LDS Media Talk

The July 2008 issue of the Ensign is now online. (Remember, you can view the full magazine layout in PDF format by clicking “View” on the format bar.)

This is the special issue that David Frischknecht recently blogged about. Find out how to join the online conversation about the Church by reading Elder M. Russell Ballard’s advice on “Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet.”

After reading the article, you may want to consider the following ways to share the gospel online:

1. Blog what you’ve learned and how you know. Start a blog, then write what you learn in Church or in your scripture study, or explain how living the Gospel has blessed your life.
2. Post your testimony online. Write your testimony or conversion story then post it on a personal blog, Web site, or one of the many LDS-oriented sites. Then do it again in your mission language.
3. Comment on existing blogs. Well-known blogs on religious topics, such as the On Faith blog at newsweek.washingtonpost.com are great places to share your beliefs because people of many faiths participate there.
4. Post a video on a video sharing Web site. Join the ranks of thousands who have shared their testimonies and stories by video. Perhaps you could video tape your parents or grandparents and capture their stories too. While there, rate and comment on other good videos you find.
5. Post mission and wedding photos on photo sharing sites. Why not share photos from your mission, your wedding, or your family home evening at the park? Be sure to comment about them as well.
6. Edit entries in online encyclopedias. After signing up for a free account, you can edit or create articles immediately. Be sure that entries on gospel topics are accurate and positive. If you speak a foreign language, even better to do it in that language!
7. Link to good Web sites. If you have a Web site or blog, create a link to other good Web sites. You can also link to Church sites. For example, link to your favorite talk at LDS.org or your favorite video at videos.lds.org. Link to the Gospel Topics section in the Gospel Library that has great answers to common questions, or to other key sites, such as JesusChrist.lds.org or the Church’s site on Joseph Smith.
8. Volunteer with a community group of members. Volunteer your talents in graphic design, programming, writing, translation, or videography.

“…the people began to be astonished, seeing there was more than one witness who testified…” (Alma 10:12)

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My bishop asked me to talk today in a combined Relief Society, Priesthood, and Youth meeting about good resources on the Internet.

I decided to split the discussion into three areas:

• Avoiding the Bad
• Finding the Good
• Adding to the Good

I created a site that has links to everything I showed and discussed as well as the slides I used.  It might be a little out of context since you likely were not in attendance, but maybe you’ll find something helpful there too.  Enjoy!

http://someinternetinfo.bogusboy.net

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A recent Pew survey finds that although 92% of Americans believe in God and 58% say they pray at least once a day, America is trending away from adherence to specific religions toward a more general state of “spirituality.”

Key findings:

• 78% overall say there are “absolute standards of right and wrong,” but only 29% rely on their religion to delineate these standards. The majority (52%) turn to “practical experience and common sense,” with 9% relying on philosophy and reason, and 5% on scientific information.
• 74% say “there is a heaven, where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded,” but far fewer (59%) say there’s a “hell, where people who have led bad lives and die without being sorry are eternally punished.”
• 70%, including a majority of all major Christian and non-Christian religious groups except Mormons, agree that “many religions can lead to eternal life.”
• 68% say “there’s more than one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion.”
• 42% say they “often feel that my values are threatened by Hollywood and the entertainment industry.”
• 45% of adults say they seldom or never read their religion’s holy texts. This includes 49% of members of mainline Protestant churches, 57% of Catholics and 70% of Jews. Among groups that emphasize reading scripture, the numbers are sharply higher. Those who read scripture at least weekly include: evangelicals (60%); historically black churches (60%); Mormons (76%); Jehovah’s Witnesses (83%); and Muslims (43%)
• 44% want to preserve their religion’s traditional beliefs and practices. But most Catholics (67%), Jews (65%), mainline Christians (56%) and Muslims (51%) say their religion should either “adjust to new circumstances” or “adopt modern beliefs and practices.”
• 50% say “homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society,” but the most consistently traditional religious groups say society should discourage it — 76% of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 68% of Mormons, 61% of Muslims and 64% of evangelicals.
• 14% overall, including 28% of evangelicals, say religion is the “main influence in their political thinking.”

See how Mormons stack up against people from other major religions on these and other key questions.

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In looking at some research data from a recent Pew study, I concluded that we’ve got a lot of work to do in clearing up misconceptions about the Church and just generally making people aware of what we actually believe. According to this study of 1,461 American nonmembers:

• 51% have little or no awareness of our practices and beliefs
• 47% do not have a favorable view of the Church
• 31% believe that Mormons are not Christians

Those are some sobering statistics. When the study asked participants to provide a one-word impression of the Mormon religion, the top five answers were:

• Polygamy/bigamy
• Family/family values
• Cult
• Different
• Dedicated

One thing I noticed was that “Family” is the highest positive on the list. I believe this is partially because of the Church’s investment in Homefront messages over the years. Despite this success, many feel that the message: “We love our families and you should too” does not sufficiently distinguish us from other churches or communicate anything unique that we have to offer the world. I personally believe we should build on the capital we have established around “family” to build on other concepts that distinguish us.

We also need to do a better job of defining ourselves and telling our own stories rather than letting other so-called “experts” define us. We saw a lot of this during the Romney campaign and it was very frustrating. One thing is for certain…we’ve got a lot of work to do.

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LDS.org has a Meetinghouse Locator application that allows users to enter an address to find the nearest LDS meetinghouse. We are pleased to announce the beta release of an upgraded version of the meetinghouse locator application on LDS.org at maps.lds.org.

This application provides many new features not available in the existing application, including:

• A dynamic user interface. (No more drop-down lists!)
• The ability to identify the closest meetinghouses and congregations worldwide.
• The ability to enter address information or simply point at a location on a map to get information.
• The ability to switch between map providers Google and Microsoft to get the best map for a given location.
• The ability to switch between map and aerial/satellite views.
• The ability to see all congregations at a location, not just the residential unit (for example, Young Single Adult wards and language wards).
• The ability to select a ward/branch and get additional information, go to the unit Web site, or get driving directions.
• The ability to provide robust feedback that can identify a variety of issues that can be tracked more easily.
• The ability to send a link to a friend of a location.

Please feel free to try this new application and share it with your friends and neighbors.  Feedback, suggestions, and corrections are welcomed and encouraged by using the Feedback link on the application.

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Ensign readers will find the cover of the July issue unique, even unusual. It draws attention to Elder M. Russell Ballard’s article “Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet” (p. 58), which is adapted from his talk at BYU-Hawaii in December 2007. Many Church members have read this talk on the Internet. Printing it in the Ensign gives non-Internet readers access to Elder Ballard’s instructions on using new technologies to share the gospel. In addition to the unique cover, readers will find something novel about the sidebar, “Helps for Home Evening” (p.61). It invites families to view Elder Ballard’s video clip at www.youtube.com/LDSPublicAffairs and discuss ways they can share their testimony of the gospel using the Internet.

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“We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the church teaches,” said Elder M. Russell Ballard in a December 2007 address

Youth in the Las Vegas Nevada Redrock Stake made videos of their testimonies during the stake’s April 2008 youth conference.  They were following Elder Ballard’s initiative to “counterbalance negative things on the Internet with first hand experiences of church members.”

Watch the video on Mormon Times.

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As of today, the blog ldsWebguy has been rebranded LDSMediaTalk. Additional authors have joined the blog and will be sharing ideas on how to use technology to strengthen families and build The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

You’ll find the same kind of information you’ve come to expect at ldsWebguy, but more.

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The Church’s Newsroom site just posted an article about how members are expressing their feelings and beliefs by posting blogs and videos online.

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My new blog RichmanRamblings.blogspot.com is where I post stuff that doesn’t fit on ldsWebguy.com or any of my other sites.

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LDS.net is a network set up by the More Good Foundation as a place where members can blog, chat, share testimonies, and participate in groups and forums.

A lot of good things are happening on LDS.net. See the LDS.net blog for a description of 4 people who have been baptized because of LDS.net and other investigators who are learning about the Church.

If you want to learn more about how to participate in things like LDS.net, see the More Good Foundation Web site or the LDS Online site.

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A few days ago, I blogged about creating social network called LDS Online at LDSonline.ning.com.

It’s been up for only 3 days and already has 52 members, 7 forums, and 3 groups.

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