Facebook EVENT: Sharing the Gospel Through Social Media

This is your official invitation to join me on Facebook for a really exciting upcoming EVENT that will give you a simple, yet powerful way to be a part of something BIG and help to share the gospel online!  Anyone that reads my blog is well aware of the current need to share our testimony of the Book of Mormon with those who are unfamiliar with the actual book.  Many have heard of the Mormon Church (although we don't refer to it as that) and also the Book of Mormon -- but have little to no idea what we truly believe or why this sacred record is so important to us as individuals.

Using Social Media to share our Mormon beliefs is extremely simple -- and Facebook is probably the most effective of all SM platforms.   In general, most of the people that you are friends with on Facebook, are either your family or friends.  These people know you and most likely know that you're a Mormon.  Right?  But the majority of you have yet to take the opportunity to share much about your Mormon faith -- let alone your testimony of the Book of Mormon, on Facebook.

Who remembers the play Saturday's Warriors?  I saw it over 30 years ago, but one message that really stood out to me then and continues to haunt the recesses of my mind....   What IF someone that knows me never had the chance to hear the gospel?  Yikes!  Consider what it will be like to meet up with these people on the other side of the veil and have to answer to them for withholding something that could have changed the entire course of their lives???

If this sounds a bit too dramatic, then ask yourselves what your own lives would be like, right now, without the Gospel, blessings of the temple, Book of Mormon, Living Prophets, the Holy Ghost, etc... ?

OK, enough of the guilt trip.  I think you get my point.  But seriously, I'm not here to guilt you into doing something that you're uncomfortable with -- but I am here to encourage you to do something.  So let me give you the details about this event -- straight from the Facebook page...

Sharing the Gospel Through Social Media

Time	Monday, June 27 · 12:00am - 11:30pm
Location	Worldwide
Created By	Joseph Smith, The Prophet
More Info	On June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith, the Prophet, died a martyr to his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. During that time, the message of the restoration was slowly spreading across Europe and North America. Within a period of 14 years, church membership grew to approximately 50,000. Missionary work in our day is much different. With a single click of a button, we can share the gospel with hundreds in a matter of seconds. At the last general conference, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf reminded us, “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." With this as a backdrop, here's the proposition. On June 27, 2011, in memory of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, let us use our Facebook profile to share the gospel. Let us do so by posting gospel messages on our status. A few suggestions: 1. Share your favorite quote by Joseph Smith 2. Share videos from Mormon Messages 3. Share a link to mormon.org or lds.org 4. Share a recent quote from general conference 5. Share this event :) There are many ways we can spread the gospel message through social media. So please, tell us what you plan to do by posting your idea on the wall of this event. It took 14 years for 50,000 people to join the church. Will we be able to recruit 50,000 people to join this event within the next few days? Will you consider inviting your friends to "attend?" A marvelous work and wonder is about to come forth among our Facebook friends. Let us unite our effort and declare June 27th as a day to collectively share the gospel through social media!

I had the opportunity to chat briefly with the "person" who created the event -- Joseph Smith, The Prophet.  I assure you though, that I didn't really talk to Joseph Smith.   However, I did ask Joseph what inspired him to create the event and why he chose the specific date?  Here is his response...

"The thought to encourage everyone to share the gospel via social media kept popping in my mind yesterday. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so late last night I decided to do something about it and created the event. 

The date of the martyrdom [of Joseph Smith] is only a few days away and I was hoping that people will act quickly to spread the word about the event. Getting people to join quickly will likely have a more viral effect than creating an event that won't happen for another 3 or 4 months. That's my hope anyway."

There you have it.  A simple guy had an impression and decided to act on it.  In less than 24 hours there are already more than 650 Mormons committed to share the gospel, on Facebook, on June 27th...


So once again I ask...  will YOU join us, too?  RSVP HERE!  And please -- share this post!

tDMg
Kathryn