Mormon Life - Social Media tag

Today in the Bloggernacle: New Mormon.org widget and temple news

Fri, 18 May 2012 07:22:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon.org widget: I am pleased to present a new tool for bloggers and site developers: the Mormon.org widget, which lets you share Mormon.org content right on your blog or site! It’s easy to upload to your sidebar and is, as explained at the link, “a simple way to engage others in learning about (the church).” Watch my column next week for more information on this small but powerful new tool.

Y grad aims to build a social network for LDS singles

Tue, 08 May 2012 12:46:00 -0600

source: heraldextra.com

Mormon Life says: The site allows people in the network to not only look for other singels, but to plan and host social events, find housemates or landlords, form groups around shared interests, get recommendations for dating activities in the city where they live, and more. It's hardly a new idea to use the Internet to help 20-something and 30-something single adult members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meet, date and marry. There are many sites that cater directly to single Latter-day Saints, and many more that have vanished into the online ether over the years.

BYU graduate Josh Hall isn't trying to create another LDS dating site -- Hall, 33, has a much larger ambition than that for the site he's preparing to launch, YSAcentral. He wants to create the ultimate site for LDS singles, the last one that he or anyone else will ever need or use to meet and mingle with like-minded LDS singles. (There's more info at YSAcentral.com.)

DailyLDS.com launches the first Groupon-type website for LDS people

Tue, 08 May 2012 12:03:00 -0600

source: universe.byu.edu

DailyLDS.com launched last week the first website in the world that offers exclusive deals to LDS members.

DailyLDS.com is comparable to Groupon, but it is truly unique to LDS people. Every day, for a 24-hour period, one LDS product or service is featured for purchase at a discounted price – up to 90 percent. Members receive DailyLDS deals notifications via Facebook, email and Twitter.

Churches use apps, websites and social networking to extend their reach

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:48:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Churches in America are stepping up their efforts to reach out to people by using ultra-modern tools that reflect the direction most Americans are already going. USA Today reports that believers have historically been early adopters of the latest technology to reach beyond the four walls of church buildings.

From the printing press to the radio and television to iPhone apps, religion is working to keep up with how people communicate. Some churches have even rejected a traditional brick-and-mortar type of centralized location, opting instead for Internet-only gatherings.

Bloggernacle Back Bench: Introducing three new blogs, a travel site and a comedy web series

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:28:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

I love highlighting new blogs. And spotlighting new and fascinating blogs doubles the excitement. Here are four new, fascinating blogs for you to bookmark, ranging in subjects as being Mormon, being peculiar, traveling, provident living and more.

Sharing the gospel: 'He is Risen' Bible video

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:24:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

Mormon Life says: Members of the Church have been invited to be involved with the campaign. A three-day advertising campaign by the Church over the Easter weekend will take place on YouTube and Facebook. The purpose of the ad campaign is to help people understand the LDS faith and beliefs. Members of the Church are encouraged to share a new Bible video based on the final days, Atonement, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

LDS Church to blitz YouTube, Facebook with messages of Jesus Christ on Easter weekend

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:52:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: I love that the Church is doing this. Wouldn't it be awesome if all members shared the videos this weekend on their own social media? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is planning to blitz the world of social media this weekend with a new media campaign aimed at helping "those not of our faith understand that we believe in and follow Jesus Christ."

In an email sent from the LDS Church Missionary Department to those who have created profiles on the church's Mormon.org website, officials said the campaign will take place Friday through Sunday on YouTube and Facebook, and will feature "members of the church sharing their beliefs about the Savior."

The campaign will consist of paid advertising on YouTube during the weekend, which they expect to be viewed "a minimum of 15 million times."

Michelle King: On 'Mormon Times TV': Sharing the gospel online

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:04:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

Social networking is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, but it’s also an incredible venue to share your religious beliefs.

When serving our LDS mission in Georgia, we asked missionaries and members to “post their profiles” on the LDS Church’s mormon.org website. Tens of thousands of Mormons all over the world are doing it — telling their personal stories of “Here’s how I believe” — because it’s a safe, comfortable missionary tool that needs members to help increase its reach.

Changing the Mormon image: Behind the scenes of LDS Church media efforts

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:12:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: This article stems from the "Mormons and the Internet" conference held last week. The calls were strange, Buddy Blankenfeld said. The 2008 raid on the FLDS compound in Eldorado, Texas had many in the media confusing the LDS Church with the fundamentalist polygamist group.

"Members of the media identified them as Mormon, LDS or as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," said Blankenfeld, an LDS Church Public Affairs Department manager.

Journalists called the department and asked questions that showed they didn't know there was a difference between the two churches. One even wanted photographs of the interior of the Salt Lake Temple — confusing it with the FLDS temple in Texas. "We saw a need to provide the media with information that presented a clear distinction between our church and Warren Jeffs' group," Blankenfeld said, adding that the church wanted to make the distinction without disparaging the FLDS church.

The Mormon Internet battleground

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:55:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

Mormon Life says: A quick recap of the conference so far. Mormons are changing as they encounter the Internet with its quirks, challenges and dangers. A conference on "Mormonism and the Internet" at Utah Valley University today and Friday is examining how members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are expressing themselves and transforming their identity and interaction with the world.

True to the topic, the event is being broadcast live online at www.uvu.edu/uvutv/ in the UVU Events section of the website.

In the conference's first session, James Faulconer, a philosophy professor at BYU, talked about his experiences writing an online column, "Speaking Silence," for the religion blog Patheos.com. "The potential audience is the best thing about writing on the internet for obvious reasons," he said. "Every writer loves to have an audience. It is frightening to have that audience. I am afraid I am unworthy."

Mormon scholars: Internet spotlights LDS taboos

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:48:00 -0600

source: heraldextra.com

Online exploration of formerly taboo subjects is changing how Mormons talk about their faith, both officially and socially. What this means to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members was the subject of a UVU conference which launched on Thursday.

Joanna Brooks, an award-winning religious scholar and writer, gave the keynote address of the "Mormonism and the Internet" gathering on Thursday morning.

"One of our big challenges right now is that young people do have a lot of access to information about our history that is not discussed at home and at church," Brooks said. "That is a big frontier for us."

LDS members prepare for conference, social media explosion

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:38:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

After the Savior appeared to the Nephites, the Book of Mormon records, “And it was noised abroad among the people immediately, before it was yet dark, that the multitude had seen Jesus, and that he had administered unto them, and that he would also show himself on the morrow. … Yea, and even all the night it was noised abroad concerning Jesus ...” (3 Nephi 19:2-3).

Apparently, the Nephites understood the social network concept.

Countless LDS members and others will also be “noising abroad” their thoughts, impressions and comments through various social media tools this weekend during the 182nd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through its website, the church is encouraging members to use Facebook, blogging, Google+, Twitter, and other social networks to promote the conference and invite others to listen to living prophets.

Unforgivable Pins: Mormon Women, Pinterest, and the Defining of Virtual Self

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:41:00 -0600

source: juvenileinstructor.org

Mormon Life says: This author makes a great point about the design site. She's on to something. Mormon women are in trouble again. Not for selling out to the patriarchy or for working outside the home. Not for having too many or not enough kids. Not for wearing skinny jeans or peep-toe shoes. No, this time it’s for being overwhelming subscribers to an online bulletin board site called Pinterest.[i]

So, just in case you’ve recently awakened from a coma or returned from a lengthy research stint in the upper Amazon, here’s how it works. Once you create your Pinterest account, you can browse ideas for home design, children’s crafts, food recipes, home organization, party themes, cake decorating, holiday ideas, fashion, and even your favorite artwork, photography, travel destinations, cute animals, and life-affirming quotes.

LDS missionary blogs useful missionary tool

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:58:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: Did you know that a few missions are testing the possibility of using missionary blogs as a way of sharing the gospel in their assigned areas? Very cool. A full week of training and instruction for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues Tuesday, when the first two of eight auxiliary leadership training workshops are held at various locations in the Salt Lake City area.

LDS general conference week actually started Saturday evening with the General Young Women Meeting for young women, their mothers and leaders of the Young Women organization of the church. LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson attended that meeting and urged the young women of the church to live lives of belief, obedience and endurance.

"Seek heavenly guidance one day at a time," President Monson said Saturday. "Life by the yard is hard — by the inch, it's a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day — and then one more, and then one more after that, until we've lived a lifetime guided by the spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds and righteousness."

Today in the Bloggernacle: Blogger suggests ways to celebrate Relief Society

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:39:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: I really like the idea of pinning your Mormon.org profile on Pinterest! Leadership Library: I told you about the amazing Leadership Training Library, remember? Hopefully you have already taken advantage of this neat new resource, and now it’s in “11 Languages,” so this handy helper can reach a more worldwide audience. Check it out today!

Blogging For The Lord... Or At Least I Thought I Was?

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:27:00 -0700

source: wellbehavedmormonwoman.blogspot.com

Mormon Life says: This author shares a story of how members can interpret the same LDS belief so very differently. Interesting. I had a really interesting experience the other day... I had a commenter on one of my threads over at hubpages.com, who happened to be a member of the Mormon Church. This member also made sure that I knew that 'she' was active in the Church, as I am, but would not do what I was doing.

I bring this up, because I was somewhat surprised as to why she took the time to comment on my article. Her main issue was not really the topic at hand, but that she felt that I should not be writing about the Mormon Church online and purporting to have authority in some way to do so... which I don't.

Mormons in this moment

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:14:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Bloggers have been dissecting this media-proclaimed “Mormon Moment” since its inception. And I just must feature a few of these well-written faith treatises of sorts.

Bold statement: “Calling Yourself Mormon Is a Very Bold Statement," declares blogger Jessie Stay. Why? “It means you believe in modern-day revelation. It means you believe there are men today that speak to God, and God speaks to them.

Romney and the 'Mormon mommy blog'

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:54:00 -0700

source: politico.com

McKay Coppins, a BuzzFeed reporter who also happens to be Mormon, takes a deep dive into the Romney family's use of social media and finds that the campaign once approached a "Mormon mommy blog" as part of an effort to make Mitt and Ann appear less "hoity-toity":

'Why I'm a Mormon': Stephanie Nielson

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:13:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: Love her. Editor's note: This is an excerpt from "Why I'm a Mormon" edited by Joseph A. Cannon, which includes the testimonies of 53 influential members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Being a Mormon means that I know who I am, I know where I am going, and I know, understand, and love the plan that has been laid out for families, particularly mine.

The Mormon church helps us understand that living as a family is God's plan, and we are taught how to rear our children in righteousness, following the Savior's example. This knowledge has changed the way I teach my children, how serious it is to me that they know and understand good choices versus bad ones and the consequences of each.

Mormon Blogging and the Good Ole Boys’ Club

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:36:00 -0700

source: bycommonconsent.com

Mormon Life says: What do you think: Does Mormon blogging sometimes inadvertently reinforces patriarchy? In September 2006 NPR ran a story on a study of numbers of women in academia (or lack thereof), particularly science. Maria Zuber, commenting on the study, made good points that I think are also pertinent to the structure of the Bloggernacle and the conversations we have. Firstly, the tendency in academia is to, as Zuber put it, “stay close to shore.” Academics tend to recognize excellence if it looks like their own work. Likewise bloggers tend to read the kind of content and join the discussions they themselves like to produce, and think those are the best conversations to have.