Everything we do and think now is on an international basis

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The title quotes from President Kimball, but it applies well to what we want to do and think at the More Good Foundation.

Recently Larry Richman posted a very interesting blog on ldswebguy.com about using technology to spread the gospel. He wrote:

“Posting your thoughts, testimony, and views on life on the Internet is a way to share them with millions of people. Your story may be read by someone in a high-rise apartment building in Chicago where missionaries can’t get in. Maybe it will be read by a young person in China who is desperately seeking an answer to the purpose of life.”

He also mentioned President Kimball’s talk entitled When the World Will Be Converted given at a Regional Representatives Seminar (Thursday, April 4, 1974, Ensign, Oct. 1974, 3). I invite you to read those interesting remarks.

By coincidence -or maybe not- I was reading last week the book written by Edward Kimball about the presidency of Spencer W. Kimball. In the book he presents parts of that same talk and of others related to missionary work.

Edward at one point describes the vision of President Kimball that “staggered his listeners”:

“Suppose that South Korea with its 37,000,000 people and its 7,500 members were to take care of its own proselyting needs and thus release to go into North Korea and possibly to Russia the hundreds who now go from the states to Korea.”

“If Japan could furnish its own 1,000 missionaries and then eventually 10,000 more for Mongolia and China, if Taiwan could furnish its own needed missionaries plus 500 for China and Vietnam and Cambodia, then we would begin to fulfill the vision. Suppose that Hong Kong could furnish its needed missionaries and another 1,000 to go to both of the Chinas; suppose the Philippines could fill its own needs and then provide an additional 1,000 for the limitless islands of Southeast Asia……”

“With this movement of missionaries who would be traveling north and west, the lands of the world could begin to be covered with the gospel as the lowlands of the world are covered with the oceans.”

President Kimball then lists other countries that could benefit from similar trends. He then continues:

“This would be difficult. It would take some time. Sometimes it might seem impossible but again remember the little stone cut out of the mountain without hands which was destined to roll forth and fill the whole earth. It has gone a long way but it must go farther.”

“Using all the latest inventions and equipment and paraphernalia already developed and that which will follow, can you see that perhaps the day may come when the world will be converted and covered?”

It looks like President Kimball strictly associated the increase number of missionaries with the “paraphernalia already developed and that which will follow.” I think that I am in this moment using a “paraphernalia” that was to follow his time and I believe that this paraphernalia can greatly help the work of the missionaries around the world.

From my experience the worst thing for missionaries is to waste their time seeking for people to teach, instead than focusing on teaching. I strongly believe that the internet can make a difference in helping members reach potential investigators. We need to remember that most sincere investigators recognize the truth when they hear it.

When I first heard the missionaries‘ discussions I felt that their doctrine was true because it was making a lot of sense (spiritual and intellectual sense). The same thing can happen in many cases even when missionaries are not present if people are sincere.

Most of the members of the Church remember the story of Parley P. Pratt: he was moved by the Spirit to find the book of Mormon, and by reading it he was converted. No earthly missionary was involved in this first part of his conversion. Reading was enough for him to decide to find those who had the authority to baptize him.

This should be the pattern and the power of the internet: finding people, touching people’s hearts, and then leave to them the task of finding the missionaries. I believe that the internet is an indispensable tool to reach the goal of preaching all the people of the world.

I am not sure about the relative importance of radio, television and the internet in spreading of the gospel, though all of them are surely important, but what I like about the internet is that the information is always there, it doesn’t disappear when a program ends. People can return to it again and read again, then think, and go back again. The only problem is to make sure that there is enough good information that people can find easily.

Now, let us go back to the beginning, “everything we do and think now is on an international basis”: what do we need now?

We need help translating or publishing directly in other languages. I am writing in English right now but we need help in other languages. If any of you is able to write in another language, consider starting a blog in that language (even if you are not perfect it’s ok, you will improve by doing it over and over). We will start doing the same. If you know people with skills in other language, let them know how much we need them.

In another talk President Kimball said: “Our program must go to the illiterate…we must give them the blessing and let the Church program bless them…they could accept the gospel by the millions if we do our full duty” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 588).

It is more complicated to reach the completely illiterate people with the internet, but we can start from those who are simply “English illiterate” but who know very well their own language. There are millions of these people in all countries, who can’t read in English but can very easily read in their own language. Many of these countries don’t even allow missionaries in their lands, but they can’t stop the internet. We should move in now!