Here’s a great success story.

We told you previously about the site Reflections of Christ (ReflectionsofChrist.org) that testifies of the Savior, as well as the sequel Another Testament of Christ (AnotherTestamentofChrist.com)

Missionaries serving in the Moscow West Mission knocked on a door and asked the family if they could share a video with them about Jesus Christ. They were invited in and the missionaries chose to share with them the Reflections of Christ video. The family was moved to tears and invited the missionaries back. Not long after, the entire family was baptized.

Mark Mabry (the photographer of the work) was so touched by this that he gave permission for a Russian language version of Reflections of Christ.

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A recent poll by the Pew Forum shows that the Internet is now the third-highest platform for receiving news coverage. So, what can members of the Church do to help shape public perceptions, conversations, and media-talk news about the LDS Church online? Here are some suggestions adapted from a blog by the More Good Foundation:

• Bookmark your local and national online news media outlets.  Search religion content, and comment on articles about the Church in positive ways.
• Share with your friends links to stories about Mormons in the news in your area. You can also send links to the More Good Foundation for them to share with others.
• Check the Church’s Newsroom, LDS Church News, and Mormon Times for the Church’s position on key news issues before responding to articles on sensitive issues and link to their content.
• Subscribe to the More Good Foundation’s blog to stay updated on ways to contribute to the conversation.
• Join the More Good Foundation’s page on Facebook for additional updates as well.
• Create your own news blog, or adopt-a-site from The More Good Foundation, where you can comment on the news.
• Place links to positive news stories on Facebook and tweet about them.

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The More Good Foundation’s page on Facebook invites faithful members of the Church to share your photos, talks, and write-ups of activities, to post on appropriate Web sites that deal with the theme of the respective materials you send.

They offer simple ways to become involved in the global conversation about who we are as members.  It’s a way to  expand our reach and our way of thinking about messaging and engage ourselves in a natural conversation with friends of other faiths.

Please share this page with all you know. The foundation also offers individual help and even a presentation for greater understanding about ways members can participate. Learn more on the More Good Foundation’s blog.

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BYU Professor Daniel Peterson and Scott Gordon FAIR have launched a new website with the testimonies of Mormon scholars: Mormon Scholars Testify. Bro. Peterson explained his rationale to the Church News:

“I hope to gather up testimonies from, well, Mormon scholars,” Brother Peterson said. “I’m trying, thereby, to comply with a request made about a year ago by Elder M. Russell Ballard and reiterated by other authors in the October Ensign that we use the Internet as a way of sharing our testimonies of the gospel.” (via LDS Church News)

Bro. Peterson suggested this could be one of many “vertical” websites highlighting the testimonies of Church members:

“I think there ought to be similar on-line collections of testimonies from athletes, executives, farmers, housewives, morticians, retirees, chess players, stamp collectors, everybody. The possibilities are endless, and I hope many others will take to the Web with their expressions of faith.” (ibid.)

More Good Foundation’s website Mormons Believe, or the yet-to-be-built Why I Believe, announced at the Boston singles conference, could be the home for these many testimonies, organized by profession, location, interest, or some other attribute.

Mormon.org itself has a few select testimonies and could conceivably offer a repository of testimonies someday.

24 Hour Fitness has a website with the stories of members whose lives have improved through fitness. It includes categories such as life improvement, recovery, athletic, and social. Imagine a similar website for the stories of people whose lives have been blessed by the Gospel in even broader and more lasting ways.

CORRECTION (Jan 18, 2010): As Daniel Peterson mentions in the comment below, this website is not affiliated with FAIR.

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If your neighbor or co-worker were to ask about your faith, how comfortable would you feel suggesting they go to Google and type “Mormons”? That’s what the Tonight Show did.

On Monday night, the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien presented “A Song for the Mormons”, sung by bandleader Max Weinberg. Because U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch recently wrote a song for Hanukkah, Max Weinberg returned the favor.

I thought the most interesting line from Max’s song was, “I only know about Mormons from the stuff that I read online.” This underscores the importance of participating in the online conversation about our faith. (And I think good-natured parody is a net positive for the Church, raising awareness and curiosity about our faith.)

When we talk about our faith on Twitter, or link to the Church or other positive LDS websites from our blog, we help curious seekers learn about the Church.

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Three weeks ago, some 600 young single adults converged on Boston for the LDS Education Conference. Missionary work was the theme. The speakers were David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue Airways; Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School; and Elder M. Russell Ballard.

Brother Neeleman spoke about sharing the Gospel on the Internet and the More Good Foundation. (Disclosure: I previously worked there.) Elder Christensen taught several great principles for sharing the Gospel in person. Elder Ballard called David and Clayton some of the best member missionaries in the Church.

The day included a “science fair” for missionary ideas. Each table of 10 people brainstormed ways to better share the Gospel and then created a presentation using large notepads and colored markers. During the “fair”, we circulated among the presentations, voting for our favorites with paper tickets.

Here were some of my favorites:

• WhyIBelieve.org (hypothetical) — Give each Church member a page and unique address for posting a testimony and photo. Offer easy-to-use templates. (More Good Foundation operates a similar website at mormonsbelieve.org.)
• AskaMormon.com (hypothetical) — Visitors pose questions to everyday members. (They can already pose questions to missionaries at Mormon.org.)
• Custom pass-along cards — Members pick their own picture, message, language, and size (wallet size or larger). Available for physical printing, or as a blog widget. The card could link to a specific testimony page, e.g. www.mormon.org/john-doe instead of www.mormon.org.

• Facebook app — Indicate that you’re a Mormon on your Facebook profile page. Post your testimony. Allow friends to ask questions anonymously and read your previous answers. (More Good has a similar Facebook app called The LDS App.)

• iPhone app — Basic beliefs, “find a Mormon”, meetinghouse locations, events, and videos all on your iPhone.

• Sacrament meeting agenda on LDS.org — Allow visitors to see upcoming sacrament meeting schedules in their area and bios of the speakers. For example: “Next Sunday, Sarah Smith, a sophomore at Palo Verde High school, will speak about faith in Jesus Christ. She’ll be followed by Tom Jones, an orthopedic surgeon in the area, who will speak about forgiveness. The meeting begins at 11:00 at 9011 Hillpointe Road.”

• Ward blogger — Who will keep the sacrament meeting schedules on LDS.org up-to-date? The ward Media Missionary Correlator, of course. Each ward will call its own specialist to manage their portion of LDS.org and do online testimony drives.

• Gospel sharing at work — How can you better share the Gospel at work? Post quotes on your cubicle or a picture of the Savior as your desktop wallpaper. If someone asks what you did over the weekend, don’t shy away from where you were on Sunday for 3 hours.

• Mormon.org email addresses — Give each Church member his/her own mormon.org e-mail address (e.g. john_doe@mormon.org) to drive interest in Mormon.org. The footer of each transmitted email could optionally include quotes or scripture citations.

• The Mormon Challenge — Challenge people to walk in a Mormon’s shoes for 14 or 30 days. (One group suggested 14 days, another suggested 30.) Try living the law of chastity and Word of Wisdom. Can you do it? (Reality TV show?)

• Give away Mormon Tabernacle Choir music, and other beautiful music, for free. Invite the Spirit through music.

• Several groups emphasized the need for training programs to teach members about social media.

• Likely due to Elder Christensen’s comments on service, several groups suggested websites for coordinating community service projects with members of other faiths.

• A few other ideas:

You can watch David Neeleman’s talk here:

David Neeleman 2009 LDS Education Conference

Clayton Christensen’s talk here:

Clayton Christensen 2009 LDS Education Conference

And watch presentations from the top ten groups here:

Team Presentations at the 2009 LDS Education Conference

Read more about this conference in the Church News.

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If you’re going to be in the DC area this Christmas or have friends who will be, check out the Festival of Lights. Click on one of the share buttons on the web page to invite your friends or link to it from your blogs!

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The 64 videos on the Mormon Messages site have been viewed more than 6 million times!

Below is a list of the most popular videos at MormonMessages, along with the number of times the videos have been viewed, as of 10/7/09:

• An Apostle’s Easter Thoughts on Christ: 568,095
• Why Mormons Build Temples 455,492
• What Matters Most 311,322
• Finding Hope 281,410
• Dieter F. Uchtdorf – Create 272,943
• Gordon Hinckley – Lessons I Learned as a Boy 212,796
• You’re Never Alone 212,796
• The Blessings of the Temple 212,796
• The Women in Our Lives 189,839
• Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time 188,238

Most of the videos are in English, but some have been posted in other languages. I’ve enjoyed reading the many comments that have been posted about the videos, both from members and nonmembers. This is a great way to share gospel messages with your friends!

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See the new site at bookofmormonwitness.com created by Connor Boyack in response to Elder Holland’s testimony of the Book of Mormon.

Declare your witness of the Book of Mormon to the world!

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In a major address to BYU-Idaho students yesterday, Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke on the importance of preserving the religious freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution. 

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