In the September Ensign, the article “Role of Members Important in Sharing the Gospel Online” points out a real problem about the information people find about the Church online.

“Missionaries across the world have encountered a problem in recent years: after only a visit or two, an investigator who had shown real interest cuts off contact. Researchers have found that most of those investigators have one thing in common: they lose interest after finding negative, inaccurate information about the Church online.”

As recent as six years ago, the general information you could find on the Internet about the Church was largely negative, and growing in its negativity. It is now in a reverse trend.

“Six years ago 80 percent of search engine results for the term ‘Mormon’ were negative or inaccurate. Today the situation has improved. In some countries, Internet search results for ‘Mormon’ are now up to 80 percent positive.”

“Why the significant change? In addition to official Church Web sites, unofficial Web sites sharing positive information about the Church are spreading across the Web. Individuals are using blogs to share their values, and gospel messages are making appearances on social networking sites. In short, because of how members are using it, the Internet is also helping bring people to the full-time missionaries.”

Elder Ballard and other Church leaders have encouraged members to participate in the online conversation about the Church and explain in clear, simple terms the message of the Restoration.

The Ensign article suggests some ways to spread the gospel meaningfully, including creating a personal profile and testimony on the new Mormon.org, blogging, using social media sites, and sharing links to gospel videos.

The article also mentions the More Good Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by Church members that has actively engaged and empowered members to provide accurate and positive content about the Church.

Popular search engines usually allow a given Web site to occupy only two spaces on a results page. That means that even if LDS.org and Mormon.org have hundreds of relevant pages, only two will appear as search results. That leaves a lot of open space for negative sites, especially since people often gravitate to sites that are unrelated to the Church as an institution, looking for individual rather than organizational perspectives. That’s one area where members can be very effective, in addition to the great work done by the Church as an institution. The More Good Foundation owns over 1,400 URLs and has enlisted members to create over 320 sites in as many as 12 languages. They have also posted over 1,900 videos on YouTube. Contact the More Good Foundation if you want to get involved.

The magazine article concludes by saying, “The Internet provides a way for Church members to reach people in ways unimaginable a generation ago, and as technologies improve, so will Church members’ ability to share the gospel.”

What have you done recently to share your understanding of the gospel with others? See some ideas here.

Share on Facebook