Mormon Bloggers

The Internet gives everyone a voice. Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg  and U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch were at the BYU’s Marriott Center this morning for a special technology forum. Zuckerberg spoke about technology and education as Sen. Hatch asked a few of the questions previously submitted through BYU’s Facebook page. It was an interesting forum, relatively short (less than an hour), but the most interesting comment from Mark Zuckemberg for me was when he said that One thing that gets blown out of proportion in our culture is the focus on the single person or the couple of people that are running something. The success of Facebook is all about the team that we built. I think that’s true of any successful company. I couldn’t agree more, but obviously Mark Zuckemberg is a living proof of something that is getting blown out of proportion, but it is not his fault!  Read More →

Last week I heard about the recent developments in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the army is helping the police to gain control of the favelas (slums). This video is an interesting analysis of what is happening. An article on BBC explains that “Everyone here is focused on the World Cup and the Olympics.”  As Rio gets ready to host the matches in the 2014 World Cup and the Olympics two years later, the city’s hillside shanty towns are the target of a government clean-up that in turn is being used as a springboard to develop tourism in the favelas with special tours. To have the privilege of hosting the finals of the FIFA World Cup or the Olympics is a responsibility that pushes governments around the world to make some real improvements (and some only for appearance’s sake) that will make them ready and especially “look good” to the rest of the world. In spite of their dominating ideology or current economic circumstances, they know that they need... Read the rest of this entry »

After the last General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) there has been some unrest among proponents of same-sex marriage in Utah. Some of the comments made in the talk of President Boyd K. Packer have not been received positively by some in the gay and lesbian community. To disagree seems to me a normal aspect of social life.  During elections this become absolutely obvious, but even when elections are not involved (if this is possible, since we are always between some kind of election) different groups have opinions or beliefs that do not always agree with each other, potentially leading to some sort of conflict. In some cases the disagreement relates to issues that are so personal that it is hard for some to refrain from reacting in some way. They do not want to accept other people’s point of view, but they want to silence them. This is clearly the case of those who feel attacked by the Mormon Church when its leaders openly teach that... Read the rest of this entry »

This is the video of the famous Regional Representatives Seminar by President Spencer W. Kimball in 1974. From this video is taken the quote below that confirms the importance of using the Internet for finding people who are interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church). The video shows its age, but the prophetic message is still valid. I believe that the Lord is anxious to put into our hands inventions of which we laymen have hardly had a glimpse. … When we have used the satellite and related discoveries to their greatest potential, … then, and not until then, shall we approach the insistence of our Lord and Master to go unto all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  (President Spencer W. Kimball) Watch President Spencer W. Kimball Regional Rep Seminar 1974 in Activism & Non-Profit  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com  Read More →

Slate magazine’s annual list of the nation’s most powerful people over 80 years old ranked the Mormon Prophet Thomas S. Monson as number 1. “The top spot this year goes to 82-year-old Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only person on the list to rule over millions of people as a prophet of God.” (See 80 Over 80) The placement of Thomas S. Monson at the top of the list is definitively a recognition of the importance and influence for good of a prophet of God. However, the article uses words that may mislead people into thinking that a true prophet of God “rules” over people or that he seeks for “power”. This could not be farther from the truth. Thomas S. Monson served for many years in the Church before becoming its president, and differently from many politicians who get elected to public offices, he was not elected on the basis of a “new platform” or after a campaign in which he violently... Read the rest of this entry »

According to an article in the Daily Herald, tweets (posts on Twitter) were “coming fast and furious” during the recent LDS general conference. In spite of thousands of members stuffing the LDS conference center in Salt Lake City and hundreds of thousands more watching the conference broadcast, other members were pushing the event to the forefront of social media. The search term “#ldsconf” remained among the most popular on Twitter over the weekend. There were tweets almost about every topic, but Elder Jeffery R. Holland’s direct and emotional testimony about the veracity of the church’s Book of Mormon was followed by thousands of tweets about how powerful it was. The article on the Daily Herald ends by stating that even as the church’s members streamed, tweeted, IM’d, listened and watched conference on every piece of media at their disposal, Elder Russell M. Nelson said the best kind of communication doesn’t come with a cost. ‘Even more amazing that modern... Read the rest of this entry »

This is the introduction of a very good article on the last Ensign, October 2009, about sharing our beliefs online by Michelle Stocking of the Church Magazines (link to the full article). After years of harboring bitterness and anger, Derick Fitch of Indiana felt as though he had hit a dead end. He decided he had enough and wanted to change. That decision led him to do something he had never done before: search for God. So Derick did what he typically did when he wanted to find information: he went to the Internet. Not only would that give him quick, easy access to information, it would also allow him to conduct his search privately, without making any commitments. Derick decided to begin his Internet search by looking for information on “the Mormon Church” because of a television commercial he remembered from his teenage years. “My search led me to an LDS-related site that had exactly what I was looking for—a message board where I could confidentially post questions about... Read the rest of this entry »

I have found a link today to the video Did you Know, the official update to the original “Shift Happens” video. This completely new Fall 2009 version includes facts and stats focusing on the changing media landscape, including convergence and technology, and was developed in partnership with The Economist. However, I went back to take a look at the version 3.0 and I still prefer that one and I have included it below.  Read More →