On Sunday Elder Ballard gave a talk to the students at BYU-Hawaii urging them to take advantage of new media in order to talk about the church. There are numerous blogs across the Internet that talk about various aspects of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can find blogs that focus solely on doctrine, and others that focus solely on the social aspects of being LDS. Most are a mixture, like this one.
As I think back on the way that the Internet has changed my life, I am grateful for the opportunities it has opened up. I have watched the world change in many different ways. The year that I began attending college is the year that the Internet really began to appear in most homes throughout the United States. It became much more common to be able to email and communicate with others. This has helped the world to become more connected to each other.
Elder Ballard urged each of the members to take part in the conversations that are going on about the church. These conversations are taking place in blogs, chat rooms and forums. He warned against arguing with others, but encouraged us to simply share our beliefs with others, so that they might understand them better. Additionally we may need to speak up in our personal lives as we address questions and concerns that others may have about the church.
This most recent address is along the same theme as Elder Ballard’s last talk at conference, in which he urged us to be able and willing to offer facts about the church and to answer questions that are asked of us. This can help to dispel common misconceptions and help us to reach out to those around us better. As a shy person, I am glad that I can answer questions and explain my beliefs through the use of blogs and the Internet.
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