More Good Foundation Blog » The Church http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org For Online Member Missionaries Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:12:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Go Into All the World: Argentina http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/1481/go-into-all-the-world-argentina http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/1481/go-into-all-the-world-argentina#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:51:32 +0000 Karen Trifiletti http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/?p=1481 Two German Mormon converts immigrating to Argentina shared their faith as members of The Church of Jesus Christ through the news media, and the growth of the Church in that area of South America began slowly bnefore becoming a powerful area of the Church, as prophesied by Elder Ballard.

President Benton and Sister Benton currently preside over the Buenos Aires West Mission in Argentina. Pushing 400, 000 LDS members (Mormons) in Argentina, the gospel continues to roll forward. Yet, there are about 40 million people in Argentina–most of whom are of European descent, particularly of Spanish and Italian descent–with many wonderful people yet to reach.

There are about 168 missionaries in Buenos Aeres, the majority of whom are from Chile, and about 63 are Latin, of whom the majority are from Chile.  There are 14 sisters currently serving.

A little more than two years ago, we began a pilot program to teach English to the Latin missionaries. Elder and Sister Smith, missionaries from Orem, Utah, now serving in Buenos Aires, oversee that program.  There are three books with Church-related content, in 25 modules, for the Latins to learn English.  At the end of the course, they take a test and can receive a certificate from BYU for that course. In President Benton’s words:

The joy of that is that we are training up great leaders of the future; it dramatically blesses them to find employment of a higher calibre.

President and Sister Benton have issued about 40-45 of those certificates to Latin missionaries over the past two years.

For the full interview, please visit LDS Radio:

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/1481/go-into-all-the-world-argentina/feed 0 LDS Church Expands its Internet Offerings http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/754/lds-church-expands-its-internet-offerings http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/754/lds-church-expands-its-internet-offerings#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:28:29 +0000 Gale http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/?p=754 MormonMessages_logoThe classic websites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been Mormon.org (which explains the Plan of Salvation and restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ) and LDS.org, the main church website for its members. The church has over 60 million page views a month and over 100,000 pages of content on lds.org.  Adjuncts to the LDS.org site are special sites for humanitarian aid, church education, provident living, and social services. The Church is upgrading its presence online constantly and reaching members and friends of other faiths all over the world.

On YouTube.com the Church has mounted selected videos into its “Mormon Messages” channel.  Included are videos regarding temples and temple worship, Mormonads, and selections from conference talks. The most popular video on the youtube Mormon Messages channel is the Easter message given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  The video has had over 500,000 views.

The Church recently created a Mormon Channel that streams online.  Mormon radio is now available.  General Conference can be viewed almost instantly after it takes place on the LDS.org website.  In the future personalized online general conference journals, upgraded ward directories and content for mobile phones are planned.  The Church has also developed about 20 different Web sites specifically for search engine optimization. One example is lds.org/jesuschrist. It differs from jesuschrist.lds.org, a site launched last year, in that it is built specifically for Google searches.

The goal is to make edifying material easy to access on the internet.  A team of 20 people is focused solely on making the search experience better.  One area of focus is language transition. Different language options for content do exist on lds.org but haven’t been promoted because they’re difficult to navigate.  The goal is to have 10 languages available in a consistent format with navigable screens within the next year.

Those who are interested in learning about projects under development have a few options.  LDSTech is an open, public site that provides “a glimpse into” the technical work being done by the church.  Labs.lds.org is where church members can experience ideas under development and offer feedback, though some are just “rough concepts.” The site is a “closed environment,” and requires a user name and password.  Church members can create a login for labs.lds.org at the new LDS Account site, which will eventually create a “single sign-on experience” for all the church’s Web sites.

In the works is a general conference experience. The site features a search tool for finding talks by session, speaker, topic or keyword, while a “personalized study” tool allows users to tag, highlight and add notes to the text of talks and save them in a personal journal.  Other projects include a revamped ward directory site, a youth experience site, and general conference and ward directory options for mobile browsers.  More offerings for cell phones are also being considered.  An online TV station is also a future possibility.

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/754/lds-church-expands-its-internet-offerings/feed 0 LDS App of Facebook: Opportunity for Inter-faith Dialog http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/693/lds-app-of-facebook-opportunity-for-inter-faith-dialog http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/693/lds-app-of-facebook-opportunity-for-inter-faith-dialog#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 22:39:25 +0000 Karen Trifiletti http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/?p=693 screenshotFacebook 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.

Facebook is a virtual phenomenon. From the day that Mark Zuckerberg turned his pass-around notebook of faces and contact information to keep track of classmates to its conversion to the Internet with his Harvard buddies, Dustin and Chris, in 2004, Facebook didn’t sleep. Its growth in the fall of 2007 was staggering:

Over 1 million new users signed up every week, 200,000 daily, totaling over 50 million active users. Facebook received 40 billion page views a month. Long gone were the days of Facebook as a social network for college students. 11% of users are over the age of 35, and the fastest growing demographic is users over 30. Facebook has also seen huge growth internationally; 15% of the user base is in Canada. Facebook users’ passion to the site is unparalleled: more than half use the product every single day and users spend an average of 19 minutes a day on Facebook. Facebook is 6th most trafficked site in the US and top photo sharing site with 4.1 billion photos uploaded. (“Facebook”)

If you are interested in our initiative in reaching out to Russia online, opening up a dialog about our faith, feel free to visit LDS Russia on Facebook, or check out our Russian forum at mormonforum dot ru.

If you are interested in checking out more about Mormon Women, we also have a Facebook group, so please feel free to visit.  The group is associated with the website by the same name, at MormonWoman dot org. The site is a venue for sharing authentic glimpses into the lives of faithful and proactive LDS women, and has a repository of articles, reflections on women’s issues, and multi-media with user interface and volunteer contributions welcome.

Questions? Comments? Email us at email@moregoodfoundation dot org.  Thanks for stopping by.

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/693/lds-app-of-facebook-opportunity-for-inter-faith-dialog/feed 3 New website about Gospel teaching http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/248/new-website-about-gospel-teaching http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/248/new-website-about-gospel-teaching#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:22:06 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/?p=248 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.

Speaking of websites launched by Church employees, Brian Hansbrow has recently launched LDSTeacher.com. LDSTeacher.com is a social network with the goal of “improving teaching and learning in the … Church.”

At LDSTeacher.com you can discuss such topics as how to invite the Spirit into lessons, how to increase student participation, and how to prepare to teach. In a Church with no paid ministry, teachers may find these resources helpful.

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/248/new-website-about-gospel-teaching/feed 2 Important new blog for parents, families, and technologists http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/247/important-new-blog-for-parents-families-and-technologists http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/247/important-new-blog-for-parents-families-and-technologists#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:50:56 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/?p=247 LDSMediaTalk.com is a new blog created by several Church employees to share “technology ideas for LDS parents and youth.” While this blog is not an official publication of the Church, these bloggers are experts in their fields and are close to the issues. Anybody interested in how the Church uses and will use technology to fulfill its mission should subscribe to this blog.

Participants include the following individuals, as well as occasional guests:

  • Larry Richman, LDS.org Product Manager
  • Joel Dehlin, Church CIO
  • David Nielson, Managing Director, Church Audiovisual Dept
  • David Frischknecht, Managing Director, Church Curriculum Dept

A recent MormonTimes.com article quoted Larry Richman relative to the launch of this new site:

Richman said the principal writers for LDSMediaTalk.com will glean technology information useful to families based on each author’s area of expertise. The curriculum director will focus on teaching the gospel. The audiovisual director will focus on Hollywood, movie-watching and music. The CIO will dig into technology issues. “I’m somewhere in the middle of all of those,” Richman said.

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/247/important-new-blog-for-parents-families-and-technologists/feed 0 Mormons Make Their Voices Heard — Digitally http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/234/mormons-make-their-voices-heard-%e2%80%94-digitally http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/234/mormons-make-their-voices-heard-%e2%80%94-digitally#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:39:22 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/?p=234 The Church Newsroom has a good article about members of the Church who are using YouTube and other websites to share the Gospel.

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

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/234/mormons-make-their-voices-heard-%e2%80%94-digitally/feed 1 Internet Helps Apostles Teach of Jesus Christ to all the World http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/224/internet-helps-apostles-teach-of-jesus-christ-to-all-the-world http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/224/internet-helps-apostles-teach-of-jesus-christ-to-all-the-world#comments Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:34:48 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2008/03/internet-helps-apostles-teach-of-jesus-christ-to-all-the-world/ Elder Russell M. Nelson recently discussed the Church’s new website about the Savior, JesusChrist.lds.org, in a short video clip on YouTube (embedded below.) He said the Internet is a medium which will help the Apostles fulfill their calling to preach the word of God throughout the entire world:

Our responsibility as Apostles is to teach of Jesus Christ to all the world. We have used the website [JesusChrist.lds.org] because that’s the way people get their information now a days. When the Lord called his Twelve Apostles, he called them to send them throughout the world and preach of him. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. In those days they could talk to a few people, here and there. In our time, we’ve had radio, television and now we have the Internet. The Internet is a very excellent way of promoting the word of God. We have confidence in this medium. We know it will appeal to a lot of people. We take seriously the responsibility that we have.

Elder Nelson then quoted the Apostle Paul’s words to the Ephesians — Ephesians 2:19-20
and Ephesians 4:11-13 — and said the website is to help promote a unity of understanding.

So that’s why we have this website. We are to promote unity in our understanding of our faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. The Lord has revealed more in this day and age than He has ever before. We’re the recipients of that knowledge and we’re happy to share it with others. We’ve done it through this website and we’ve employed not only the written word but visual text and some video clips. This should be a great aid to the members of the Church. They can identify segments of this that will be of particular appeal to their family or friends or relatives and just forward it.

We may have a different understanding of Jesus because he personally appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and he taught the Prophet Joseph Smith and so those revelations are very important. There’s only one Jesus Christ and our understanding of him is very rich and we’re very anxious to share that with all human beings.

We’ve written previously about using the Internet to fulfill the three-fold mission of the Church and suggested some ways members can be involved in proclaiming the Gospel online. Elder Nelson’s comments reveal an even larger vision for the use of this technology. I think we can begin to see how the truth of the Lord will actually and realistically “penetrate every continent, visit every clime, sweep every country, and sound in every ear.”

Video:

Source: New Web Site Focuses on Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ

See also: The Wentworth Letter

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/224/internet-helps-apostles-teach-of-jesus-christ-to-all-the-world/feed 3 Link to the Church’s new website about the Savior http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/223/link-to-the-churchs-new-website-about-the-savior http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/223/link-to-the-churchs-new-website-about-the-savior#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:47:41 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2008/02/link-to-the-churchs-new-website-about-the-savior/ 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.

This week the Church launched JesusChrist.lds.org, a new website entirely about the Savior Jesus Christ.

The following “badges” can be used on your own blog or website to link to the site. This is a great way to share teachings of the Savior with your readers and visitors.

To use an image from the left, copy the HTML code on the right to your own blog or website:

Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ, the Son of God

Source: Link to JesusChrist.lds.org

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/223/link-to-the-churchs-new-website-about-the-savior/feed 5 New websites about President Hinckley and President Monson http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/221/new-websites-about-president-hinckley-and-president-monson http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/221/new-websites-about-president-hinckley-and-president-monson#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:04:44 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2008/02/new-websites-about-president-hinckley-and-president-monson/ 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.

The More Good Foundation recently launched two new websites to coincide with the passing of President Hinckley and the calling of President Monson as prophet:

Gordon Hinckley dot com
Thomas Monson dot com

The Church also launched two new official websites about President Hinckley and President Monson:
Gordon B Hinckley dot org
Thomas S Monson dot org

The quick launch of these two Church websites is remarkable because it involved the coordination of almost a dozen teams. (More Good Foundation is just one team.) Kudos to the Church. The quality shows.

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/221/new-websites-about-president-hinckley-and-president-monson/feed 0 Succession of prophets fuels interest in the Church http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/220/succession-of-prophets-fuels-interest-in-the-church http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/220/succession-of-prophets-fuels-interest-in-the-church#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:28:42 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2008/01/succession-of-prophets-fuels-interest-in-the-church/ 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.

Our beloved prophet President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away last night at 7 PM. Since then, we’ve seen a flood of online interest in him, his successor Thomas S. Monson, how leadership and priesthood succession works in the Church, who current members of the Twelve are, and many other questions.

In the coming days, members of the Church have a great opportunity to answer these questions. If you have a blog, it would be helpful to write something on what President Hinckley’s service meant to you, your thoughts on President Monson, your understanding of how priesthood succession works, and related topics. It would also be helpful if you link to additional information like these:

Gordon B. Hinckley (Mormonwiki.com)
Gordon B. Hinckley (Lightplanet.com)
Thomas S. Monson (newsroom.lds.org)
Thomas S. Monson (Mormonwiki.com)
Thomas S. Monson (Lightplanet.com)

You might also participate in forums like Yahoo Answers or our own LDS.net.

If you have a Web cam or digital camera, you might record your thoughts on President Hinckley and post it to YouTube.

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/220/succession-of-prophets-fuels-interest-in-the-church/feed 6 Elder Ballard Encourages Use of Internet to Share the Gospel http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/218/elder-ballard-encourages-use-of-internet-to-share-the-gospel http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/218/elder-ballard-encourages-use-of-internet-to-share-the-gospel#comments Sun, 16 Dec 2007 02:36:16 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2007/12/elder-ballard-encourages-use-of-internet-to-share-the-gospel/ 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.

Today Elder Ballard spoke at the BYU-Hawaii graduation and urged graduates to use the Internet to share the Gospel. He mentioned blogging, podcasts, Facebook, video-sharing sites, and “people using … search engines to hunt for topics about the Church.” Here are selected portions:

The emergence of New Media is facilitating a world-wide conversation on almost every subject including religion, and nearly everyone can participate.
…
Conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches.
…
The challenge is that there are too many people participating in conversation about the Church for our Church personnel to converse with and respond to individually. We cannot answer every question, satisfy every inquiry, and respond to every inaccuracy that exists. …some who seek answers want them to come directly from a member of the Church, like each one of you.
…
May I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the New Media, 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 at 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.
…
Others have recorded and posted their testimonies of the Restoration, the teachings of the Book of Mormon, and other gospel subjects on popular video-sharing sites. You, too, can tell your story to nonmembers in this way.
…
Use stories and words that they will understand.

Elder Ballard also cited the Indy Books blog, where Bookslinger chronicles his daily missionary work.

I think this will prove to be a landmark talk.

Full transcript: Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church

Press release: Apostle Urges Students to Use New Media

(Thanks to several people who sent me this.)

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/218/elder-ballard-encourages-use-of-internet-to-share-the-gospel/feed 10 Virtual Missions http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/217/virtual-missions http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/217/virtual-missions#comments Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:28:07 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2007/11/virtual-missions/ There were powerful ideas in the Church Newsroom‘s recent podcast about the Truth Restored campaign. Elder Quentin L. Cook and Scott Swofford envision a future in which the Internet is used for finding, and missionaries teach and baptize.

The newly redesigned Mormon.org includes a chat feature which connects interested parties with “missionaries and trainers at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah.” Brother Swofford said, “A number of baptisms have resulted.”

We previously mentioned that a virtual world like Second Life could be an avenue for sharing the Gospel. Having had some success with the chat feature, it seems the Church may even consider a “virtual mission”:

“We hope to continue to expand both the hours and the scope of that [chat] program to include perhaps a virtual mission at some point where missionaries who might be disqualified for other health-related or other issues can continue to serve as a virtual missionary.” (Scott Swofford)

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/217/virtual-missions/feed 0 The Internet to find, Missionaries to teach http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/216/the-internet-to-find-missionaries-to-teach http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/216/the-internet-to-find-missionaries-to-teach#comments Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:27:46 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2007/11/the-internet-to-find-missionaries-to-teach/ 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.

In a recent Church Newsroom podcast, Scott Swofford, Media Director of the Missionary Department, said new media and the Internet should be used to find people for the full-time missionaries to teach:

“There’s no way missionaries can do what they do now and shoulder the burden of finding. We’re going to have to do the finding using new media. And then, because new media can’t baptize, teach, convert, and testify, we’re going to have to feed that funnel, the product of that funnel, to the missionaries so they can do what they do best. Wouldn’t it be great if my grandson goes…on his mission…and gets to just teach nonstop because media and the Internet have finally picked up their rightful role and are funneling people who want to know.” (Emphasis added.)

Elder Quentin L. Cook said many people will prefer to learn about the Church through the Internet:

“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…. There are a lot of people who are just not going to call a number…. But they will go to the Internet and look into it and we think that’s happening on a significant scale.” (Emphasis added.)

Faithful Church members who share their beliefs online accelerate the Internet’s “rightful role” in finding people for the missionaries to teach.

Source: “Truth Restored” Campaign [mp3]

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/216/the-internet-to-find-missionaries-to-teach/feed 0 Church Newsroom videos now on YouTube (officially) http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/210/church-newsroom-videos-now-on-youtube-officially http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/210/church-newsroom-videos-now-on-youtube-officially#comments Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:55:05 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2007/10/church-newsroom-videos-now-on-youtube-officially/ Eight videos of Elder Ballard answering common questions about Mormonism are now available on YouTube. The videos were first posted on the Church’s own Newsroom site but are now available through the Church’s new YouTube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/LDSPublicAffairs

(You can also subscribe to these videos by RSS.)

Elder Ballard answers questions like these:

Very savvy of the Church to go where the traffic is.

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/210/church-newsroom-videos-now-on-youtube-officially/feed 5 The Church’s three-fold mission and the Internet http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/205/the-churchs-three-fold-mission-and-the-internet http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/205/the-churchs-three-fold-mission-and-the-internet#comments Wed, 22 Aug 2007 17:40:53 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2007/08/the-churchs-three-fold-mission-and-the-internet/ 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.

This month’s Ensign has an article about using the Internet to do family history work. Anyone in the world can visit FamilySearchIndexing.org to signup as a volunteer and begin doing “extraction work,” the work of transcribing names from old court documents, birth certificates, and death records. This family history work, along with temple work, brings about the redemption of the dead, one of the threefold missions of the Church. The Church’s Family History Department has long been adept at using technology in its mission.

What about the other two missions of the Church: “Perfect the Saints” and particularly “Proclaim the Gospel”? If the Internet is to be used to proclaim the gospel, how will it be done? How can the Church use the Internet to proclaim the gospel as effectively as it has used the Internet to enable redeeming the dead?

threefold-mission-of-the-mormon-church.png

How can we use the Internet to proclaim the gospel? Here are some ideas that come to mind:

  1. If we participate on the Internet, people who interact with us may see our good example and ask about our religion.
  2. If we participate on the Internet, people who don’t even know us may find our thoughts and feelings about the Church.
  3. Perhaps we can use web applications and other Internet technologies to better manage our real life missionary work.

What else comes to mind for you?

In the Ensign article, Sister Susana Doty said she never intended to get an email address, but she became actively involved on the Internet when she was able to do family history work online. How can we make proclaiming the gospel online equally appealing?

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/205/the-churchs-three-fold-mission-and-the-internet/feed 5 Thoughtful expressions of personal faith http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/185/thoughtful-expressions-of-personal-faith http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/185/thoughtful-expressions-of-personal-faith#comments Thu, 05 Jul 2007 21:12:28 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2007/07/thoughtful-expressions-of-personal-faith/ A recent Times and Seasons blog post suggested that the Mormon Church‘s recently published article on the Mountain Meadows Massacre represented “new openness” on the part of the Church. The Church replied that it’s simply a response to the Internet and and “social media” formats that have brought “new communication opportunities to the Church through its Web sites.”

The Internet and social media allow fast, authentic, many-to-many communication, quite different from the few-to-many, broadcast media formats from just a few years ago. By posting the Mountain Meadows Massacre article on its website, the Church allows the “most thorough scholarship on the topic” to reach a wide audience in a way that sound bites cannot.

What’s more, Church members like us can participate!

While Church websites provide the official voice, we members can participate online to share our beliefs, opinions, and faith and dispel misinformation:

Many Church members on their own initiative take part in sharing their beliefs and opinions on the Internet. Thoughtful expressions of their personal faith and experiences with the Church help dispel stereotypes and misinformation.

If you would like to share your faith online, here are 12 ways. There are dozens more.

Source: The Church and New Media: Clarity, Context, and Official Voice

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/185/thoughtful-expressions-of-personal-faith/feed 0 Glenn Beck and Marie Osmond’s testimonies http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/170/glenn-beck-and-marie-osmonds-testimonies http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/170/glenn-beck-and-marie-osmonds-testimonies#comments Fri, 11 May 2007 18:39:37 +0000 Giuseppe http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2007/05/glenn-beck-and-marie-osmonds-testimonies/ Yesterday I did something that I usually don’t do. I started watching TV at night, skipping through different channels. While I was looking for something interesting, I found Glenn Beck’s show. I was struck by what he was saying and by his tone. This is what he said right in the beginning:

Tonight’s program is deeply personal. For the first time since I’ve been doing this show, I have no idea how it’s going to play out, what’s going to happen. I do know that the show will be honest and, hopefully, include an example of integrity. Here is the point tonight…

Earlier this week Reverend Al Sharpton, who has appeared on this program many times, was involved in a debate about atheism with the author Christopher Hitchens, himself an atheist.

When Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith was introduced into the debate, Sharpton said, quote, “As for the one running—the one Mormon running for office—those that really believe in God will defeat him anyway. So don’t worry about that.

Wow! I thought, this is going to be really interesting! And it was.

I am not interested here to comment on what Al Sharpton said or intended to say about Mormons, but I want to underline something about Glenn Beck. He said, among other things:

I’m a Mormon. I’m a Christian, and I’m not a bigot and I am offended.

He was bold enough and willing to take a risk in his personal career to defend his faith. He gave his testimony of what he knows by defending the Church several times. For example, in response to Al Sharpton’s comment on the status of blacks in Mormonism, he said,

And to go back and say, “Were you a part of this? Are you still a bigot?” is very offensive, especially . . . especially since most of America has no real clue as to the history of the Mormons. We’re the first religion—the only religion —to have an extermination order against us in the United States of America. Until 1978 or ‘79, it was legal, in Missouri, to kill a Mormon. It was removed after 19— the ’70s.

They (the Mormons) left—the reason why they were chased out of Missouri, one of the main reasons, is because they were abolitionists. They were fighting and standing up against slavery. And then to be called bigoted and, “Were you a part of that” is offensive.

I loved this.

However, I am sure that Glenn Beck has not been the only one to stand up for the Mormon faith with Al Sharpton. Others must have talked with Reverend Al Sharpton in the past few days because during the program he admitted,

Now, in the last 48 hours, I’ve heard a lot about Mormons that I didn’t know.

I am sure that Reverend Al Sharpton is learning more about the Mormons in these days. And while I think that his comment was not completely innocent, I also believe that in part his wrong perceptions are due to lack of true knowledge. When I say true knowledge, I mean testimonies coming from members of the Mormon Church, as opposed to misleading information coming from people who don’t really know what they are talking about or that try to mislead on purpose.

I hate commercials on TV, so as soon as the first commercial started I changed the channel. Interestingly enough, Marie Osmond, another famous Mormon, whose brother Alan is by chance my good neighbor, was on Larry King’s show.

She was also great in defending his Church, as when she said that obviously Mormons are Christians, in fact the name of the Church is Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! Duh!

So now what? I think we should all be bold enough and share our testimonies every time we can, to help people like Al Sharpton (and other, less famous people) to understand what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really is and what it really stands for. We need to show the light to dispel darkness.

To help you with this, we have created MormonTestimonies, a site that needs your help. Go now and write your testimony and/or make a short video. Also, share this idea with your family and friends, with your ward mission leader, your bishop, your stake president, and so on.

Here there are a few video testimonies for you to see . . . and you can do even better!

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/170/glenn-beck-and-marie-osmonds-testimonies/feed 4 “The Mormons” coming soon http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/169/the-mormons-coming-soon http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/169/the-mormons-coming-soon#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:01:19 +0000 Richard K Miller http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2007/04/the-mormons-coming-soon/ If you’re in the U.S., be sure to watch The Frontline/American Experience special “The Mormons,” which will air this Monday and Tuesday on PBS. (We wrote about “The Mormons” previously.)

On PBS.org you’ll find information about the show including a 6-minute trailer.

For the Church’s statement on the upcoming show, please see PBS Film Likely to Cause Debate at newsroom.lds.org. Since controversy, novelty, and dissenting opinions drive traffic and sales, expect to see disproportionate coverage of controversial topics and opinions.

A few scholars, including some who appear in the documentary, have seen substantial parts of the program.

Their initial reaction: Church leaders and members are extraordinarily eloquent in explaining the tenets of their faith. The film is not superficial, which is often a criticism leveled at television coverage.

However, some raised concern about what they feel is a disproportionate amount of time given to topics that are not central to the Church’s faith. For instance, polygamy comes in for extensive treatment in the first program, including substantial attention to present-day polygamous groups that have nothing to do with today’s Church. The time devoted to portrayals of modern fundamentalist polygamy seems inconsistent with the filmmaker’s stated purposes of getting inside the LDS experience, and of exploding, rather than reinforcing, stereotypes. (source)

In any case, the film should be interesting and should help improve public understanding of the Church, at very least by raising questions and sparking curiosity. I am excited to see the show and think it will be a net positive.

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/169/the-mormons-coming-soon/feed 1 Video Testimonies http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/157/video-testimonies http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/157/video-testimonies#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:13:55 +0000 Giuseppe http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2007/04/video-testimonies/ There are many videos online about the Mormon Church, some good and some not really good. We think that another way of making our voices heard on the Internet is to share our testimony on a short video.

A week or so ago I decided to use an opportunity in my ward at a high priest social to ask some people to give their testimony on video. We had a dinner and then I showed an inspiring video from the San Jose mission about missionary work. After the presentation I asked the high priests if they would like to give their testimony on a video. Several of them accepted the challenge even if they were not expecting that.

We have posted a few of those videos on YouTube. They are in all in Portuguese but even if you don’t understand Portuguese, you can get an idea. We have then included a link to those videos from the site Mormon Testimonies so that people can not only read your testimonies but also hear them.

I would invite all of you to share your testimonies in writing and / or in video and then point your friends to them from Mormon Testimonies and other websites of your choice.

]]> http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/157/video-testimonies/feed 0 The Mormon Conference and our Testimonies http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/154/the-mormon-conference-and-our-testimonies http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/154/the-mormon-conference-and-our-testimonies#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2007 17:48:13 +0000 Giuseppe http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/2007/04/the-mormon-conference-and-our-testimonies/ In the last weekend in Salt Lake City The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had its 177th Annual General Conference.

Many talks were highly inspiring but thinking about MGF and missionary work online this is my take of the Conference (all personal opinion, obviously).

I can’t remember of any specific talk given about missionary work, but several speakers, including the Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley and Elder Tom Perry, gave straightforward testimonies of the truth of the message of the Church. Perhaps we are approaching the time in which nothing less than a direct testimony will save the world (or at least some of his inhabitants). People need to choose, as Joshua said a long time ago, who they want to serve.

We should follow our leaders in giving more frequently our testimonies to the world, and since very few of us have the opportunity of being broadcasted on television to millions of people, we may consider the easier medium offered by the internet. Our Mormon Testimonies Website can help you in doing it. You can do it individually or you can organize a group of members and have them write their testimonies (and stories) on the website.

President James E. Faust described the great forgiving attitude of the Amish. The Amish obviously don’t use Internet, but I am sure that those people involved in that great forgiving episode, if they were using the Internet, they wouldn’t be involved in criticizing the Mormon Church. They have better things to do, and I am sure that they are getting closer to the Lord because of that.

I have the impression that even more that in the past, what really matters is not the official religious affiliation, but where people’s hearts are. In other words, the ways of the Lord and the ways of the world are diverging always more and good and honest people from all denominations (such as that groups of Amish, for example) will be attracted to the truth soon or later, even if after this life. On the other hand, even some members of the truth Church, who are simply members for other reasons than the love of the truth, will not be able to stand the day and will fall away, eventually.

So, let us be courageous (as President Monson said) and let us help the Church by writing our testimonies, so that the world will read them and some souls will be converted. Don’t worry if your writing is not perfect. Joseph Smith’s writing wasn’t either!

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