Missionary Work by Digital Means - for Kelsey

I decided to do the altruistic scholar assignment for Kelsey. It seems like her posts have been revolving around using digital means to do missionary work, so I wanted to help find some sources for her that show what the Church is doing in terms of an online presence and online outreach.

I know that you have to be pretty careful when finding websites regarding the Church because there is a lot of anti literature out there that is less than helpful. However, here are a few resources I found that might help:

1. Forums: LDS.net contains a lot of forums of people discussing beliefs. I searched through a few of them, and most of them seemed to be conversion stories. There were a few that had something to do with investigating the church in the title. Kelsey might use this to analyze the use of forums for investigation. It is much less threatening to pose a question online and view responses than it is to meet face to face with the missionaries, for example. It might not always be as effective, and there is always the risk of getting biased and incorrect information, but I think we have to recognize that it is definitely a major way that people are finding out about the Church. There is also, of course, Mormon.org and the profiles there. I think observing the way people are asking questions and what questions they are focusing on could really help in your research.

2. Blogs: In this post, Kelsey mentioned that she wanted to explore some blogs that were branded LDS and see how they were received by those who are not LDS. Whenever we start talking about Mormon blogs, naturally Mormon mommy blogs come up. There are so many aspects to explore here, including DIY culture. This article is a young feminist atheist who loves reading Mormon mom blogs, one reason being that they portray motherhood with respect. I found it incredibly enlightening, especially seeing it through a nonmember's eyes. Here are a few blogs that I found that you might want to look into:

• Stephanie Nielson's blog http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/. This woman was mentioned in general conference and is one of the most well-known mommy bloggers that I am aware of. She has a very wide readership, LDS and non-LDS alike. 
• Another pretty popular one, C. Jane Kendrick http://www.cjanekendrick.com/. The unique thing about this blog is that she is very open about her LDS faith, highlighting the brand you were talking about when discussing Public Parts. 
• This Deseret News article lists some more Mormon mommy blogs and talks about why they are so prevalent and popular.

3. News Articles: At the very least, these articles can get you familiar with what is being publicized about the changing rules for missionaries and some researchers on the subject. I really liked what these articles had to say about how the world is changing, so missionary work must adapt to the changes and move along with it. 

• Here is an article I found in the Religion News Service that talks about the changing nature of missionary work in the LDS church.
• This article is probably the most comprehensive overview of the recent announcement. 
• This Wall Street Journal blog post about the announcement notes the radical change from missionary policy. It also mentions Dr. Burton, so that's pretty cool! What I also think could help would be to read through some of the comments on the blog post and see how these changes are being received. Maybe there will be some leads to some other sources for you. 

I hope this helps at least a little bit! Good luck with your research. 

my curation experience with diigo

via

Over the past week or so as I have been exploring Diigo, I've used to the tool to track my research concerning public sharing, and in particular, online missionary work.  One of the unique tools Diigo provides is that it allows you to see other bookmarks and lists that other users have curated. This was helpful in finding information concerning online sharing in general, and even other enthusiasts of Public Parts by Jeff Jarvis, however it was difficult to find information specifically related to the LDS effort to use digital tools to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. So in that way, Diigo was not as useful as it might have been with another topic. However, the highlighting, bookmarking and note taking features were extremely useful in tracking my research through various church websites and blogs. It was a funny thing to hear Elder Ballard explaining the digital realm in a very similar way to Jarvis.  

Elder Ballard stated, "Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches. While some conversations have audiences in the thousands or even millions, most are much, much smaller. But all conversations have an impact on those who participate in them. Perceptions of the Church are established one conversation at a time." This sounds very familiar, as Jarvis likewise stated, "To make those [real] connections, we must be public and share. We first have to reveal ourselves as members of those groups." Ballard's talk was given back in 2008.  As I've gone through various blogs I've seen both good and bad examples of this in action.  It's not enough just to throw in the word "mormon" or "lds" and call it good. Yes, we must identify ourselves as members of the LDS church, but we must do so consciously.  Ballard continued on in his talk to expound upon the idea of explaining things online very clearly and simply. I found some wonderful articles, both by members of the Church and others, who discussed the need to consciously create a positive online identity, or as Jarvis calls it, a "brand". 

As I continue on in my research, I want to focus on not only the content that has been circulated, but how it was received. I'm hoping to look into several blogs that I have discovered and bookmarked through Diigo, and explore how those not of the LDS faith received and responded to the information. 

What have your experiences (good or bad) been with sharing your religious beliefs online?