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.

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-

http://imapc.lifewithoutwalls.com/

If there were something like this for Mormons, would people use it? What question or starting point would evoke the most and best responses? (And the definition of “best” is open for discussion.)

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.

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

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://www.youtube.com/LDSPublicAffairs

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

Elder Ballard answers questions like these:

• Are Mormons Christian?
• Why do people say Mormonism is a cult?
• How Do Mormon Beliefs Differ From Other Christians?

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

Jacob Durrant of AllAboutMormons.com is on a streak. He’s recently created eight videos explaining Gospel teachings in his own words:

A Crash Course in Mormonism

He’s also begun translating the videos into Portuguese, and all his videos are available on YouTube.

Here’s what Jacob is doing right:

1. He has created excellent videos using “consumer” level tools.
2. He shares his videos on YouTube, in addition to his own website, so more people will find them.
3. He uses his ability to speak Portuguese to translate the videos and reach even more people.
4. His explanations use terminology that persons of other faith will understand.
5. He explains Gospel principles in his own words, not claiming to be an official representative of The Church. His disclaimer makes it clear that his words are his own.

I believe these videos are amateur work in the best sense of that word, a word that derives from the Latin word for love.

Did you know you don’t need any video editing software or equipment to create a video on YouTube? Any Church member with a web cam can use YouTube’s Quick Capture option to record video testimonies.

Ed J. Pinegar’s testimony

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.

The second half of the video includes several interviews from Church members explaining how and why they joined the Church.

To me the video brings a peaceful feeling of gratitude for the many blessings of the Restored gospel and also a reminder of the importance of sharing the gospel.

(This video has been removed for copyright concerns.)

Also, if you speak Portuguese, you might like the videos Giuseppe recorded of members of his ward. Several of them shared their beliefs and testimony in a short video. If you live in Utah and would like to do this with your ward, we’d be glad to help personally. If you don’t live in Utah, maybe you can find a video camera, round up a few ward members, and post the videos online yourself. We’d love to know about it.

UPDATE: The music used in this video wasn’t properly licensed from its copyright owner, so we have removed it. You can still see watch video testimonials from members of Giuseppe’s ward.

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.

As many of you know, the Church launched a new version of its main website, www.lds.org, just two weeks ago. Then last week the Church launched a new version of its site for News Media, newsroom.lds.org. We’ve produced a short tour of these two sites in the form of a video screencast. The screencast gives an overview of the new sites and highlights some of the new features found on lds.org.

I don’t know if wards still do these types of missionary projects; I suspect that there are some that do. I’ve also heard of youth groups doing this as a project. Such projects are commendable, as they help both members and non-members to understand the depth of conviction that people have about the gospel.

I was reflecting the other day that with the rise of the Internet, we have a similar opportunity to connect with other people and share the gospel. We have the opportunity to, in effect, become “Internet missionaries.” All it takes is a few moments of time, and a desire to share your testimony with others.

What’s the idea? Why not sit down, in front of a video camera, and record your testimony. It need not be long–in fact, anywhere from ninety seconds to three minutes would be ideal. Then, upload your testimony to one of the video services, such as YouTube, so that others can share your feelings. Just like when people would read your handwritten testimony in the front of a Book of Mormon, they can begin to understand that real people (like you) have strong feelings about the gospel. If you know a language other than English, you could also record your testimony in that language, giving you two videos that will hopefully reach a more diverse group of people.

When you upload the video, you are given a chance to provide a title and keywords for the video. Make sure that you include a title and keywords that are relevant to what you are saying in the video. Perhaps keywords like Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ, Living Prophet, or Mormon Testimony could be relevant. (Just include what you think would be helpful terms to those who are not members of the Church.) The title and keywords help people search for and find your video more easily.

How long would all this take? Not long at all; you could probably do everything in less than an hour. It might take a little longer if you use these “video testimonies” as an idea for a youth project or ward project. What is the benefit? Someone may see your video testimony and you could “plant a seed” that will later produce fruit.

If you decide to upload your testimony, drop me a line (see our contact page) and let me know where it is; I’d love to see it.

The following are a few videos that are concerned with temples. These are just a few; there are actually a good number of these on the Web.

• Tour of Las Vegas Temple grounds. Someone shot some videos as they walked around the Las Vegas Temple grounds. The natural audio accentuates the peace and quiet of the area. (4:06)
• Spain Madrid Temple. Basic slideshow made from still images, with music. The video has a title and prologue in Spanish. (1:40)
• Los Angeles Temple Travels. A couple visits the Los Angeles Temple. Great slide-show shots and music express the feelings they experienced as they visited. (2:48)

Another good topic for sharing good information about the Church (and one that is often related to temples) is the subject of temple marriages. These two videos were shared by couples who were happy about their temple marriages. (They do a good job of pointing out that temple marriages are not weird, strange, or totally secret. These are normal, average couples getting married in a way that they choose.)

• A Temple Marriage. Video shot after a temple marriage at the Salt Lake Temple. Shows happy family and friends, celebrating the marriage. No voice; just two popular songs played in the background of the video. (6:52)
• Courtship and Marriage at the San Diego Temple. This is a couple’s wedding video, shot at the San Diego Temple. Nice video with incidental music background. (2:59)

Some people are directly trying to share information about missionaries, mission life, and the fruits of missionary work. I thought the following were very good examples of this genre of shared video:

• Temple Square Mission. A documentary clip about missionaries on Temple Square. (1:47)
• Provo MTC. Documentary clip about what goes on in the MTC as missionaries prepare to serve. (2:31)
• BJ’s Conversion Story. A recent convert tells why he decided to join the Church and the happiness he has found in the Church. (3:14)
• Mike’s Conversion Story. Another recent convert tells why he decided to join the Church. (12:15)
• Finding Lost Sheep. Nice video montage (with background song) that shows pictures of LDS converts and missionaries. (4:32)

One thing I was surprised about is that there aren’t more videos online about visiting Church history sites. There are many such sites around the world (and especially in North America), and it would seem a natural for sharing information about the Church. I did find one short (0:36) video clip about the Sacred Grove.

How can you encourage such videos? Link to them from your blog or Web site. You can even embed them, if you desire. (Most of the above videos have embedding code available at the video’s site.) It could be even better if you were to share some of your own videos. Just upload them to places like YouTube or Google Video, and then they can be shared around the world.

Drop us a line (or leave a comment) sharing how you’ve used video to help put good LDS-oriented content on the Web.

-Allen

Glenn Beck is the 3rd most listened-to talk show host in the U.S., has a new TV show on CNN, and is also a Mormon. In the following video he talks about how the friendship and example of Mormon friends helped him decide to convert, what honoring the Sabbath means to him, and how he loves his wife. We need more videos like this.

It would be great to hear from Steve Young, Gladys Knight, and other famous mormons. Donny Osmond has several Gospel presentations.

But you don’t have to be famous to share the Gospel online. If you’d be okay with sharing your thoughts about the Church for a few minutes through video, please contact us.

Via: LDSWebGuy.com

While the Church will publish its own videos on LDS.org, individuals can contribute much to online video about the Church:

• Taylorsville Seminary created a video on Google Video about all the things they’re thankful for.
• YouTube user “Lovethyneighbor”, who is “open minded” and has attended several churches, recorded herself explaining how she feels about Mormons.
• A BYU project called Fit for the Kingdom takes a glimpse at the life of ordinary Mormons. (These videos ought to be on YouTube and Google Video where they’d draw more viewers.)

While online videos range from good to bad, Tyler D has some ideas for videos Mormons could create.

In the last General Conference, Elder Eyring spoke about a deacon’s quorum that recorded their Sunday meeting for a deacon that couldn’t be there.

How can we better share the Gospel through online video and audio?