University City 2nd Ward Relief Society

2^nd Thursday

MIRACULOUS & ASTOUNDING doesn’t quite describe what happened on Thursday, August 11^th.  Not only were WE mesmerized by our experts Jacob Durrant & Kathryn Skaggs (Laura Dulin’s Mom) who entertained our minds with how rewarding “Online Missionary Work” is but we learned how much FUN they have doing it!!! Both speakers kept us laughing, intrigued, and basically on the edge of our seats the ENTIRE time! Those in attendance left feeling like they could indeed post, share, comment, twitter, and use social media to educate and inform others regarding our beliefs as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (a.k.a. Mormons).

Both Brother Durrant and Sister Skaggs explained how sharing the gospel online can be so SIMPLE and not take much time at all. Even if you only have 5 minutes you can click “share” on your Facebook page when you come across a spiritual message from your daily reading. Below is an example of how one church member began using social media to share the gospel:

““Earlier this year, Gibran Calderon, a Church member from Mexico, organized a Facebook event for April 6, 2011, to celebrate the birth the Savior and the 181st anniversary of the organization of the Church.

Inspired by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s April conference talk on using media to share the gospel, “Waiting on the Road to Damascus,” Brother Calderon created “Comparte Tu Testimonio,” inviting all Spanish-speaking members throughout the world to share their testimonies online that day.

Brother Calderon wrote in the event information, “We can share our testimonies about our Savior and His work in gratitude for all He has done for us.” With just over 300 guests at the online event, he suggested each take a few minutes and invite at least 10 more members to share their testimonies.

The response was far greater than he ever imagined—more than 50,000 people were invited to the event, and over several days a total of 23,428 people wrote their testimonies of the Church, the Book of Mormon, and Jesus Christ on the event wall. Brother Calderon plans to repeat the event next year.

During the April 2011 general conference, President Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said, “With the blessings of modern technology, we can express gratitude and joy about God’s great plan for His children in a way that can be heard not only around our workplace but around the world. Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion that affect someone’s life for eternity.”

Imagine what 23,428 testimonies can do.””

Wrigley, Heather W. “Using Social Media For Gospel Purposes.” LDS.org/Church News & Events. 17 June 2011. http://lds.org/church/news/using-social-media-for-gospel-purposes?lang=eng&query=social+media

Brother Durrant & Sister Skaggs both agreed on a few BEST practices for online missionary work which ensure that everyone can have a good experience.  They are:

BE POSITIVE – This means when someone posts a nasty comment on your home page (blog, facebook, etc) hit the delete button. Both speakers agreed they LOVE to delete unkind comments and who wouldn’t. Also do not engage in a discussion where the spirit cannot be present. Stay positive and don’t be offended at what people say. You are representing the Savior and should act as he would.

EDUCATE – You know enough! You really do and you can share what you know. You do not need to be a PhD, MD, MBA, or a JD to share the gospel.  When it comes to sharing the gospel, you simply need NOT be M.I.A. 

INFORM – Share and pass along all the Conference talks, fireside, uplifting articles & blogs. Have fun with it! Sense of humor goes along way.

We appreciate and are indebted for the fine tutelage we received from Brother Durrant and Sister Skaggs!  They are pioneers in sharing the gospel online and I know we will see much more of it to come. THANK YOU to both of them for taking the time to share this information with us. If you happened to miss out on this event, it is worth your time to visit their websites. To view Brother Durrant’s incredible website with amazing posts click here, he needs assistance in answering English questions and also would love collaborators since he is a busy medical student. To read more on what Sister Skaggs shared with us, read her marvelous posts and view all her helpful tips on how you can start sharing the gospel online click here.

“The Lord has inspired men to invent these great tools,” he said. “Now if we don’t use them to teach His gospel, Satan will use them to lead the people astray” (quoted in Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple [1980], 239).

Let us be active online in spreading the gospel and assist our brothers and sisters in learning about the Savior and the plan of salvation.

We LOVE YOU,

Sallee, Debs, Erin & Andrea