Twitter Update
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As of February 2012, according to a Pew study, some 15% of online adults use Twitter, and 8% do so on any given day. Overall Twitter new user rate reamins steady, as the 15% of online adults who use Twitter is similar to the 13% of such adults who did so in May 2011. At the same time, Pew reports, the proportion of online adults who use Twitter on a typical day has doubled since May 2011 and has quadrupled since late 2010—at that point just 2% of online adults used Twitter on a typical day. The rise of smartphones might account for some of the uptick in usage because smartphone users are particularly likely to be using Twitter.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
The results in this report are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from January 20 to February 19, 2012, among a sample of 2,253 adults, age 18 and older, and from March 15 to April 3, 2012, among a sample of 2,254 adults, age 18 and older.
Telephone interviews for the February survey were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (1,352) and cell phone (901, including 440 without a landline phone). For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points. For results based Internet users (n=1,729), the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
Telephone interviews for the April survey were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (1,351) and cell phone (903, including 410 without a landline phone). For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 2.4 percentage points. For results based Internet users (n=1,803), the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
Read MoreDuty to God Site in Spanish and Portuguese
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Mormon youth (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) strive to follow Jesus Christ and to progress spiritually in their divine nature and character. The young men of The Church of Jesus Christ (members are nicknamed “Mormons”) are involved in tracking their progress through an inspired initiative of the Church, known as The Duty to God.
The Duty to God website has been made available in Spanish and Portuguese. In this new site, young men can create and maintain their plans online. They must first create an LDS Account, which can be easily done using the birth date and Membership Record Number. The site contains videos and other materials that will help the young men complete their program requirements.
The young women of The Church of Jesus Christ have an analogous program known as Personal Progress. This website in those languages will be available in the coming weeks. For more information on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please visit Christ.org, AboutMormons.org, Mormonbeliefs.com, WhyMormonism.com, or mormonyouth.org.
For the official Church website, please visit lds.org or mormon.org.
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Inspirational Easter Messages
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He is Risen: Inspirational Easter Messages of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Just in time for Easter, watch and share a new Christ-centered message,”He is Risen.” Ponder what the Savior means to all humanity—and to you personally. And then share the good news.
The Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos: He is Risen
There’s been some waning in our secular culture of the significance of sacred days and a disappearance of reverence for or understanding of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We live our lives on the surface of frenetic activity, quick fixes, shorter attention spams, abbreviated communications, and sometimes lose the depth of seeking and communication with the spiritual truths that matter most. This week has often been a time to slow down and ponder and remember the story of Christ, in particular, the victory over death and sin that He alone has provided for each of us! It’s a glorious time of hope and remembrance. It’s a time when new blossoms dot the tree-lined avenues and when flowers push forth from the ground, urging us to see and walk in the newness of life provided by Christ. I witness that He has provided that newness for me–and continues to refresh my life and add colors unimagined 30 plus years ago, when I first really encountered Him.
This week is special in Christianity, and among Latter-day Saint Christians particularly, since it draws our focus to the events leading up to the Savior’s crucifixion and resurrection. We reflect on this week the Savior’s final mortal week, known as Holy Week by many Christians: His willing ride into Jerusalem on a donkey as the Passover Lamb, mistaken, rejected, and misunderstood by many; His agonizing suffering for you and I in the Garden; His voluntary submission to the most barbaric and tortuous death on the cross; and His glorious and literal resurrection of the dead. With other Christians, we, as Latter-day Saints (Mormons) attest that He lives! In spite of Resurrection Summits and deconstructionist doubters of the historical accounts, we witness personally and collectively that we know that He lives today, that He is capable of and does intercede to redeem those of the ‘uttermost’ depths of sorrow and sin, as they come unto Him and that He has a glorified resurrected body of flesh and bones, seen personally by Mary, Cleopas, ancient and modern apostles and hundreds of those to whom He appeared in His day (Hebrews 7: 25; Acts 1:3). We witness that He has also appeared in our day and that He lives!
Recently, a living prophet of God, Thomas S. Monson addressed the world and affirmed these salient core, saving truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.In his prophetic words, The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed “Mormons”), related his special witness of the reality of the resurrected Lord:
My brothers and sisters, we know that death is not the end, this truth has been taught by living prophets throughout the ages. It is also found in our Holy Scriptures. In the Book of Mormon we read specific and comforting words, “Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow” (Alma 40:11-12).
After the Savior was crucified, His body laid in the tomb for three days, the Spirit began entered, the stone was rolled away, and the Resurrected Redeemer walked forth, clothed with an immortal body of flesh and bones. The answer to Job’s question, “if a man die, shall he live again?” came when Mary and the others approached the tomb and saw two men in shining garments who spoke to them “why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen” (Luke 24:5). As the result of Christ’s victory over the grave, we shall all be resurrected. This is the redemption of the soul. Paul wrote, “There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another” (1 Corinthians 15:40).
It is the Celestial glory, which we seek. It is in the presence of God we desire to dwell. It is a forever family in which we want membership. Such blessings are earned through a lifetime of striving, seeking, repenting and finally succeeding. Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after this life? No longer need we these universal questions remain unanswered. From the very depths of my soul, and in all humility, I testify that those things of which I have spoken are true. Our Heavenly Father rejoices for those who keep His commandments. He is concerned also for the lost child, the tardy teenager, the wayward youth, the delinquent parent. Tenderly, the Master speaks to these and indeed to all, “come back, come up, come in, come home, and come unto me.”
As His special witness, I testify to you that He lives and that He awaits our triumphant return, that such a return will be ours, all of us, I pray humbly in His Holy name, even Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer. Amen.
The Church of Jesus Christ has a series of inspirational videos and messages for you and loved ones for Easter: He is Risen is a video compilation of special Bible videos prepared by the Church for the world. To view some of these Mormon Easter messages and share these devotionals during Holy Week or Easter Sunday, please see below:
Mormon Identities: Reflections on Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the Resurrection
Prepare for the Easter holiday by listening to a Mormon Channel episode of Mormon Identities, “Reflections on Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the Resurrection.” Andrew Skinner, a professor of ancient scripture at BYU, expounds upon the sacredness of these holy places and events.
Mormon Messages: None Were with Him
Watch and share Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s Easter thoughts on Christ in this Mormon Message, “None Were with Him.” One of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.
Stories from General Conference: The Resurrection
Listen as various stories are shared from past general conference sessions about The Resurrection. You’ll hear President Gordon B. Hinckley and other Church leaders
describe the miracle of the Resurrection and what it means for us.
Mormon Messages: His Sacred Name – An Easter Declaration
This Easter, remember the sacred name, life, and sacrifice of our Savior, and watch and share this Mormon Message, “His Sacred Name – An Easter Declaration.” Read President Thomas S. Monson’s full address, “He Is Risen!”
Mormon General Conference April 2012
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Audio and video archives of the April 2012 general conference are now available online at gc.lds.org, YouTube and iTunes. Video archives are available in ASL,Cantonese, English, French, German,Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin,Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Audio files are available in over 70 languages. Text transcripts of the talks will be available in English on Thurdsay, April 5, and in over 40 languages within the following weeks.
Additional Resources:
Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.
Read MoreNew Inspirational Mormon Young Women Video
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Arise to the Mountain is a new young adult inspirational video that was shown during the 2012 General Young Women Meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (mistakenly called “The Mormon Church”). The video invites women of all faiths, and particularly committed young women of the Church of Jesus Christ, to be worthy to make and keep sacred covenants with the Savior and our Heavenly Father, and receive the ordinances of the temple that instruct, edify and strengthen everyone who participates in them. The sheet music for the song, as well as an mp3 version of it are available through Youth.LDS.org.
Young women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints live exemplary lives of service, and engage in a program of personal spiritual progress, through which they grow to become wiser and holier as they strive to follow the Savior’s pattern of discipleship in these formative years.
The annual meeting described above precedes what Mormons refer to as “General Conference”- a glorious, global conference of The Church of Jesus Christ where apostles and a living prophet as well as other leaders address those of all faiths, and those particularly, who embrace the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ today.
We invite all to learn more about Mormons, what Mormons believe, Mormon Youth, and General Conference. See Additional Resources listed below:
Learn more about General Conference at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).
Learn about Jesus Christ.
Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.
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Two New Bible Videos of The Church of Jesus Christ
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BibleVideos.LDS.org– a gift to the world of beautiful renderings of Christ’s ministry from The Church of Jesus Christ– has released two new Easter-themed videos: Jesus is Condemned Before Pilate and Jesus is Scourged and Crucified.
Two new videos are scheduled to be released next week, concluding the series of Easter videos. All Bible Videos are available at BibleVideos.LDS.org, the Bible Videos mobile app, Facebook, iTunes, YouTube, Roku and the Mormon Channel mobile apps.
Additional Resources:
Learn about modern day scripture at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).
Learn more about Jesus Christ and Easter.
Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.
Read MoreGeneral Auxiliary Training Meetings
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In conjunction with the April 2012 general conference, the general auxiliary presidencies will hold training sessions for stake and ward auxiliary leaders, which will be available through a live webcast in English and Spanish. Stake, ward, and branch auxiliary presidencies are invited to participate. Training sessions will be held for the Primary, Relief Society, Sunday School, Young Women and Young Men. Additional information about the dates and availability of these meetings can be found in Church News and Events.
Additional Resources:
Learn about Mormon families at the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).
Learn more about General Conference.
Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.
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