are with the world–the more we can illuminate the truth about our lifestyles, the power of the gospel as resource in time of struggle and pain as well as in times of greatest joy, our commitment to the Savior–the less people will be finding second and third-hand information that may tell a different and often a false or vitriol story about who we really are, and what we believe.

Mormonbloggers: Here’s a place where you can join the fray, have a say, while sharing your faith-infused lives globally online. If you don’t have a blog, if the word scares you and you think, “I can’t do that,” think again.  If you visit Mormonbloggers.com, click on Start a Blog, you will be led to a site where you can follow a few easy steps and be up and running in minutes, as long as you can read and type.  Then, to learn how to continue to upload content and add things to your blog, there are helpful screencasts for those sites.  Email us if you need help.  Join the conversation, as Elder Ballard, apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has asked us to do. Your voice can change someone’s life. I testify of that.

A gentleman visiting our video conversion stories, listened to one of them four times, and then requested a Book of Mormon.  After reading and studying the Book of Mormon twice with online resources, and visiting other positive MGF and LDS sites, he began missionary lessons and joined LDS.net. He recently set a baptismal date.

Please follow the nudge if you feel one to post your conversion story online, or to participate in some way in this effort to share our faith globally.  For more information, see ways to help, on this site, or send your comment or question to us.

Hi Karen,

Great to hear from you! Yes, it is true, I have a date set for the 29th of March to be baptized. I am so excited! I am going to be baptized in Huntington due to the  fact that the ward that I belong to, is still under renovation.  From what I understand it will be another 6 weeks or so before the [other] chapel is ready.

Do you want to know another neat thing? One of the other guys on LDS.net was scheduled for baptism on the 28th , but he was bumped to the 29th as well! That is so neat! he and I began conversing about the same time we both had gotten on the LDS.net website, and now look at us. . . .

I was unable to attend Church this past week, I had to work on second shift for another guy. But the strangest thing, I really miss going to this Church. There is so much to see and learn, it truly is a unique Church.

It is funny Karen, it seems just  a little while ago, I was investigating the Church, worried . . . about what others might say, worried about the sin which was going on in my life, all of it. But a series of strange and beautiful events seemed to come into play, like all these roadblocks to the faith were layed aside, they became marginalized. My wife’s heart softened a bit, (well more like she is tolerable about it),  and I quit worrying about how others feel. The major sins in my life began to be addressed. It all just happened. I can only attribute this to Heavenly Father, I mean how else could it have happened? I have also had guidance from many people like you as well, thank you so much!

My wife really is a wonderful person, but I think she has been listening to someone at work, I do not know who, but one day while having small conversation, she stated her belief and used the word ‘Cult’. But I am prayerful that God will one day change her heart. I figure if I just live the principles in my daily life , she will see the change in me, and maybe… just maybe, one day she will see the Church in a different light.

To tell you the truth, I do not think she will ever know exactly how much the Church has already benefited her and kids. I try and remain focused on the principles instead of all the other vices in life that leads to the destruction of the family.

God bless you Karen, you know you were the first contact I had ever had in the LDS Church, as far as I am concerned all of these good things would not have happened without you. Your testimony, as well as the other testimonies from the MGF , as well as other sites really made things happen. you are an inspiration.

God Bless You,

Tags: baptism through online missionary work, Book of Mormon, change, conversion stories, finding answers online, finding investigators online, finding online, Member missionary work, Mormon beliefs, Mormon faith, Mormon missionaries, Mormon social networks, Online missionary work, transformation

The More Good Foundation is currently looking for stories of faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are serving in their communities and neighborhoods, or in specific helping missions around the world.  If you know of anyone with a story or experience to share, please let us know. Please circulate this email.  We’d love multi-media content if available as well: videos, photos, slide shows.

Dear Friends of the More Good Foundation,

We’re creating a new section on Christ.org–one of our More Good Foundation websites–that will include a composite of personal stories regarding the ways in which the Savior has intervened in our daily lives, and helped us to overcome, realize His hand, submit to His will, live on, receive understanding, see purpose, or find joy in the journey. (Possible topics and questions are listed below.)

We’d like to extend an invitation to you to write and submit to us, your own account of any way in which you have felt the personal impact of the Savior’s atoning love, grace, and influence in your life as you’ve moved forward in your journey of life, or as you’ve faced a particular life challenge. It doesn’t matter if the story revolves around a small moment, one event, or a long struggle. Selected accounts will be published on the site.

If you’re interested, please email your name, photo, and story to Karen Merkley, km@moregood.com. Stories should be approximately 350-1200 words. While we can post some stories anonymously, we’d also like to receive those from guests who would like to include a photo and first name, with their post, to keep the site inviting, real, and personal for our visitors. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: atonement of Savior, Christ.org, dealing with challenges, gospel help, gospel influence, grace, Jesus Christ, life challenges, love of Christ, MGF sites, overcoming weakness, personal application of gospel, struggles

Earlier this month, the LDS Institute of the UVU campus held a Russian New Year’s Event–an evening of celebration, dance, comraderie and cultural connections.    It was super to be there, to meet some of those affiliated with the university and from within our community with Russian heritage and a common interest in Russia, the Ukraine, and surrounding areas.  We express our thanks to Rusty Butler, V.P. of International Affairs at UVU and Honorary Consul General of the Russian Federation in Utah, and Maryna, his assistant and Coordinator of International Affairs as well as the Institute International Directors for making this happen and for inviting us at the More Good Foundation to attend, as we extend our online outreach to Russia and surrounding areas. For more information, see the remainder of this post.

Below are a few photos from the event.

Maryna and Cholpin

Rusty Butler, Karen Merkley (MGF) and Ambassador Baktybek Abdrisaev (photo taken by Cholpon)

Ryan, Arina, and Alisa Purcell

The More Good Foundation is currently involved in a Russian initiative through which we are seeking to extend our online communities–websites and social networking groups/forums–to those in Russia and the Ukraine, so that those seeking to know more about who we are as Mormons, can find positive and accurate information.

If you are interested in knowing more, please contact us!

Tags: LDS Russian, Mormons in Russia, Russian LDS, Russian websites about Church, UVU Russian New Years Eve celebration