LDS Media Talk

Last week I added a video sidebar widget to my personal WordPress blog called Video Widget. The primary reasons I chose this particular widget are because it:

• 1. Supports videos from over 25 video sources such as YouTube, Flickr, Google Videos, Metacafe, and others.
• 2. Is easy to configure and can run just one video or have a different video appear upon each page refresh.
• 3. Requires no HTML code pasting, just add an ID from each video source.

Videos are a great way to connect with your audience and keep them engaged on your site. In this particular case, I can use this widget to share gospel-oriented videos and other types of videos I think will be of interest to my audience.

Installation and Configuration

Like other WordPress plugins, upload the video-widget folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ folder and then activate the plugin via the Plugins menu.

Video Widget is fairly simple to configure. Just choose the title you want displayed in your blog’s sidebar, plug in the desired width and height of the video, and then add all the video IDs you want to play in the Multiple videos dialogue box.

Or, if you want to have just one video available in your sidebar, delete the preset ID and videos listed in the Multiple videos dialogue box, and then plug in the ID of the video of your choice for a Single video. That way, only that video will be available for viewing.

I installed the widget on both the main post sidebar and on each individual post sidebar of my blog. Each can be configured separately so different sets of videos are available to your visitors.

Share Videos About the Gospel

Although you can share any video or set of videos you want using this widget, one of the reasons I installed it on my blog is to share gospel-oriented videos. Below is an image from the LDS Public Affairs video Are Mormons Christian? on YouTube which is one of the videos available on my site.

There are a number of high-quality videos on the LDS Public Affairs YouTube Channel to choose from (a hidden resource that is slowly growing in popularity). And there are also some great videos being produced by Church members and other organizations. Here’s just a short list of those who are actively adding videos from which I chose to put on my blog:

• lds9999 on YouTube
• SethAdamSmith on YouTube
• fairldsorg on YouTube
• William J. Hamblin (hamblinwj) on YouTube

There are scores of others. Just visit a few video sites, do a search and add the ID to the widget. It’s that simple.

Let us know your favorite gospel video sources.

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The Church has just distributed the 140 millionth copy of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ according to a news release on Newsroom.lds.org. The Church currently sells about 5 million copies a year.

The Book of Mormon is currently available in 107 languages. You can read The Book of Mormon online in nine languages: Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. While there (at scriptures.lds.org), you can also listen to it (by clicking Listen at the top of any page) or download the audio files in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Audio files in more languages are being prepared now.

The Newsroom also has a great story about Understanding the Process of Publishing the Book of Mormon. You can also read a general story about translating Church materials.

In 2003, Book magazine searched for the twenty novels and nonfiction titles that have had the greatest impact on the history of America–the ones that have led to concrete, definable changes in the way Americans live their lives. They named the Book of Mormon one of the “20 Books That Changed America.”

Have you personally taken Elder Craig C. Christensen’s challenge from last conference to use The Book of Mormon to share the gospel message with family and friends?

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A group of members from a Sunday School class in Connecticut have created several video animations of Old Testament stories. The videos include young people telling their versions of Old Testament Stories along with animations. These are very clever, and some are hilarious.  

They invited the public and their friends to a premiere screening of the films at a real movie theater, complete with a modest red carpet. “We ate popcorn and viewed our movies on the big screen. These young people will never forget making these stories. Which was part of our plan. When you produce, direct and star in stories from the scriptures, you never forget the message…even if it is a little bit different from the official version.”

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When you search for “Mormon” on YouTube, the #1 video is now positive–a video clip from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s talk “My Words . . . Never Cease,” a testimony of continuing revelation, taken from his talk at April 2008 General Conference.

This video on YouTube has been viewed nearly 20,000 times and will continue to gain over 1,000 views per day if it continues at #1. As the first thing that people find when searching for the Church on YouTube, this is a great missionary opportunity. Note the following comment that was posted about the video clip:

“I must say, what Holland is saying here makes incredible sense and something about this video really strikes a cord with me in a way that nothing else ever has. I’ve been to many churches and have heard many sermons, and if they all use the Bible I can’t see how they all come out so different. If this Book of Mormon is indeed an addition to his word, then God sure knows what he’s doing to correct where we’ve been going wrong with Christianity.”

Having positive videos at the top of the search results for “Mormon” is a nice change, since in the past many of the top search results were videos critical of the Church.

This video is also at videos.lds.org, along with a clip from Elder Holland’s related talk “The Only True God and Jesus Christ whom He Hath Sent” from the previous conference.

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With all this new encouragement to blog and participate in the online discussion about the Church, many people ask themselves where they will find the time to do so.

At the Web 2.0 Conference in April this year, I saw a presentation by Clay Shirky about where people find the time to participate in Wikipedia, blogs, and other new media.

He estimates that 100 million hours have collectively gone into Wikipedia. He compares that to 200 billion hours of watching TV each year in the U.S. alone–the equalent of 2,000 Wikipedia projects a year. We spend 100 million hours in the USA every weekend watching just the advertisements–that would permit the creation of an entire Wikipedia in just one weekend if we just skipped the ads!

His point is that people have the time, but they waste it watching TV. How you use your time is a choice: good, better, or best.

Part 1

Part 2

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In September 2007, we announced that the Encyclopedia of Mormonism was available online at BYU.edu in PDF format. We’re now happy to announce that the Encyclopedia of Mormonism is available in text format that is fully searchable. Each entry also has a link back to a PDF scan of the page from the original 1992 publication.

This is a great resource for information about the Church. It contains one million words in about 1,500 articles in four volumes. Learn more about the project from the Church News and in the Preface.

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What is a blog?
Blog is short for “web log.” A blog is a Web site, maintained by an individual or organization, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other media such as graphics and video. You can start a blog about anything that interests you. For example, LDSMediaTalk is a blog by several authors who talk about the wise use of technology and media for LDS parents and youth. LDS CIO is a blog written by a technology geek to other technology geeks. Other blogs are simply a collection of thoughts and ideas, such as Richman Ramblings. You can create a blog that is open to anyone to read, or you can restrict who can read your blog.

Why should you start a blog?
To share your ideas and wisdom, to have an archive of interesting things you’ve discovered, or to share your beliefs with the world or with a targeted corner of the world. You don’t have to be an expert on a topic to blog. Blogging is a great way to share your own personal testimony and to teach people about the Church by telling them what it’s like on the inside. It’s also a lot of fun. When speaking to students at BYU-Hawaii, Elder Ballard said, “Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true.”

Is blogging difficult?
It can be as easy or hard as you want to make it. Setting up a blog is very easy. Writing regular blog posts is the tough part. You’re most likely to enjoy blogging if you enjoy writing on the topic of your blog. It you really want a high-quality blog, you need to be committed to post often to keep people reading. If you decide to begin a blog about the gospel, schedule regular times each week. Every Sunday evening you could write about what you learned in Church that day and every Wednesday evening you could write about one thing you are thankful for, related to a specific gospel principle.

Where do I begin?
You can sign up for a free blog at LDS.net or on blogging sites like WordPress.com and Blogger.com. If you’re interested in starting a blog using your own domain name (your own Web address), you can get one at those sites, or contact the More Good Foundation for help.

Below is a short video in plain English about blogs:

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The top story on the LDS Public Affairs Newsroom today is “Mormons Encouraged to Share Personal Perspectives Online to Explain Their Faith.” It references the message from Elder M. Russell Ballard on sharing the gospel using the Internet from the July 2008 issue of the Ensign.

A new page on the Newsroom site provides guidelines for Latter-day Saints participating in online conversations about the Church. Latter-day Saints are encouraged to share personal perspectives to explain the Church and what it’s like to be a member.

Be sure to check out Elder Ballard’s video clip on YouTube where he discusses ways members can share their testimony of the gospel using the Internet.

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The July 2008 issue of the Ensign is now online. (Remember, you can view the full magazine layout in PDF format by clicking “View” on the format bar.)

This is the special issue that David Frischknecht recently blogged about. Find out how to join the online conversation about the Church by reading Elder M. Russell Ballard’s advice on “Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet.”

After reading the article, you may want to consider the following ways to share the gospel online:

1. Blog what you’ve learned and how you know. Start a blog, then write what you learn in Church or in your scripture study, or explain how living the Gospel has blessed your life.
2. Post your testimony online. Write your testimony or conversion story then post it on a personal blog, Web site, or one of the many LDS-oriented sites. Then do it again in your mission language.
3. Comment on existing blogs. Well-known blogs on religious topics, such as the On Faith blog at newsweek.washingtonpost.com are great places to share your beliefs because people of many faiths participate there.
4. Post a video on a video sharing Web site. Join the ranks of thousands who have shared their testimonies and stories by video. Perhaps you could video tape your parents or grandparents and capture their stories too. While there, rate and comment on other good videos you find.
5. Post mission and wedding photos on photo sharing sites. Why not share photos from your mission, your wedding, or your family home evening at the park? Be sure to comment about them as well.
6. Edit entries in online encyclopedias. After signing up for a free account, you can edit or create articles immediately. Be sure that entries on gospel topics are accurate and positive. If you speak a foreign language, even better to do it in that language!
7. Link to good Web sites. If you have a Web site or blog, create a link to other good Web sites. You can also link to Church sites. For example, link to your favorite talk at LDS.org or your favorite video at videos.lds.org. Link to the Gospel Topics section in the Gospel Library that has great answers to common questions, or to other key sites, such as JesusChrist.lds.org or the Church’s site on Joseph Smith.
8. Volunteer with a community group of members. Volunteer your talents in graphic design, programming, writing, translation, or videography.

“…the people began to be astonished, seeing there was more than one witness who testified…” (Alma 10:12)

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My bishop asked me to talk today in a combined Relief Society, Priesthood, and Youth meeting about good resources on the Internet.

I decided to split the discussion into three areas:

• Avoiding the Bad
• Finding the Good
• Adding to the Good

I created a site that has links to everything I showed and discussed as well as the slides I used.  It might be a little out of context since you likely were not in attendance, but maybe you’ll find something helpful there too.  Enjoy!

http://someinternetinfo.bogusboy.net

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A recent Pew survey finds that although 92% of Americans believe in God and 58% say they pray at least once a day, America is trending away from adherence to specific religions toward a more general state of “spirituality.”

Key findings:

• 78% overall say there are “absolute standards of right and wrong,” but only 29% rely on their religion to delineate these standards. The majority (52%) turn to “practical experience and common sense,” with 9% relying on philosophy and reason, and 5% on scientific information.
• 74% say “there is a heaven, where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded,” but far fewer (59%) say there’s a “hell, where people who have led bad lives and die without being sorry are eternally punished.”
• 70%, including a majority of all major Christian and non-Christian religious groups except Mormons, agree that “many religions can lead to eternal life.”
• 68% say “there’s more than one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion.”
• 42% say they “often feel that my values are threatened by Hollywood and the entertainment industry.”
• 45% of adults say they seldom or never read their religion’s holy texts. This includes 49% of members of mainline Protestant churches, 57% of Catholics and 70% of Jews. Among groups that emphasize reading scripture, the numbers are sharply higher. Those who read scripture at least weekly include: evangelicals (60%); historically black churches (60%); Mormons (76%); Jehovah’s Witnesses (83%); and Muslims (43%)
• 44% want to preserve their religion’s traditional beliefs and practices. But most Catholics (67%), Jews (65%), mainline Christians (56%) and Muslims (51%) say their religion should either “adjust to new circumstances” or “adopt modern beliefs and practices.”
• 50% say “homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society,” but the most consistently traditional religious groups say society should discourage it — 76% of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 68% of Mormons, 61% of Muslims and 64% of evangelicals.
• 14% overall, including 28% of evangelicals, say religion is the “main influence in their political thinking.”

See how Mormons stack up against people from other major religions on these and other key questions.

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