It’s surprising how much of a difference we can make by simply inviting people to take a look over our shoulders as we talk about our Mormon lives online.  No fences. No gates. No barriers.

We think our everyday activities may not be of interest, or that we need to blog about strictly spiritual things.  Actually, people want to know what makes us tick all the way around–what we do with our time, our means, our professional lives, our families, our hobbies.  As they see those things, and as we share those activities that occupy our lives, we will naturally speak of what matters to us, our priorities will be visible, our desires to serve will naturally surface, our focus will become evident.

Are you still thinking that sounds too simplistic–why would anyone care?  Consider this comment from a Christian pastor, Chip Ingram.  Speaking of one of the greatest mentors of his life, he said:

He had only a high school education and wasn’t very ‘cool’ by my young college standards, but he loved me and knew the Bible better than I did and he still does. He came alongside me, . . . . and modeled how a Christian does marriage and family. I learned from him through heart-to-heart talks and watching how he lived. I was discipled simply by hanging out with him and catching his values and authenticity. He brought me in by modeling the message, inviting me to participate, and engaging me in genuine relationship.

Jesus’ method of discipleship was to live with his disciples. That’s it. They went where he went, heard what he said, saw what he did, ate what he ate, and talked with him about everyday matters. When we engage people like that, we bring them in.

I was discipled simply by hanging out with him and catching his values and authenticity. He brought me in by modeling the message, inviting me to participate and engaging me in genuine relationship”  (Chip Ingram)

In response to Elder Ballard’s recent counsel to use the New Media and participate in the gospel conversation online, ….

BYU students are taking the challenge issued by one of their professors, Richard Holzapfel, to blog what they are learning in their Bible study classes.  They’re creating their own blogs and sharing their family lives, their aspirations, hobbies, and spiritual insights online in a friendly fashion, opening doors to virtual neighbors who may bump into them on the Internet.
http://officepoetry.blogspot.com/2008/09/jewish-mormon-heritage.html

http://latterdaysaintlaurel.blogspot.com/

http://nettlesanddaisies.blogspot.com/2008/09/worth-identity-some-rambling-thoughts.html

I had a copy of The Book of Mormon in the car which I retrieved.  We talked about God’s plan of salvation, and I opened to Alma 40, reassuring her of her father’s condition and the state of the soul in rest after death, and affirmed her feelings regarding the feelings she had that Her Dad’s spirit and presence were tangible at times. We talked about her friends and the continuation of life missions beyond this life. She accepted a copy of The Book of Mormon.

Clearly, Heavenly Father knew it would be worth having us “bump into” one another to help heal a soul and advance his plan of happiness for her.

It’s much easier now to magnify the likelihood of bumping into someone interested in the gospel, with easy online connections.

Why not visit start your own blog and share your perspectives about how your faith intersects your life as a member of the Church?

Visit moregoodfoundation.org for more information and helps in participating in the worldwide conversation on faith.

It’s true, we can do a lot. We are endowed with a great power to perform, think, create, and live out our lives.  But the key difference between thinking we can do it all, and recognizing that what we are ‘able’ to do is all a gift from a loving set of divine parents, is significant.  And the world needs to know the difference.

Here’s an example of the prevalent worldview that suggests that we are the full shapers of history, ours or the world’s. You know the poem.  It’s recited and memorized in junior highs. It’s William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus,” a proud, self-sufficient expression that ends with these words:

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

[Echoes, 1888, No. 4, In Memoriam R. T. Hamilton Bruce ("Invictus"), stanza 4]

Some years ago an answer to “Invictus” was given.  Here it is:

Art thou in truth?

Then what of Him who bought thee with His blood?

Who plunged into devouring seas

And snatched thee from the flood?

Who bore for all our fallen race

What none but him could bear–

The God who died that man might live

And endless glory share.

Of what avail thy vaunted strength

Apart from His vast might?

Pray that His light may pierce the gloom

That thou mayest see aright.

Men are as bubbles on the wave,

As leaves upon the tree,

Thou, captain of thy soul! Forsooth,

Who gave that place to thee?

Free will is thine–free agency,

To wield for right or wrong;

But thou must answer unto Him

To whom all souls belong.

Bend to the dust that “head unbowed,”

Small part of life’s great whole,

And see in Him and Him alone,

The captain of thy soul.

["The Soul's Captain," Improvement Era, May 1926, opposite inside front cover]

The latter was written by Mormon apostle, Orson F. Whitney.

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone at least got the message from us, as members, that we ‘rely’ on the Lord’s help and grace in all we do?  First, they would know we are Christian, and secondly, they would know we have personal relationships with the Savior, and that we feel His Spirit.

Why not share with someone today something you’ve learned from depending on the Lord?  Why not blog about one way the Savior has helped you do something you were unable to do on your own?  You can do that on LDS.net or perhaps start your own blog. For more helps on starting your own blog, please visit our website at www.moregoodfoundation.org.

Dr. Specht, a German scholar with three, not one or two, but three Ph.D.s, came face-to-face with Mormon missionaries as they knocked on her door and she invited them in to her office.  In inspired fashion, they chose to address the Book of Mormon, bore witness of its truthfulness and left a copy in her hands.  The elders didn’t see her again for over two months.

The next encounter with Gertrud Specht came as she was preparing to enter the waters of baptism. Between the first and second meeting, she had drunk from the spiritual well. Before her baptism, this theology professor at the University of Munich, stood up in front of the congregation, and said:

“Before I’m baptized I’d like to tell you my feelings.  In Amos chapter 8:11 it says there will be a famine of the work of God.  I’ve been in that famine for 76 years. Why do you think I have three PhD’s? I’ve been hungering for truth and have been unable to find it. Then eight and one-half weeks ago, two boys walked into my home. I want you to know these boys are very nice and wonderful young men, but they didn’t convert me. They couldn’t; they don’t know enough.”

She then asserted simply and sincerely, “I don’t think you members know what you have After those years of studying philosophy, I picked up the Doctrine and Covenants and read a few little verses that answered some of the greatest questions of Aristotle and Socrates! When I read those verse, I wept for four hours.” Again, she restated her thought in question form, “Don’t you understand the world is in a famine? Don’t you know we are starving for what you have? I am like a starving person being led to a feast. And over these eight and one-half weeks I have been able to feast in a way I have never known possible” (Gertrud Specht).

If you’re feeling the desire to share some of the feast you’ve enjoyed as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (”Mormon” Church), please take a minute and do something to jump-start your sharing experience.

You might sign up at LDS.net and visit a forum or gospel discussion, or visit www.mormonsbelieve.org and upload a video or text testimony.

If you are interested in contributing to Mormonchurch.com, you can answer a specific gospel question, such as “How has the gospel helped me overcome a weakness?,” or “What was it like to serve as a Mormon Missionary?”…

For assistance or further information, please contact us at www.moregoodfoundation.org.

Additional Resources

The full transcript of Elder Scott Anderson’s journal account of his experience with Sister Specht can be found here.

The one thing which kept me firmly grounded and was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Church, early morning seminary, church sponsored activities and school rounded out my life. I loved the Gospel and shared it at every turn. I invited my school friends to church dances, dinners, shows and other activities. It was a lot of fun and eventually some of them joined the Church.

And yes, I loved Donny and Marie, as well as the Osmond Brothers. It was rare that I wore t-shirts with pictures on them, but there was one day I decided to wear my brand new Donny and Marie t-shirt to school. I was walking down the hall, from one class to the next when my arm was grabbed and I was spun around. There, standing in front of me was the new girl in school, Linda Wells. It was her first day, but she was an avid Osmond fan and my shirt caught her attention. It was the beginning of a friendship that has lasted 30 plus years.

I followed my usual routine of inviting her to church activities and she eventually began attending Church. Shortly thereafter the missionaries began teaching her the discussions. Every day at lunch we left the high school and went to my home where the missionaries met us, and my mother, for Linda’s lessons in the Gospel. She literally devoured every word they offered. She read the scriptures, she prayed, she wrote in her journal and she peppered the missionaries, and me, with question after question. Every day she had new questions.

And then she prayed. And she knew. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was true. That’s when things became difficult. Her parents hit the roof and forbade her from being baptized. She was subjected to beatings, tormentings and verbal abuse in order to keep her from attending Church. And so Linda simply bided her time. When she was allowed, she came to Church with me and when she wasn’t allowed we talked for long hours on the phone about the Gospel, school and life in general.

It was a long two years, but Linda was finally baptized. She is now sealed to a wonderful man and their first son is going into the MTC in a few short weeks. She has a powerful testimony which has never wavered and is utterly and completely devoted to Jesus Christ and His restored Gospel.

I often look back and wonder what particular point started the whole thing. I know that Linda had often wondered what that “something” was that made the Osmonds so different from the rest of the entertainment industry. I know that I happen to wear that shirt that day and it was something familiar to Linda on a day when everything was so new. I know that I loved the scriptures and poured over them, memorizing scripture verses, listening intently in seminary and Church and because I did that, I knew quite a bit about the Gospel, even as a teenager. I know that the Lord answered Linda’s prayers because she was attending one Church after another looking for that “something”, which eventually turned out to be the Gospel.

Linda prayed and Heavenly Father chose to answer her prayers with me. I thank Him every day that I was prepared to share my testimony, knowledge of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. I do not pretend that I was a major portion of her conversion, but I know whatever small part I did play I will be eternally grateful that Heavenly Father is willing to inspire those willing to listen.

“A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.) those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.” (History of the Church 3:381)

Sharing the Gospel is a wonderful thing when it is received with interest and joy, and rather painful when rejected. But I think the wonder far outweighs the pain. At least, I have found that to be the case in my own life.

One key principle separates The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the rest of the Christian sects. We believe, wholly and completely in personal revelation. Our seventh Article of Faith says:

We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

The type of revelation Joseph Smith, Jr. mentioned above. In locating those who might be interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and His restored Gospel, one of the greatest gifts, and tools, we’ve been given is personal revelation. Through the inspiration of the Spirit of God we can know who to share with the Gospel and who will dismiss it out of hand.

There are those who are kneeling in prayer every day asking for God to send His representatives to them. They might be begging for surcease from the drag of daily living without His light in their lives. They could possibly be asking for someone to show them the way. That someone could be you.

And how might one know who to approach?

Wilford Woodruff offers sweet advice:

“. . . when the heart is sufficiently contrite, then the voice of inspiration steals along and whispers.” (History of the Church 3:293)

It is, quite simply, as painless as that. We ask in humility, having prepared ourselves with the knowledge of the Gospel, that we might be of service to Him and to those seeking Jesus Christ. We can ask that these people be put in our path and that we might know who they might be as they cross our path.

Do not hesitate. Do not judge. Do not tremble. For your God is with you and as you go about His work you will be blessed to

You and I can do this. It take missionaries an average of over 10 visits to obtain one member referral. As Elder Bednar has reminded us, it’s our job to find them. The future of finding is on the Internet.

I think of the apostles of old, leaving their nets behind, to become disciples and fishers of men. Today, I believe the equivalent of the gospel net is the Internet. It is the tool for the gathering of the Lord’s people from all over the globe.

You-Tube and Facebook are taking over the world as venues for communicating with others everywhere. Are you aware that every time you comment on a positive You-Tube video, you are having an influence for good? Those You-Tube videos then move up in the search engine and are more accessible to those googling “Mormon Beliefs.”

A recent video posted on You-Tube, “Mormon Beliefs: Mormons Believe God Speaks” received 2500 comments after one month–one of the most highly commented-on videos of You-Tube.

Another recently posted video on the “Mormon conspiracy” has had 25,000 views in one week.

That means that by commenting on positive LDS videos, those who are looking for information about Mormons have a greater likelihood of finding something positive on You-Tube. Your comment and your friends’ can make a real difference.

Why not pass this information along to your friends and begin commenting today. For instructions on how to rate and comment on You-Tube videos,.please visit add link …..

• If you’d like to post your own conversion story, please visit mormonbeliefs.org and follow the instructions there.
• If you’d like to add a scripture to your Facebook page, download the LDS Facebook application.

We need your voice!

There’s been a wave of prophetic feeling about the need to expedite the sharing of our story with the world. You may have heard Elder Ballard’s signature talks on using the New Media to enter the gospel conversation. (link). Even before that, President Hinckley opened the door to conversations with the media about our beliefs and history. And President Kimball spoke often about his vision of missionary work. I often think he saw our day. I’m impressed with these words of President Kimball:

What is the significance of the phrase “uttermost part of the earth”? Jesus had already covered the area known to the apostles. Was it the people in Judea? Or those in Samaria? Or the few millions in what is now America? Did he include the hundreds of thousands, or even millions, in Greece, Italy, around the Mediterranean, the inhabitants of central Europe? What did he mean? Or did he mean all the living people of all the world and those spirits assigned to this world to come in centuries ahead? Have we underestimated his language or its meaning? How can we be satisfied with 100,000 converts out of nearly four billion people in the world who need the gospel?

The way seems obvious now, but was it then? It’s the Internet. We’re a few keystrokes away from the rest of the world as we sit at our desks or text on our cell phones. Now is the time when our communities are literally without fences, and we can engage with others in real-time conversations. We just have to open the virtual doors. More Good Foundation provides a one-stop online tool for any faithful member of the Church: LDS.net. Join today. Please feel free to visit our other sites and to let us know if you’d like to join our team of bloggers or otherwise contribute to this amazing effort.

Help fulfill prophecy and our covenants to be a witness to all the world.

One day, as I was driving on the freeway with my EZ-Pass, a thought arose:

“Take your Books of Mormon in the car, drive through the lanes where the attendants are present. Don’t use your Pass. Offer them a Book of Mormon.”

I thought the idea was an interesting one, but wondered how I’d do that in such a short amount of time. The next time I drove on the freeway, I did as I felt inclined to do. I drove through the slower lane, and as I reached over to hand my change to the attendant, I asked if he or she might be interested in receiving a free copy of the Book of Mormon, a book that changed my life and that I thought they might enjoy. I was amazed at the responses. Almost everyone cheerfully accepted. My testimony was recorded within the cover of the book. I felt that the Lord had literally placed those people in my path.

Sometimes it helps me to slow down, “to get off the river” as the Lord told those early Saints on their missionary journey, and to take another route, where our eyes and ears are open to those right in our midst.

There are other ways to share the Book of Mormon electronically. Why not link to the online version of the Book of Mormon from your blog or send the link to those with whom you’d like to share a principle of the gospel?

As President Benson remarked,

“The time is long overdue for a massive flooding of the earth with the Book of Mormon for the many reasons which the Lord has given.

In this age of electronic media and mass distribution of the printed word, God will hold us accountable if we do not now move the Book of Mormon in a monumental way” (Ensign October 2005, “Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon“).

Please share your ideas with us about how to move the Book of Mormon across the world.

The Lord assures us that He is watchful and is aware of the first fruits of the almond tree, which He is responsible for bringing forth and which He notices, and which He can hasten. He is similarly aware of each of His children, and where they are on the path, and of the exact second needed to do the ministering He needs to do. I love that feeling of security in God’s sovereign knowledge of us.

Because of our knowledge of the Father’s love, power, and omniscience, we should never give up on someone who has a spark of interest in the gospel, or even who may not show us that spark. Such was the case with Randy Chiostri. His introduction to the Church came when he dated Nancy. He took her to dinner. On the first date, Nancy refused any alcoholic beverage. No wine for her.

“How curious,” he thought. She replied that it would violate her beliefs to drink or smoke, and so the conversation turned to matters of faith. Randy married Nancy on the one-year anniversary of their first dinner date. But he could not then accept her religious beliefs. It took him nearly eight years to resolve his questions about the Church. One pair of missionaries after another taught him. Finally, he was touched by the Spirit and baptized.

President Hinckley, who once joined him in Chicago during a visit to the Saints there, remarked that Randy was “consumed with his love of the gospel” and that it had become “the major interest of his life” (Ensign, October, 2007, Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep p. 2).

Not only is there power in example, but there is power in believing that for some it takes time to overcome the traditions of our forebears and to step into a new life.

Never give up on anyone.