My Talk Today and a Video Resource on Missionary Work

First of all, a great talk I found on sharing the gospel online from an LDS education conference in Boston last year:

http://vimeo.com/7648556

And here's the talk on missionary work, mostly pieced together from online sources:

What can we do here?

Reach out in love to our neighbors. Reach out in love to family members who've wandered.

Elder Clayton M. Christensen recently explained that he has found that most people have a deeper need to serve than to receive help, and members should invite friends and neighbors to help serve in the Church — whether it be a move done by the elders quorum, a home teaching visit, or a Church service project. If members teach their friends how to prayerfully study the scriptures, the Holy Ghost will do the heavy lifting.

Its easy enough to do something once, what's hard is to endure and do it over and over again for months or years.

How do we do that? Pray for the gift of charity.

Moroni 7: 45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ . . .

Elder Mervyn B. Arnold taught, “When we seek to obtain a spiritual gift, we can study the examples and teachings of the Savior that pertain to that particular gift and then try to incorporate those teachings into our life. For example, let’s suppose we are seeking the gift of charity. We could study Moroni 7:45, where we would find that there are 13 separate qualities we will need to seek as part of the process of obtaining charity. Kindness is one of the first that is mentioned.

. . . As we continually strive to be kind, kindness will begin to become a part of our lives . . .

D&C 58:26-27 : For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things . . . Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness . . .

Who invented Sunday School? Richard Ballantyne of SLC saw the boys playing in the street on Sunday and started it on his own.

Who invented Primary? Aurelia Spencer Rogers of Farmington was in a similar situation . . . Brigham Young saw the effectiveness of both and they were adopted church wide.

Index to the Scriptures, Family Home Evening, Institute of Religion, Welfare Program, Missionary Discussions, Early Morning Seminary, Young Single Adult Program all have similar beginnings.

On December 15, 2007, Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke at BYU-Hawaii graduation. He urged graduates to share their beliefs on the Internet:

"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."

In 2008, the church released a new website at JesusChrist.lds.org

Elder Nelson stated, "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."

On Non-Authorities from MoreGoodFoundation.org

Some people want to learn about the Church, but not from the Church. It's not hard to believe. When shopping on Amazon.com, do you pay more attention to the publisher's review or the users' reviews?

Elder M. Russell Ballard said, "...some who seek answers want them to come directly from a member of the Church, like each one of you. They appreciate one-on-one conversations."

In the book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath call this concept an appeal to "anti-authorities" (or non-authorities): "A citizen of the modern world, constantly inundated with messages, learns to develop skepticism about the sources of those messages. Who's behind these messages? Should I trust them? What do they have to gain if I believe them?

"A commercial claiming that a new shampoo makes your hair bouncier has less credibility than hearing your best friend rave about how a new shampoo made her own hair bouncier. Well, duh. The company wants to sell you shampoo. Your friend doesn't, so she gets more trust points. The takeaway is that it can be the honesty and trustworthiness of our sources, not their status, that allows them to act as authorities. Sometimes anti-authorities are even better than authorities." (Made to Stick, pp. 136-37, emphasis added)

Church members can bring credibility to the Church by raising this "anti-authority" (or "non-authoritative") voice.

Amulek was a non-authority for the prophet Alma. Because Amulek was well known in his community, when he added his testimony to the words of the prophet, the people believed:

"I am also a man of no small reputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, I have many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry."

"...I know that the things whereof [Alma] hath testified are true..."

"And now, when Amulek had spoken these words the people began to be astonished, seeing there was more than one witness who testified..." (Alma 10:4,10,12)

Ways to Share the Gospel Online

Elder M. Russell Ballard said, "Yours is the world of cyberspace, cell phones that capture video, video downloads and iTunes, social networks like Facebook, text messaging and blogs, hand-helds and podcasts.... How will you use these marvelous inventions? More to the point, how will you use them to further the work of the Lord?"

Subscribe to Mormon Messages on YouTube: watch, rate, comment the videos when they come out. This helps the videos gain higher exposure on the site and the web through Google search results. Share these videos with your friends. You can even automatically set it up so that every time you comment or rate a video it will automatically be posted to your Facebook page.

You can be yourself on social networks like Facebook — Share your testimony or favorite scripture on your Profile. Create Facebook events for ward activities or General Conference and invite your friends. Join Church-related groups. Change your status to reflect that you're preparing a lesson or going to a fireside. Post pictures of your mission, wedding, church and fun home evening activities. Be more transparent about your life and beliefs.

Post your own videos on sites like YouTube — many have shared their testimonies and stories on video. Mission stories, conversion stories, and your testimony of specific principles are great. Include a little family history and videotape your parents or grandparents to capture their stories as well.

At Yahoo! Answers you'll find a variety of questions and answers. Search for questions about "Mormons" and answer a few of them.

Learn what a blog is, then start one. You can write what you learn in Church each week or in your daily scripture study, or explain how living the Gospel has blessed your life. Once you've started a blog, link to other good websites; create a link to your favorite talks at LDS.org as well as other good websites.

Comment on newspaper articles — Most newspapers' websites allow readers to make comments below each article. Find a newspaper article about the Church and then leave a comment. If the journalist reported accurately, say so. If other comments are misleading or inaccurate, say so. You can find lots of articles about the Church by searching Google News.

If you speak a language other than English, you can do the above things in your other language as well.

Write a book review for The Book of Mormon — Amazon.com and other booksellers allow you to rate and write reviews for any book. Why not rate and write about the The Book of Mormon?

Be transparent — One member noted that by using the word "Mormon" in her username, people in forums and chat rooms were more likely to ask her questions.

Media director of the missionary department, “There is no way the 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 of new media we can baptize and teach and convert and testify.”

Thanksgiving

"Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare." (Psalm 75:1)

I've thought a lot about Thanksgiving this month. What a unique opportunity we have to nationally give thanks to God for the blessings that surround us, and there are so many things that we have to be grateful for.

I know it seems more popular, in the media, to rather complain about practically everything than to give thanks, but I don't think the media reflects the heart of the nation. There is so much to be grateful for: health, family, our great measure of freedom, our general prosperity . . . and even in this economic climate our prosperity is great when compared to that of our grandparents and great-great-grandparents.

We live in an age of wonders, when we can keep in touch with friends and family with little to no effort. I count that one of the great blessings of the day.

We can trace these blessings back to their source; they are an extension of the good gifts that God has given us: our world, our lives, our family, our time, our natural gifts. All these things testify of Him.

Joy in the Journey

Sometimes it seems impossible, in the whir of everyday life, to find peace, a sense of center. There are so many pressures that at times it can seem almost claustrophobic:

• Pressure to earn a living.
• Pressure to achieve great things.
• Pressures of real family obligations.
• Pressure to meet imagined expectations of friends, family, teachers, mentors . . .

 . . . all those little voices in our head crying out for attention, saying, "Go here" or "Do this." On top of these we add the sea of media distractions; news of death, famine, plague, war, economic uncertainty are constantly at the forefront of our minds.

Some days it is hard to remember, in the midst of all this static, God created us for joy. In my day to day, there are, however, times I do remember and when I do, I pray. I sit down, close my eyes, breathe deep, calm down and open my heart to my maker. Then I ask Him for peace and sometimes I repeat the words of Christ in my mind, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Usually, I feel immediate relief from the anxieties that are troubling me. Reading the scriptures almost always has the same effect (unless there is something I really should be bothered about and need to fix).

I have, at times, been bold enough to ask God, "Please help me take joy in my work," and I have felt that joy as I undertook the endeavor, whatever it might be. Why don't I do this everyday? You would think I wouldn't forget, but I do. The key is remembering that God wants joy to be a part of our everyday and eternal life (Moses 1: 39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man). Don't be afraid to ask Him for it.

So when life seems like a whirlpool, remember his words, "Be still, and know that I am God." and take joy in the journey.

~M Taylor
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Related:
Free song, "Be still, and know that I am God" on LDS.org