How I use Facebook to Share the Gospel
How I use Facebook to Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ
This article by Heather Newall was originally published on Meridian Magazine on February 25, 2010.
I’ve been a fan of the Internet for 14 years. More than that, I’ve been a fan of sharing the Gospel online since I joined my first AOL chat room back in 1996. It doesn’t take many steps for questions to go from “Where do you live?” to “Does that mean you’re Mormon?” to “Is it true you believe [this]?”
I didn’t have many resources at that time. LDS.org had yet to be created. It was a simple splash page saying “Information concerning The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will appear on this home page at some time in the future.”
Unlike today, I didn’t have anywhere to refer people. True seekers wanted to talk to me, because just as you will find today, it’s a big leap for someone to go from curious to inviting two strangers into their house to talk about religion. I bought the missionary discussions from the Distribution Center and did my best to answer questions about my faith. One of my greatest experiences was talking at length with someone about the Church who eventually did contact the missionaries and become baptized. The first of such experiences happened in 1997 and there have been several since.
Now with the amount of time I have been online I have come across situations that are terrible. Not only have I participated in chat room and social networks, but I’ve owned and operated them. I’ve seen marriages broken, I’ve seen feelings hurt, and I’ve seen addictions born. I myself have even encountered things that would shake my testimony, except I have found a logical and legitimate response to each one of them. And yet, I am still here. I am still a part of all that is good, in all that is life changing, doing my part to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Even though I have seen these things happen online, I’ve seen them happen outside the Internet too. Sin, divorce, and rude people were not born with the invention of the Internet. We all know that if you are looking to sin, you don’t need the Internet to act. The Internet is not a valid excuse to sin. The Internet is just as it is in the real world. Online we need to stay away from evil and the appearance of evil.
That being said, I’d like to talk about Facebook, one of my favorite websites. Facebook for me isn’t like my Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, or Digg account. My Facebook profile is locked down and I’m only friends with people I know. My friendship circle is small, 234 to be exact, because those are the people I’m interested in what’s going on in their life, and the ones who I don’t mind if they know what’s going on in mine.
Almost half my friends are ward members and about 20% of them are family members. Now being an online fanatic you may be surprised to know I have only been on Facebook for two years. I just didn’t feel like I had time for another network, especially one I thought was like MySpace. I now know Facebook is so much more. Facebook has allowed me to keep in contact with friends and family members who have moved away and also allowed me to share my beliefs with those who are close to me.
Here is a list of 10 things I have recently done on Facebook:
- Watched the latest Mormon Messages video on Charity via the Official Church’s Facebook Page. Bawled, and shared it as a status update. I was touched by responses from my friends. I was happy that I was able to share such an uplifting message with my non-member friends without encroaching.
- Became a fan of seven other official LDS Church Facebook Pages.
- Comforted a friend who lost her pet.
- Planned a date night with two other couples from our ward. My husband and I are closer to members of our ward and do more with them than any previous ward because of Facebook.
- Discussed the Gospel Doctrine lesson on the Preexistence
- Was invited to and went to a girls night and was able to meet some great ladies.
- Shared an awesome talk I found by Elder Oaks titled “’Judge Not’ and Judging.”
- Obtained some great insights on my RS lesson before giving it and shared a PDF of my outline with those who requested it afterward.
- Used The LDS App to share my favorite scriptures and the Temple I was married in.
- Discussed a recent Meridian Magazine article and how despite the concerns of using Facebook, it has been one of the best websites I have ever participated on.
I don’t use Facebook for much more than status updates. I rarely visit other people’s pages, but I do comment on their status updates as they come through my feed. I will admit I have played Bejeweled while waiting for tasks to finish, but I just don’t have time for all the quizzes, games, and other things I “hide.” That doesn’t mean I think I’m any better or have any right to determine who is or who is not wasting their time. I’m just doing what works for me.
The Internet isn’t an excuse to throw out common sense, our testimonies, or our sensitivities. We know right from wrong. We know what we should be doing with our time. We know what matters most: things of eternal value. If you have temptations, stop, and if you can’t stop, get help. But just because there are some who are struggling, doesn’t mean that I too need to stop. I know that “I am doing a great work and cannot come down” (Nehemiah 6:3). I’m not afraid of climbing the mountain, just because there are drops along the way. I know that just because I can fall, doesn’t give me the excuse to jump. I know that when I go online with good intentions, I’m not tempted to stray. There is just too much good that needs to be done. Go to the Internet with the desire to do good, to share your testimony, and to strengthen your fellow man. Good things come from those who do good, even online, and even on Facebook.