Consider some faves:

• The F-11 key that enables you to use your full screen without toolbar interference; Control X to wipe out text
• The “undo arrow”–what would we do without it?
• The Iphone GPS, showing detailed shortest routes to our destination
• Boxed hair color (maybe not)
• Instant brownie mixes
• Templates for projects

You name it; we’ve gotten a shortened version of it.

Well, it’s not surprising that the world has taken to a shortcut for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “Mormons.”  It is, after all, a long and holy name of the Savior’s restored Church in our day.  While we keep the sacredness of the full designation of the Church–receiving the name itself from the Lord Himself in revelation to His leaders–we do accept, as a people, the nickname “Mormons.”  Mormon, according to Joseph Smith, means, “more good.”  Mormons believe in bringing the Savior’s light and truth–more good, the best good, the saving good truths of the gospel and all that attends that–into the world.

Online searches for information about the Church include the frequent search for Mormon-themed words, including Mormon, Mormons, Mormon beliefs, Mormon religion, and Mormon doctrine.  Some of our friends don’t make the connection even between LDS (a Latter-day Saint or member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and “Mormons.”

If you are visiting this site for the first time and are unaware yourself, we are one and the same.  Mormon is a nickname derived from a prophet who lived anciently, on this American continent, and after whom an amazing, true, profound and clear record of Christ‘s visit, is named.  (If you have not read this book, please drop us a note and we will be sure you receive one from us or Mormon missionaries, as you prefer at this point in your journey.)

Although there are millions of searches for LDS, we, as members, have reason to believe that most friends of other faiths seeking information about us do so by keying in the term and nickname, “Mormon.”  Few search for us from other faiths, using the official name of the Church.

There’s a difference, though, in calling the individual, lay members of the Church, “Mormons” and combining that nickname with the official Church name. While many will often Google, “Mormon Church,” the actual full inspired appellation is “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”  Just so you’re not confused by the nickname itself.

Still, for journalists, the Church requests that the initial reference to the Church be a full-named one, and that subsequent references to the Church include “The Church of Jesus Christ.”

In 2009, there were over 31 million searches for the terms Mormon, Mormons, and Mormonism.  This compares with about 32 million for LDS (Latter-day Saint).

In terms of the members, says Mike Otterson, of the Church of Jesus Christ’s Public Affairs office, “It’s simply a reality that people think of Mormons, they don’t think of Latter-day Saints,” Otterson said Thursday. “Mormon is here to stay.”

“Mormon is here to stay.”

Application

For those Mormons blogging, remember to use vernacular that friends of other faiths would understand when addressing families, the temple, your personal gospel insights and experiences, and to define terms or link to definitions and scriptures.

A Relief Society function sounds like a generic humanitarian fundraiser to a friend of another faith rather than a gathering of Mormon women striving to emulate Christ who reach out to those in need, and who are organized into a global affiliation, under the direction of a living prophet and his counselors.

Comments, questions welcome.

Source reference

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14805624

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 1, 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 Newall, 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 www.moregoodfoundation.org, or see contacts above.

-End-

President Benson said, “The Book of Mormon is the instrument that God designed to ’sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out [His] elect.’ (Moses 7:62.) This sacred volume of scripture needs to become more central in our preaching, our teaching, and our missionary work.”

One way we could encourage friends of other faiths to read and experiment on the Book of Mormon is to write a book review on sites like Amazon.com. Do a simple search for “Book of Mormon”, select one of the many editions of the Book of Mormon, then rate it and and write a review about it. Explain an experience that’s occurred when you read the Book of Mormon. I’ve added this to our (non-comprehensive) list of ways to share the Gospel online.

Bookslinger uses his blog to write about ways he is sharing the Book of Mormon in person.

How can we better share the Book of Mormon through the New Media?

The students created two videos, below, to explain. This quote from student Taylor Rose summarizes it well:

Our audience isn’t just this little Provo bubble any more. We actually have the whole world as our audience. People from anywhere can see the content we are creating and we can create something people will be interested in everywhere…. We can tell who we are. We can tell our story.

We can invite them into our lives, show them how we view things, and show them how we make decisions. I think this is an excellent opportunity to show people who we really are.

Dana King serves as a Church public affairs representative in her hometown of St. Louis, MO. When her local newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, launched a multi-faith religion blog, Dana decided to get involved. She writes about her Mormon faith while her local colleagues write about their Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant faiths.

I see several positive aspects:

• This encourages greater interfaith understanding, with people you might actually see or know in your community.
• Because the blog is operated by the local newspaper, it already has an audience and is marketed and advertised.
• As local search improves, what Dana writes is increasingly likely to be found by an investigator in her area.

I haven’t heard of anyone being called to be a blogger, but this is pretty close. Not that Dana was asked to be a blogger, she simply decided to get involved in this good cause “of [her] own free will”.

Importantly, Dana doesn’t presume to speak for the Church; she simply speaks as an adherent to the faith.

What if a public affairs representative in every community encouraged the local newspaper to start a multi-faith religion blog and began writing about the restored gospel?

P.S. Dana King also blogs for Whitney Johnson’s Know Your Neighbor, which has resources for public affairs representatives.

Our own Heather Newell has an article in Mormon Times about usage of the word “Mormon”. As the head moderator at LDS.net, she occasionally receives emails from Church members concerned with our usage of words that persons of other faith use:

I receive emails expressing concern about using the word Mormon, especially using the term Mormon Church. As members of the church, we all know who we are, what we believe, and that this is Jesus Christ’s Church. Many of us understand the style guide set forth by the church to the media. But not everyone else does.
…
Even though I’m an active, daily participant in online conversation about the church, in the past I too have struggled with embracing the word Mormon. I want to share the insights I have gathered which have helped me respectfully say, “I am a Mormon.”

Read more: We Are Mormon at MormonTimes.com

For his religion class this semester, Richard Holzapfel changed his usual scripture log assignment to an online blogging assignment where students write their thoughts and feelings on gospel subjects.
…
Holzapfel said he and students have already seen positive results, engaging in conversations about the gospel with people all over the world.

Read more: Homework and Missionary Work Come Together on Student Blogs

Via ldsmediatalk.com

A recent BYU Daily Universe article explains that Dr. Richard Holzapfel is encouraging gospel blogging by making it part of the curriculum. In BYU religion classes, it’s common to be asked to keep a private study journal throughout the semester. By moving the assignment online, the study journal

• may benefit a much larger audience than just the student;
• may be the catalyst for conversations about the Church;
• gives readers a glimpse into the life of a real member of the Church; and
• lives beyond the end of the semester*, whether the student continues to add to it or not.

Students may take the assignment more seriously — avoiding fluff and cliches that might pass with the grader — since the real world is reading.

Authenticity is paramount:

Holzapfel said he urges students to make their blogs authentic and said they must include “real things about real life.”

“If the blogs are preachy, no one will read them,” he said. (Student Blogging Spreads Church Globally)

Similarly, online journal services like LDSJournal.com or Pyxlin.com could offer a “Share this Paragraph” button in their private journals, so Church members can share without much extra effort.

By the way, Professor Holzapfel practices what he preaches and has begun blogging on the BYU Religious Studies website:

Dr. Richard Holzapfel’s blog

Here is a 3-minute video demonstrating Woopra on MormonWiki.com:

This strikes me as the online equivalent of the store clerk who asks, “Can I help you find anything?” You usually answer, “No, I’m just looking around.”

Elder Cook has touted privacy as one of the great benefits of learning about the gospel online:

“There are a lot of people today who would like to know more about our faith but they are concerned about having their privacy invaded. They want to look at things in their own time and in their own way. They do not want to feel like they have any pressure…. We feel that the Internet and the privacy that it affords people is a wonderful way to do that….” (Internet to find, Missionaries to Teach)

I suspect that most people will prefer not to be interrupted while searching for information about the Church. However, I wonder if a small handful of people would appreciate being offered some help?

In celebration of its 10 year anniversary, Google has released a tool for searching its oldest search index, from 2001. A search for “Mormon beliefs” or “Mormon missionaries” returned a very different set of results 7 years ago.

Due to the efforts of the Church and many Church members, people looking for information about Mormonism can now expect to find a wide variety of stories, testimonies, and experiences from Mormons living their faith.

And there’s still more to do.

If you’re wondering if you can really make a difference by coming off the bleachers and entering the field, we hope to settle it in your mind and heart that your voice is needed.

Let me share with you comments made in an on-the-street survey of random individuals approached by a Public Relations firm eleven years ago to find out what they knew about us as a Church and people. As you read these remarks, I’d invite you to ask yourself: “Do I have anything to say on these issues?” “Would I not eagerly respond to questions like these if I could?” If the answer is, as I imagine it will be, a resounding “Yes,” then I invite you to begin to participate in the online conversation about us on the Internet. For ways to do that, please contact us at email(at)moregoodfoundation(dot)org or km(at)moregood.com. We’ll show you how you can help.

“You know, on family issues and stuff like that; they have good values, it seems like.”

“As a minority, I don’t know of any minorities or blacks that are Mormons. Maybe because I haven’t been around.”

“I might be wrong, but I believe it was a religion originated in probably the 1800s by someone on the East Coast. I thought they uncovered some written material and developed a religion around that.”

“The first thing that comes to mind is that they are allowed to have multiple wives.”

“They give a certain percentage of what they earn to the Church right off the top. I think it is called, ‘tithy’”

“I don’t know about Latter-day Saints, but I was very much interested in the Mormons, and I liked the fact that they were very close and supportive of each other.”

“Very strict, rather conservative in their outlook, and very patriarchal as far as the church structure is concerned.”

“Up until recently, they practiced bigamy.”

“I know a bit. I mean, joseph Smith was the town drunk. Had a vision…. He wnet out West, took the whole thing with him. They lynched him there because they thought he was nuts… They’re really rich; I mean, they know what they’re doing. They live a nice clean life….”

“Something was found in a cave, I believe, by Mr. Smith.

“Caring, open.”

“I know that they’re based in Utah. I know that they have very strict guidelines, that there are not a lot of female priests. I know that Brigham Young University is sort of breeding ground for Mormons.”

As you can see, these interviews–conducted in New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago–reveal much fiction and misunderstanding in the public mind, mixed with a few accurate observations about our morality and lifestyle.

If you feel stirred by these comments, I’d invite you to follow the nudge to participate in sharing your voice online.

I am ready to put a link to the church under “what I believe” on my About page, and to swear less (never, I think) online than I do in real life. I talk about our family reunions and about odd things that occur to me in church. I post videos of my seven-year old practicing her primary talks. But I’m not sure I’m the best example.

Sometimes I worry: will people judge the church by my words and actions…? Will they think I’m hypocritical for drinking Mountain Dew and oppressed because sometimes I hate being a mother?

Is this a problem?

I don’t think so. Jane’s authenticity should be considered a strength, not a weakness. Our friends of other faiths aren’t anxious to discover that all Mormons are alike. I think they’d be glad to discover there’s a Mormon out there just like them, with the same background, education, tastes in food, skin color, and hair color. Maybe they’re even from the same area. (Maybe there’s a Mormon out there for everyone!)

In the comments below Jane’s post, several women say that Elder Ballard’s talk inspired them to start blogs.

Sharing the Gospel online doesn’t need to mean posting your testimony on YouTube or necessarily sharing your testimony, in the traditional sense, at all. While speaking in Washington, D.C., Elder Ballard explained it this way:

Clearly, in this context I am not talking about declaring your testimony of faith in the traditional sense. Naturally, you can and should do that where the setting is appropriate and the audience is receptive, such as a church meeting. Rather, I am talking about taking part in everyday conversations in an unforced way, where your values and your religious beliefs will arise naturally. No one likes to have religion thrust down their throats. Instead, allow people to see how your beliefs lift and shape your life for the better.

• How does the gospel help you as a parent engage with your teens?
• How do your values encourage you to participate in civic affairs?
• How has your experience as a home or visiting teacher enlarged your compassion or care for the sick and needy?
• How has your Church life helped you to avoid such things as pornography and immorality?
• How have family councils or home evenings helped you resolve differences of opinion with members of your family?
• How has your experience in speaking in church helped you address large public groups?
• Where did you learn to respect and not to criticize other faiths?
• And so on.

Customized for Salt Lake City metro area, US

Google can determine — by my IP address — that I am searching from a location near Salt Lake City and attempts to make the search results more relevant to my location.

When our friends of other faiths look for information about our faith, Google may present them with local search results. Perhaps this might include a blog post from a member in their city or a picture of the temple in their area.

This is good news!

1. Instead of feeling discouraged, thinking “Why should I blog? It could never make a difference,” online member missionaries should understand that by sharing authentic, local experiences, their blog may be preferred over a more general source.

2. If a searcher discovers the blog of a local Church member and becomes interested in the Church, the member can be involved in the teaching process with the full-time missionaries.

If you have a blog or website, consider writing about the Church in your area. Here are some example titles you might use:

• “What it’s like to grow up as a Mormon in Las Vegas, NV”
• “How I feel when I visit the Las Vegas Mormon Temple”
• “Where can I visit a Mormon chapel in Las Vegas, NV? What will it be like?”
• “Why I was a Mormon missionary in Tulsa, Oklahoma”

Last week we attended the FAIR Conference. Among my favorite talks were the conference opener by Mike Ash and the conference closer by Dan Peterson.

Mike Ash presented concepts from his new book, Shaken Faith Syndrome. He explained the idea of “inoculation” — introducing members to doctrinal or historical points that might be unsettling if received from unfaithful sources which intend to shock or confuse. For example, we might better inoculate Church members by linking to the relevant FAIR Wiki article on Joseph Smith and polygamy when discussing Joseph Smith or polygamy.

Dan Peterson spoke of softening and broadening the field of apologetics. Apologetics is meant to provide plausibility for faith, not prove anything. We need not debate. If our faith is rational, or based in things we consider plausible, the Spirit can testify of truths. Apologetics can help provide this plausibility, for those who want it, by clearing the thorns so the seeds of faith can grow.

Dan’s vision for broadened apologetics is making the Gospel more “attractive” (or more remarkable) by sharing our experiences, telling our stories, and encouraging others to experiment for themselves. This kind of sharing of beliefs is central to the mission of the More Good Foundation and seems to be what Elder Ballard has asked for.

Earlier this year, Dave Keller suggested that Church members who participate on the Internet should engage in a “vigorous self study program” so they’re prepared to discuss any issue that might arise online. Here I see an interesting convergence: Dan and Dave seem to be implying, respectively, that the apologist and the online member missionary ought to be more like each other.

See also: Dan Peterson on Humble Apologetics at MormonTimes.com.

The article includes references to MormonHunnies, the three Mormon college students who’ve shared their beliefs on YouTube, and youth in Las Vegas who recorded their testimonies at Youth Conference.

“Speak on what you know,” Las Vegas youth leader West Allen says. “Make it personal. They [members] should share how the Church or the gospel has personally benefitted them and their families.”

Source: Mormons Make Their Voices Heard — Digitally

• Youth can tell their friends about the video and link to it from Facebook or MySpace pages.
• Parents can share the video with their co-workers and friends of other faiths. It may be less intimidating, for giver and receiver, to share a video of one’s son or daughter.
• The public at large can see what Mormon youth are like.
• Youth gain experience being missionaries, before serving full-time missions.
• When they grow up, youth can look back and recall the beliefs they formed while young.

Read more: Youth answer Elder Ballard’s challenge with video
Watch video: Youths in Las Vegas record testimonies

YouTube is the 3rd most visited website in the world and another avenue for sharing the Gospel. The Church has published several dozen videos on YouTube, as have many faithful members. Here is an overview:

• Videos from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Videos from the More Good Foundation, including testimonies and conversion stories
• Videos from FAIR, including answers to many questions about our beliefs
• YouTube user lds9999 has created many positive videos about our faith, including a video for each of the 125 temples. If you have a blog or a website, why not find the video for your temple and embed it on your site? This will help more people find it when looking for information about the temple.
• YouTube user believingldsmormon has created about a dozen videos, including facts and figures about the Mormon church and an explanation about garments. He is addressing topics for which there is public interest. (He’s “going where the people are.”)
• YouTube user SethAdamSmith has posted many good videos. He also campaigned for other YouTube users to post their testimonies online.
• Jean Kapenda, a convert from the Congo who joined the Church in Switzerland, video taped his conversion story and made it available on YouTube.
• And there are several other YouTube users who address Gospel topics by simply speaking into the camera. No one could accuse mormonhunnies or notAbadLookinMormon of being scripted or unreal.

If you have a video camera, or a laptop computer with a built-in web cam, why not record yourself and share it online? You could share your conversion story, your testimony of a particular Gospel principle, or how the Gospel affects your day-to-day living.

You might also share applications of Gospel teachings. In fact, Elder Ballard recently spoke about “taking part in everyday conversations in an unforced way, where your values and your religious beliefs will arise naturally.” He listed several questions you might answer online:

• How do your beliefs lift and shape your life for the better?
• How does the gospel help you as a parent engage with your teens?
• How do your values encourage you to participate in civic affairs?
• How has your experience as a home or visiting teacher enlarged your compassion or care for the sick and needy?
• How has your Church life helped you to avoid such things as pornography and immorality?
• How have family councils or home evenings helped you resolve differences of opinion with members of your family?
• How has your experience in speaking in church helped you address large public groups?
• Where did you learn to respect and not to criticize other faiths?

Source: Elder Ballard’s speech given at BYU Management Society

We’ve preloaded these and other questions into MormonTestimonies.org. Each time you visit the site (or refresh your browser) a new question will be loaded. Feel free to answer these questions, or write something else entirely. If you think of other questions we might ask, please leave them in the comments below.

(If you had a user account on the old MormonTestimonies.org site, please contact us to get a new username and password.)

Saturday Elder Ballard spoke at a meeting of the BYU Management Society in Washington, D.C., and again encouraged members to share their beliefs on the Internet. Counting his previous speeches at BYU-Hawaii and BYU-Idaho, this is the third time he’s spoken on the topic.

Here are excerpts:

Many want answers, and the places they are most likely to seek those answers are either on the Internet or from their Mormon acquaintances.

I probably don’t need to tell you that there is much questionable information and even outright falsehoods about the Church on the Internet and in the media-much bad mixed with the good.

Gradually, accurate and positive information is rising to the top of lists generated by various search engines. Those seeking information are more likely to encounter accurate information today than at any time since the Internet began, even though we still have a long way to go.

So let me pose a question. What are you prepared to do about it? If you are a member of the Church, what is your responsibility during this period of unusual attention and debate? Interest has continued at a high level and probably will for some time. If a national conversation is going on about the Church, are you going to be an active participant or a silent observer?

…Church leaders can’t do it all, especially at the grass-roots, community level. While we do speak authoritatively for the Church, we look to our responsible and faithful members to engage personally with blogs, to write thoughtful, online letters to news organizations, and to act in other ways to correct the record with their own opinions.

However, I emphasize that it is not always about correcting misinformation. Sometimes it is about getting solid information and ideas out there in the first place. Share your experiences – those from your own life – that show how your values and your faith intersect. It doesn’t matter whether that’s face to face with another person, or whether you do it by participating from your own blog or contributing to someone else’s blog. The most important thing is that you let people know that you are a Latter-day Saint, and that your behavior and attitude always reflect the high standards of the Church and what is expected as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, you will be speaking as an individual member and not as an official representative of the Church.

I am talking about taking part in everyday conversations in an unforced way, where your values and your religious beliefs will arise naturally….

Read the full text: Elder M. Russell Ballard’s speech given at Brigham Young University Management Society