Internet Procelyting

   As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, missionary work is a huge part of our lives. I was in the CAC watching the Missionary Conference when they announced that the social media platform Facebook would be used by missionaries to preach the gospel. I was not surprised by this announcement because a friend of mine was already using Facebook in his mission. I knew it wouldn't be long before they started using it in many missions.

   That night I prayed that I would have missionary experiences and find the courage to share the gospel. The next morning I woke up and started my day by checking my Facebook. The first post I saw at the top of my newsfeed was posted 1 minute before. The post read, "Does anyone have a Book of Mormon that I can have?" The girl who posted it was a girl that I had worked with back home. I immediately commented and told her that I had one and I would love to get her one. I messaged her and got her information. I sent her a Book of Mormon with my testimony in it and gave her the link to lds.org and mormon.org. I felt like that experience was the answer to my prayer. I was able to share the gospel with her in Alabama while I live in Hawaii.

   Just a few years ago if you googled "Mormon" a lot of websites that are anti-mormon would come up and maybe a few good websites. Now if you google "Mormon" the positive websites outweigh the negative ones. Many conference talks, devotional, and fireside topics have been about sharing the gospel through social media. Sharing your beliefs on social media is a great way to take pressure off of those sharing. When you post on social media you aren't face to face with someone. You are putting your beliefs out there and observers get to choose whether they read it or not. You never know when you might post something that will make a difference for someone.

   Another experience I had was just this last week. Several mormons have worked at my old job and several mormons are currently working there. Another nonmember co-worker that we have all worked with messaged us and told us that he is quitting that job but all of the mormons he worked with made an impression on him. He said he respected us and our devotion to our beliefs. One thing led to another and we were all talking to him and inviting him to church and to receive a Book of Mormon. He accepted and will be receiving a Book of Mormon soon. We had all worked with him for a long time and it wasn't until a group message on Facebook that a barrier was torn down. This wouldn't have happened without social media and I know that many other barriers are being and will be torn down by using social media to reach people and share the message of Christ.

-Beth Gameren