We as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have heard the call to open their mouths[i], teach all nations,[ii] proclaim the Gospel, and bear witness of Jesus Christ. In the words of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “With so many social media resources and a multitude of more or less useful gadgets at our disposal, sharing the good news of the Gospel is easier and the effects more far-reaching than ever before.”[iii]
Indeed, social media has made it easier to share our thoughts and beliefs with both our friends and strangers. Over 1.23 billion people use Facebook each month[iv], opening doors to reaching people in ways never before imagined. This new technology and social way of thinking has changed the world in many ways, including creating the ability to share the Gospel in countries never before accessible.
But with this blessing comes a new challenge to keep the message intact while learning to share it in a new way. Communicating via social media is not the same as personal interaction, nor is it the same as a written epistle. We must learn to share the Gospel through social media in a way that appeals to and attracts the receiving audience, whilst staying true to and respectful of the message.
A well-meaning and well-crafted message, said at the wrong time and place, never served anyone well. Individuals wishing to engage in more missionary work with their friends, and even strangers, via their online social networks, can all benefit from some social media training and guidance to learn how and when to share their testimonies and missionary messages.
The advent and adoption of social media has occurred so rapidly that many have not yet had the chance to fully appreciate or understand it. I have written this book to help both member missionaries, and those with callings such as ward mission leaders, stake public affairs directors, bishops, stake presidents, or ward communications leaders, to learn and understand how they can better use social media to spread the gospel.
The following is an excerpt from Sharing the Gospel through Social Media (Cedar Fort, 2015) which was designed to help both member missionaries, and those with callings such as ward mission leaders, stake public affairs directors, bishops, stake presidents, or ward communications leaders, to learn and understand how they can better use social media to spread the gospel. The following guidelines and suggestions have been customized for Mormons who wish to improve their missionary efforts through the use of social media.
The Three Golden Rules of Communication
- Create Awareness – You want and need people to know you exist and what your beliefs are, and to do this you need to create awareness. You do this in any number of ways, including word of mouth, through a Facebook status, missionary pass-along cards, an email blast to friends and family, a blog post, etc. You want to create awareness of your purpose, which may include anything from ward activities, to introducing a new person to the Book of Mormon.
- Educate Your Audience – After you create the awareness and have their attention it is time to educate. Teach your audience about your beliefs (or a ward activity, special event, etc.). Tell them what makes it interesting and different. What sets your belief apart from others, and why it is important. Teach them something that is important to them. Communicate and educate in a way that makes sense to the other person. Avoid “Mormon-speak.”
- Call to Action – No message is complete without a call to action. Telling your friends that you believe in God is good, but doesn’t educate them on the importance of the Plan of Salvation in their lives. Follow up your statement that creates awareness and the supporting information with a “call to action.” In marketing or sales, this would mean saying, “call now,” or “special early bird pricing this week only.” You can’t just tell your friends something important and then leave them hanging. For instance, “God has a plan for you,” is good information (educates the audience – rule #2), but doesn’t tell them how they can learn more. A call to action, gives the receiving audience something to do. For instance, a Facebook post or Tweet that incorporates all three golden rules would be, “You can learn more about God’s plan for you by visiting Mormon.org.”
Don’t Preach to the Choir – Use Hashtags
It is important to understand hashtags and how they are used. If you are new to social media, hashtags- the short links preceded by the hash mark [previously known as the pound sign (#)] – may seem confusing and unnecessary. But they have become integral to online communication, and as such, it’s important to know how to use them. Hashtags are the equivalent of bolded words, or subtitles for categorization purposes, when used online. Hashtags are the key to searches on social networks. Due to Facebook privacy settings, most users’ posts cannot be found in a search on Facebook. Posts are only seen by users’ personal direct networks. On all other social networks, posts can be found by indirect connections (via a search), so hashtags are very important.
The full-time missionaries now use Facebook and have public profiles. (They don’t use privacy settings limiting their posts to friends only.) They frequently add members of their wards, and new investigators. Friend them and “like” their posts to help the content be seen by more investigators and non-members via hashtag searches.
On Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, a hashtag turns any word or group of words that directly follow it into a searchable link. This allows you to organize content and track discussion topics based on those keywords. Click on a hashtag to see all the posts that mention the subject in real time.
Ideas for Missionary-Themed Status Updates
There is no shortage of excellent shareable content available on both LDS.org and Mormon.org. Remember that LDS.org is intended for the use of Church members. Mormon.org is the more outward facing site, created with missionary work in mind. Mormon.org has more non-member friendly information and ideas.
The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles all have official Facebook Pages.
First Presidency on Facebook:
President Thomas S. Monson – https://www.facebook.com/lds.thomas.s.monson
President Henry B. Eyring – https://www.facebook.com/lds.henry.b.eyring
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf – https://www.facebook.com/lds.dieter.f.uchtdorf
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Facebook:
Elder Boyd K. Packer – https://www.facebook.com/lds.boyd.k.packer
Elder L. Tom Perry – https://www.facebook.com/lds.l.tom.perry
Elder Russell M. Nelson – https://www.facebook.com/lds.russell.m.nelson
Elder Dallin H. Oaks – https://www.facebook.com/lds.dallin.h.oaks
Elder M. Russell Ballard – https://www.facebook.com/lds.m.russell.ballard
Elder Richard G. Scott – https://www.facebook.com/lds.richard.g.scott
Elder Robert D. Hales – https://www.facebook.com/lds.robert.d.hales
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland – https://www.facebook.com/lds.jeffrey.r.holland
Elder David A. Bednar – https://www.facebook.com/lds.david.a.bednar
Elder Quentin L. Cook – https://www.facebook.com/lds.quentin.l.cook
Elder D. Todd Christofferson – https://www.facebook.com/lds.d.todd.christofferson
Elder Neil L. Anderson – https://www.facebook.com/lds.neil.l.andersen
Instagram provides the user with a way to share a message visually, with minimal text. A short description can be added to the photo or short video. By posting pictures of inspiring or uplifting moments, with applicable hashtags, a feeling or idea can be conveyed to others. For instance, a picture of a temple, with a short text description like, “I often go to this temple to pray and feel my Savior’s love. For more information on temples visit temples.mormon.org” with hashtags #God, #Jesus, #Prayer, #God, will be found by others searching for uplifting images. This post includes all three rules of effective communication. Unfortunately, due to the way Instagram is set up links are not live. This may change in the future. Either way, the call to action is still important, even if less effective.
Ideas for Sharing the Gospel through Social Media
Use local city hashtags when posting pictures of the temple to Instagram. Many people search Instagram (with hashtags) for sight-seeing ideas. Using a local hashtag, such as #washingtondc, #SLC, #Chicago, etc,. with an image of the temple will cause the temple to come up in these searches.
The same idea works on Pinterest. When you post a picture of the temple, be sure to include the proper city name of the temple, so that it can be found in searches. Don’t just type “I love to see the temple!” There is nothing wrong with just posting pictures, but if you want it to be an effective missionary tool, remember to use keywords someone other than Mormons might search on.
The newest social media campaign by the Church is #HowDoYou. It is posed as a question #HowDoYou overcome discouragement? #HowDoYou find courage? The idea behind the campaign is to ask the question, and answer it, followed by the hashtag #HowDoYou. On Instagram you could take a picture of yourself doing something that gives your courage, or brightens your day. Share the picture with an explanation and the hashtag. The same works on Facebook and Twitter.
Every year since the dawn of Twitter, LDS users have flooded the site with Tweets during General Conference. Using the hashtags #ldsconf, #Mormon, and #twitterstake, thousands of people post links and quotes from General Conference in real-time.
Another idea is to take a picture of yourself with the local missionaries and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (or all three). Introduce them to your online friends, and offer to host your friends if they would like to meet the missionaries. Be sure to add a link to Mormon.org, or include the missionaries’ phone number.
Search Instagram or Twitter for people using hashtags such as #God, #JesusChrist, #love, #family, #Christian, etc., and leave positive comments, and thank people for their efforts in sharing the Gospel (even if not LDS).
Find your local missionaries on Facebook, “like” their most recent updates, and leave a supportive comment, such as your testimony, or backing up what they said. Consider sharing their update with your friends list.
Erin Ann McBride is a writer, dreamer, and single woman. By day she works in marketing, and by night she hunts unicorns and writes romantic novels, “You Heard It Here First,” and the sequel “This Just In!”
Get her newest book, Sharing the Gospel through Social Media on Amazon today!
You can see if she really practices what she preaches regarding social media at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorErinAnnMcBride
[i] Doctrine and Covenants 60:2
[iii] “Waiting on the Road to Damascus,” General Conference, April 2011.
[iv] https://www.statisticbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/
Randy RichardsonMay 19, 2015
Geri, the "#" symbol represents pounds as a unit of weight, not as British currency.
Geri CampbellMay 19, 2015
Your reference to the term "hashtag, formerly known as the pound symbol...." is not valid in many English speaking countries with a history of British currency. The actual historic 'pound symbol' is closer to a gothic capital L with some embellishments, and bears no resemblance to the hashtag symbol. Sorry I can't show it here but my Australian keyboard no longer carries the pound symbol since we converted to decimal currency many years ago!