9 Ways to Share the Gospel Online
Hello everyone! I wanted to take what I've learned this semester through my internship and share 9 ways that you can share your testimony of the Gospel through social media sites.
1. Be authentic.
Sometimes we are worried of offending people, especially via social media, but you can share your beliefs without being preachy. It's so easy through sharing uplifting videos, quotes, songs, photos, conference talks, and so much more through any of the social media sites you use. It also doesn't mean that everything you post has to be church related. We're trying to show the world that we're normal people, too, and care about a lot of things, including our faith.
2. Have in your profile bios either "LDS" or "Mormon".
No matter how many profiles you have, it's important to have the fact that you're a member of the Church in there. Here is what my Twitter profile looks like:
It's common to see #LDS or #Mormon or #twitterstake on Twitter profiles of LDS members. People who see your profile, whether they follow you or not, will see it. If they see your profile and wonder what LDS or Mormon is, it gives you the chance to share your testimony and explain what these terms mean.
3. Create a Mormon.org profile.
People all over the world who are searching for answers about Mormons go to mormon.org and search for people just like them. They can search for key words that relate to them and it will pull up different people's profiles for them to read and discover what they're like.
Here is my Mormon.org profile:
It's really easy to create one. Go to mormon.org, and under the profile tab at the top right, click "create profile". You can log in with your LDS Account information (or set one up) and it will direct you where you can create your own profile for people to see what your life is like. You can also answer commonly asked questions about Mormons. It's really cool to see people's stories of how they became a member or how they live their faith, and that's what people searching for information about the church want to read.
4. Decide how active you want to be and then do it.
Not everyone wants or needs to be connected to every single social media platform. I am active currently on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Blogger (what you're reading this on). A large part of this is my study of public relations and my hope to be a PR professional one day. We are asked to be up to date with a lot of different things, including social media platforms.
You don't have to go make an account on every single platform. Do what works best for you! If you love pictures, go crazy on Instagram and Pinterest. If you love to write, start a blog or share your testimony through Facebook posts. Figure out what works for you and your lifestyle and do it!
5. Don't be afraid to answer questions.
The point of being a member missionary is to answer questions of our friends. People who ask sincere questions will want to know why you live and believe the way you do. It's also important to note that if you don't know the answer, don't fake it. Tell them something like, "I don't know, but I will find out and we can talk about it" or "I'm not sure, but I have a couple of friends who probably do. Would you like to meet them?" (talking about the missionaries).
Something that has been really helpful for me is to not criticize people if they ask you a question. We often take for granted the knowledge we have as members of the Church, but many people have no idea about the Plan of Salvation or how we choose who our prophet is. Be courteous and respectful as you answer their questions. Many people think that we are being secretive about our beliefs when we really are trying to keep sacred things sacred. It's just a matter of learning how to share information about our Church that's respectful to members and non-members alike.
6. Follow the official Church pages from the platforms you use.
There is a lot of bad pages and sites online, and the Church has created profiles on all of the popular platforms to help combat that. Here are some of their handles and profile links:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LDS
Twitter: @LDSChurch
@mormonchannel
@MormonTabChoir
@MORMONorg
@MormonNewsroom
Instagram: @mormonnewsroom
Google+:+Mormon Channel
+Mormon.org
+Mormon Newsroom
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages
http://www.youtube.com/user/LDSPublicAffairs
http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonTabChoir
Tumblr: http://mormonchannel.tumblr.com/
What other profiles do you follow?
7. Follow the Prophet and Apostles' pages on all of the sites.That's right, all of the apostles, and the prophet, have a Facebook page and a Google+ page. Interact with their pages and share quotes, facts and pictures of them with others. They have so many uplifting quotes, pictures and videos of their talks that you can share on your own profiles.
8. Follow inspirational Mormon bloggers/site enthusiasts
These are just a few popular Mormons on social media
Alex Boye http://www.youtube.com/user/ALEXBOYETV
Al Fox http://alfoxshead.blogspot.com/
http://waysofthecarraways.blogspot.com/
+22AlFox @22alfox (Twitter and Instagram)
Kathryn Skaggs "A Well Behaved Mormon Woman" http://wellbehavedmormonwoman.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Nielsen "NieNie Dialoges" http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/
Seth Adam Smith http://sethadamsmith.com/
Lindsey Sterling http://www.youtube.com/user/lindseystomp
9. Join in the conversations made through popular hashtags (#).
I know that you've all seen those crazy "hashtags". They used to be just known as number or pound signs, but now on social media, they are used to group messages together. Anyone that is searching for a popular topic can search it by the hashtag on a social platform and see what others are saying about it.
There is a lot of power in it, as well. During General Conference, the official hashtag is #ldsconf. People were tweeting up a storm and even after conference we can find quotes or images from conference by searching under the hashtag. More people are also likely to see your posts if you use popular related hashtags.
One for Easter that has been campaigned by the Church is #BecauseofHim. Members can testify how their lives have been changed and what blessing have come because of the Savior. We are encouraged to share how our lives have been blessed because of Him.
These are the top 9 ways I've found that you can share the Gospel online. The most important thing is to "open your mouth to declare my gospel" as it says in D&C 30:5. Let the Spirit guide you to know what to share. You never know if something you share will spark an interest in someone to learn more about the Gospel. We are the Lord's hand and He is hastening the work!
I know as we share the Gospel with others, we will make a difference. Don't believe me? Find out for yourself.
If you find any other tips that you've found that help you share the Gospel online, please share! We are here to learn from each other. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!
1. Be authentic.
Sometimes we are worried of offending people, especially via social media, but you can share your beliefs without being preachy. It's so easy through sharing uplifting videos, quotes, songs, photos, conference talks, and so much more through any of the social media sites you use. It also doesn't mean that everything you post has to be church related. We're trying to show the world that we're normal people, too, and care about a lot of things, including our faith.
2. Have in your profile bios either "LDS" or "Mormon".
No matter how many profiles you have, it's important to have the fact that you're a member of the Church in there. Here is what my Twitter profile looks like:
3. Create a Mormon.org profile.
People all over the world who are searching for answers about Mormons go to mormon.org and search for people just like them. They can search for key words that relate to them and it will pull up different people's profiles for them to read and discover what they're like.
Here is my Mormon.org profile:
It's really easy to create one. Go to mormon.org, and under the profile tab at the top right, click "create profile". You can log in with your LDS Account information (or set one up) and it will direct you where you can create your own profile for people to see what your life is like. You can also answer commonly asked questions about Mormons. It's really cool to see people's stories of how they became a member or how they live their faith, and that's what people searching for information about the church want to read.
4. Decide how active you want to be and then do it.
Not everyone wants or needs to be connected to every single social media platform. I am active currently on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Blogger (what you're reading this on). A large part of this is my study of public relations and my hope to be a PR professional one day. We are asked to be up to date with a lot of different things, including social media platforms.
You don't have to go make an account on every single platform. Do what works best for you! If you love pictures, go crazy on Instagram and Pinterest. If you love to write, start a blog or share your testimony through Facebook posts. Figure out what works for you and your lifestyle and do it!
5. Don't be afraid to answer questions.
The point of being a member missionary is to answer questions of our friends. People who ask sincere questions will want to know why you live and believe the way you do. It's also important to note that if you don't know the answer, don't fake it. Tell them something like, "I don't know, but I will find out and we can talk about it" or "I'm not sure, but I have a couple of friends who probably do. Would you like to meet them?" (talking about the missionaries).
Something that has been really helpful for me is to not criticize people if they ask you a question. We often take for granted the knowledge we have as members of the Church, but many people have no idea about the Plan of Salvation or how we choose who our prophet is. Be courteous and respectful as you answer their questions. Many people think that we are being secretive about our beliefs when we really are trying to keep sacred things sacred. It's just a matter of learning how to share information about our Church that's respectful to members and non-members alike.
6. Follow the official Church pages from the platforms you use.
There is a lot of bad pages and sites online, and the Church has created profiles on all of the popular platforms to help combat that. Here are some of their handles and profile links:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LDS
 |
| The Church's Facebook page |
@mormonchannel
@MormonTabChoir
@MORMONorg
@MormonNewsroom
Instagram: @mormonnewsroom
Google+:+Mormon Channel
+Mormon.org
+Mormon Newsroom
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages
http://www.youtube.com/user/LDSPublicAffairs
http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonTabChoir
Tumblr: http://mormonchannel.tumblr.com/
What other profiles do you follow?
7. Follow the Prophet and Apostles' pages on all of the sites.That's right, all of the apostles, and the prophet, have a Facebook page and a Google+ page. Interact with their pages and share quotes, facts and pictures of them with others. They have so many uplifting quotes, pictures and videos of their talks that you can share on your own profiles.
 |
| President Monson's Google+ page |
8. Follow inspirational Mormon bloggers/site enthusiasts
These are just a few popular Mormons on social media
Alex Boye http://www.youtube.com/user/ALEXBOYETV
Al Fox http://alfoxshead.blogspot.com/
http://waysofthecarraways.blogspot.com/
+22AlFox @22alfox (Twitter and Instagram)
Kathryn Skaggs "A Well Behaved Mormon Woman" http://wellbehavedmormonwoman.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Nielsen "NieNie Dialoges" http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/
Seth Adam Smith http://sethadamsmith.com/
Lindsey Sterling http://www.youtube.com/user/lindseystomp
9. Join in the conversations made through popular hashtags (#).
 |
| Search of #ldsconf on Pinterest |
There is a lot of power in it, as well. During General Conference, the official hashtag is #ldsconf. People were tweeting up a storm and even after conference we can find quotes or images from conference by searching under the hashtag. More people are also likely to see your posts if you use popular related hashtags.
One for Easter that has been campaigned by the Church is #BecauseofHim. Members can testify how their lives have been changed and what blessing have come because of the Savior. We are encouraged to share how our lives have been blessed because of Him.
 |
| All of these photos are featured all over social media from the #BecauseofHim campaign put on by Mormon.org and the Church. |
These are the top 9 ways I've found that you can share the Gospel online. The most important thing is to "open your mouth to declare my gospel" as it says in D&C 30:5. Let the Spirit guide you to know what to share. You never know if something you share will spark an interest in someone to learn more about the Gospel. We are the Lord's hand and He is hastening the work!
I know as we share the Gospel with others, we will make a difference. Don't believe me? Find out for yourself.
If you find any other tips that you've found that help you share the Gospel online, please share! We are here to learn from each other. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!
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