LDS Church launches a new website about Jesus Christ

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, implored us, "Come Unto Me".

He knew that this simple instruction would be the ultimate answer and single solution to all our problems, burdens and prayers.

This invitation is the most important invitation we can ever accept.

And it is the greatest invitation we could ever offer another.

Come Unto Christ



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Blogging for the LDS Church

On the Web

Called to Blog: Fighting for the Church Online

By Kedrik Hamblin

The More Good Foundation offers members the chance to spread the gospel online.
An Orem woman posted a video of her testimony on YouTube. A man in another state watched it four times and emailed, asking for a copy of the Book of Mormon.
A man in Vegas wrote on his blog that he was grateful for the law of tithing. A questioning reader asked him why Mormons like commandments. After several online conversations, the missionaries began meeting with the man.
Blogging about a conversion story or about a favorite scripture may seem strange. However, there are an increasing number of members going online to share their beliefs. The More Good Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Orem, Utah helps members do just that.
Jim Engebretsen, assistant dean of Corporate Relations at the BYU Marriott School, was serving as a mission president in Oklahoma from 1998 to 2001. Missionaries told him they were being turned down after investigators searched about Mormons on the Internet and found anti-Mormon websites. Engebretsen decided that something needed to be done and two and a half years ago, the More Good Foundation was started.
The foundation receives its name from Joseph Smith, who stated that Mormon meant "more good." The goal is to provide a non-authoritative voice that promotes LDS beliefs and encourages members to share their beliefs with the world.
Richard Miller, executive vice president and BYU business graduate, said people often don't want to believe leaders or authorities but they will believe regular people.
"I think members can provide that non-authoritative voice," Miller said. "I think the church membership can add a lot of credibility for the church by speaking about what they believe."
The More Good Foundation decided that the Internet was a prime way to encourage discussion and to improve the image of the church. The foundation already has 80 different Web sites online; some of them are major projects.
Lds.net, started about three months ago, is one of the foundation's premiere sites and already has nine thousand members, Miller said. This online network combines blogs, chats, forums, photos, and videos. Richard Miller said it is similar to myspace.com but isn't trying to compete with it.
Rusty Curtis, the president of the Missionary Prep Club, worked in the BYU Ad Lab and helped with lds.net's construction. The network is like an online community, he said. Curtis was surprised after the site started when a number of nonmembers joined.
Curtis, who is on lds.net and has his own blog, said he thinks the web is an easier venue for members to share the gospel. Even students can be sharing the gospel, he said, even though most of the people they live with are already members. With the web, students can reach out to people everywhere.
"People don't go to their neighbors like they used to," Curtis said.
Instead, people google things, Curtis said. The Internet is where many people will go to find answers to religious questions as well.
"I've had a handful of people that have started asking me questions," he said.
One woman found Curtis online and the two began conversing about the gospel. She had been converted when she was younger but went inactive after her mother disapproved. That testimony in her never left, Curtis said. After a while, she began attending church and took her family as well.
Another important project that the foundation is working on is Christ.org. This site will be solely about the man from Galilee, his life, ministry and doctrines about his importance.
"We want it to be the number one site about Jesus Christ," Miller said.
Richard Holzapfel, a BYU professor of Church History, is aiding the More Good Foundation in a number of websites and especially Christ.org. The idea, Holzapfel said, is that the site will meet the needs of a wide spectrum of people. If a new Christian in Nigeria wants to learn about Christ he can go to the site, he said. The site will be for Christians and non-Christians.
"If you want to know something about Jesus and his world this is the site you'll go to," Holzapfel said. "We see it as a missionary tool and also as an informational tool."
The site will answer 250 of the most frequently asked questions about Christ through google. The site will also quote authorities of other faiths and not just LDS leaders. Holzapfel said he hopes that this will be a thoughtful and reliable site. Those who are hostile toward the church may also become neutral when they see what the site is about, he said.
Holzapfel said that the way the gospel is being spread has changed. Missionaries used to go to islands by boat, he said. Today, things are completely different.
"One of the ways they're going to come to the gospel is thru the internet," he said.
Many professors speak in conferences and write books, Holzapfel said. However, that only reaches a few thousand people. Through the Internet and with More Good's help, books, speeches and articles can be translated into other languages and can be accessed by hundreds of thousands of people.
Holzapfel praised the foundation's work.
"You have to give these people all kinds of credit," he said. " They've chosen to help get the message out."
The More Good Foundation also hosts Mormonwiki.com, the free online encyclopedia for people to read about the LDS church and find answers to questions. The site already has over one thousand articles in English and has hundreds translated into Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and other languages. This site is a dot com and not a dot org because mormonwiki.org is an anti-Mormon website.
The More Good Foundation also sponsored the LDS Facebook application and over 20 thousand people have already added it. With this application, members can share their testimony, favorite scriptures, and also check up on the latest in church news.
While the More Good Foundation started working with the Internet years ago, recently, several apostles of the church have encouraged members to use online media.
Elder Russell M. Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve encouraged BYU-Hawaii students in December to use new media to promote discussion of the church.
"May I ask that you join conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the new media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration," 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."

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God Loves the Song in Our Heart

The following story reminds me of when I was a young girl in grade school and I enjoyed singing so much, but the music teacher, Mrs. Cole, said one day,
"Honey, you don't need to sing, you can be my assistant". It was her way of saying, "You can't carry a tune, but you are valuable and you have a part to play." The following story illustrates that those of us who are "tone deaf" are still loved by the Lord and
He hears only the song of our heart.

by Mary Johansen

"Even as a child I loved to sing. I would go into my room after church on Sunday and draw pictures and sing and sing, until my mother came to the door to say, “Mary, please don’t sing so loud in there. It’s not that we don’t like to know you are happy, honey, but you know you just can’t carry a tune.” Singing was in my heart though, and I would go up into the woods behind our house and run through the woods singing all the songs I wanted to.

When I married and had my first child, I would sit and sing the loveliest songs to him. Songs I made up from my heart to tell him how much I loved him—how special he was to me. And he would smile and cuddle closer to me and fall asleep in my arms as I sang my songs of joy.

Each child, then, received his or her own special song, made up just for that child, telling of my feelings and love for him. I sang only when there was no one around for my husband agreed with my mother: “I’m sorry, honey, but you sound just awful when you sing.”

The children didn’t seem to mind my off-tune voice at all. In fact, we sang wonderful play songs together, laughing and playing and enjoying the sound of our voices. Many happy hours were spent sitting, marching, walking, and playing games with singsong instructions.

Because everyone had always told me that my singing voice left much to be desired, I hesitated to sing for anyone except the babies. In church, even though I knew the Lord loved to hear us sing, my “noise unto the Lord” was a very soft noise. And at home I always made sure the house was empty before I picked up my hymnbook to sing my favorites.

One evening after the children had all gone to bed and my husband had duty at the Navy base, I picked up my hymnbook and began to sing “How Gentle God’s Commands.” I sang and felt the great love of our Heavenly Father who loves us so much. “O My Father,” I sang, aching to go back to his home where I could be with him again. “The Lord is My Light”—my favorite—I sang with all the love I felt in my heart for the guidance he had given me in my life.

Finishing my singing, I put my head in my arms and poured out my heart to my Heavenly Father thanking him for the love he had for us, and for the great feeling of peace that came to me when I could sit and sing to him and talk to him, escaping from this mortal world for even a few minutes.

Then I turned out the lights and went upstairs to my room. I noticed a sheet of paper on the dresser that hadn’t been there before. I picked it up, and tears came to my eyes as I read:

Mom,
I don’t care what any one says about your singing voice. But I think it was so butiful the way you sang them songs. I was crying in my bed wile I was lisenning to you sing, and I love you very much.
love from your daughter
Barbara.

I found her with tears in her eyes in her bed. “Oh, Barbie,” I said, “you are the only person who has ever told me she likes my singing. Thank you, honey. She hugged me back and sobbed, “Mommie, I just couldn’t let it go. I had to get out of bed and write that note to you. I was crying listening to your beautiful singing.”

I thought later that if our Heavenly Father loves my voice so much he inspires my daughter to write me a lovely note and share her feelings with me, he must love to hear us sing more than I realize.

The next Sunday when we sang the opening song, I sang out just as loud as the rest of the people did. My Heavenly Father liked my voice, and that was all that mattered to me!"

(Good Deeds, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003], p. 139.)

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"I Am a Child of God"

Enjoy this beautiful video of the Christian hymn "I Am a Child of God".

Sung by a wonderful group "Insideout". The clear,sweet voices are amazing!



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LDS Blogs and Bloggers Webring

We have been instructed to share our faith through the new media, specifically through personal blogs. There is now a growing webring which links together blogs of Latter-day Saints. Members of this free webring are automatically linked to hundreds of other blogs of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This community will be a great blessing for sharing our faith, vision and values in simple, compassionate, personal and individual expression. And all blogs will receive many new visitors and investigators through the webring.

Anyone over the age of 14 is welcome to become a member. Blogs should be pro-LDS, and can be about any subject....spiritual, scripture, political, personal, educational, missionary, family, teens, music, sports, hobbies, etc.

All blogs should be "G" rated and positive in expression. Thanks for joining in!

LDS Blogs webring

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"How Do We Show Our Love?"

How Do We Show Our Love?

By President Thomas S. Monson

Ensign, Jan 1998

The Lord established the standard when he said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt. 22:39).

On one occasion an inquiring lawyer came to the Savior and asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” The Savior responded, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

How do we demonstrate to our Heavenly Father that we love Him? When Sister Monson and I were university students, there was a popular song that had words something like these: “It’s easy to say I love you, easy to say I’ll be true; easy to say these foolish things, but prove it by the things you do.” We have a responsibility to prove to our Heavenly Father, by the things we do, that we love Him.

We demonstrate our love by how well we serve our God. Remember when the Prophet Joseph Smith went to John E. Page and said to him, “Brother Page, you have been called on a mission to Canada.”

Brother Page, struggling for an excuse, said, “Brother Joseph, I can’t go to Canada. I don’t have a coat to wear.”

The Prophet took off his own coat, handed it to John Page, and said, “Wear this, and the Lord will bless you.”

John Page went on his mission to Canada. In two years he walked something like 5,000 miles and baptized 600 converts. He was successful because he responded to an opportunity to serve his God.

We had a missionary in our mission who was particularly devoted and obedient. I said to him one time, “Elder, what is the source of your motivation?”

“Brother Monson,” he replied, “I slept in one morning. As I did so, my mind turned to thoughts of my mother and my father, who are operating a little cleaning establishment, working around the clock to earn sufficient money to support me on a mission. As I thought of my parents performing that strenuous work in my behalf, all signs of laziness left me; and I determined that I had an opportunity to serve the Lord in my behalf and in behalf of my own mother and my own father.”

Harry Emerson Fosdick said: “Until willingness overflows obligation, men fight as conscripts rather than following the flag as patriots. Duty is never worthily performed until it is performed by one who would gladly do more if only he could.”

In short, we need to extend ourselves in service to our Heavenly Father if we are to demonstrate our love for Him.

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"You Raise Me Up" by The Brett Family Singers

The Brett Family performs Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" as a live tribute to President Gordon B. Hinckley on July 21, 2006 in the Salt Lake City Conference center with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra on Temple Square. Arranged by Andrea Brett and Kurt Bestor.



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Happy Valentine's Day, EVERYday!

Wishing everyOne the most beautiful and blessed Valentine's Day.

Give someOne a big hug today! The more love you give, the more you receive.

Our blessings multiply as we give them away.

In the name of Jesus Christ (our example, our Savior) . Amen


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My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

"My Shepherd Will Supply My Need",
Gordon B. Hinckley Tribute,
by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, "America's Choir"


"My Shepherd will supply my need:
Jehovah is His Name;
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy's sake,
In paths of truth and grace.

When I walk through the shades of death,
Thy presence is my stay;
A word of Thy supporting breath
Drives all my fears away.
Thy hand, in sight of all my foes,
Doth still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows,
Thine oil anoints my head.

The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
Oh, may Thy house be my abode,
And all my work be praise!
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest,
But like a child at Home.

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President Thomas S. Monson, Spiritual Leader and a great Storyteller

President Thomas S. Monson, is a great storyteller. Here is a funny story, which was part of a larger serious instructional article, President Monson wrote for a chuch magazine in 2002.

“Peace, Be Still”

"...an event occurred in my life with our youngest son, Clark.

Clark has always liked animals, birds, reptiles—anything that is alive. Sometimes that resulted in a little chaos in our home. One day in his boyhood he came home from Provo Canyon with a water snake, which he named Herman.

Right off the bat Herman got lost. Sister Monson found him in the silverware drawer. Water snakes have a way of being where you least expect them. Well, Clark moved Herman to the bathtub, put a plug in the drain, put a little water in, and had a sign taped to the back of the tub which read, “Don’t use this tub. It belongs to Herman.” So we had to use the other bathroom while Herman occupied that sequestered place.

But then one day, to our amazement, Herman disappeared. His name should have been Houdini. He was gone! So the next day Sister Monson cleaned up the tub and prepared it for normal use.

Several days went by.

One evening I decided it was time to take a leisurely bath; so I filled the tub with a lot of warm water, and then I peacefully lay down in the tub for a few moments of relaxation. I was lying there just pondering, when the soapy water reached the level of the overflow drain and began to flow through it. Can you imagine my surprise when, with my eyes focused on that drain, Herman came swimming out, right for my face? I yelled out to my wife, “Frances! Here comes Herman!”

Well, Herman was captured again, put in a foolproof box, and we made a little excursion to Vivian Park in Provo Canyon and there released Herman into the beautiful waters of the South Fork Creek. Herman was never again to be seen by us."

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New LDS First Presidency

Thomas S. Monson is the new president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was announced today at a news conference in the Church Office Building. President Monson, 80, succeeds President Gordon B. Hinckley, who died 27 January.

The new world leader of the Church has called to serve with him in the First Presidency, the top governing body of the 13-million-member faith, President Henry B. Eyring, 74, first counselor, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 67, second counselor.

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All Praise Him

A beautiful slideshow set to the classic hymn of joy, praise and gratitude
for the blessings we have been given, in the name of Jesus Christ.

All Creatures of Our God and King



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