The Church has recently launched a new channel on YouTube called Mormon Messages.
http://www.youtube.com/user/mormonmessages?blend=1&ob=4&rclk=cti
I'm sure at one time or another, a BYU student has been subjected to this new multimedia method of presenting Church doctrine in a artistic and simplified way using talks from General Conference and quotes from past prophets coupled with photography and words to emphasize a point that seem to sometimes dance off the screen. Right now there are 79 videos listed, and they are met with some positive comments from people who are non-LDS like this post:
I'm not Mormon, or religious in any way, but this is a great message that we should all think about.
As many of us know, the Church undergoes a lot of persecution, and it's not any different online. If someone merely googles the word "Mormon", nearly all of the links under the official church website and familysearch.org is anti-LDS websites. Even on the side of the google page where ads are shows:
The case is a little bit different when people type in "Latter-day Saints" but how many people outside of the Church (and even inside) refer to people as being Latter-day Saints as opposed to Mormons? The images listed when mormon is searched is predominantly negative, and probably highly offensive to many members.
If someone was interested in learning more about the church and came across the amount of anti-LDS websites, it could deter people from learning more about the true doctrine of the church. As a LDS member who posted a comment on the newest Mormon Message about how people should be nicer to LDS people stated:
So my question is this: does the Internet cause people to shortcut learning about different religions based on the top websites on Google, thus causing false information to be instilled in more people, or does it help promote digging deeper to learn true religious beliefs because of all the controversy / anti and pro websites that are listed?
As many of us know, the Church undergoes a lot of persecution, and it's not any different online. If someone merely googles the word "Mormon", nearly all of the links under the official church website and familysearch.org is anti-LDS websites. Even on the side of the google page where ads are shows:
Sponsored Links
Latter Day Saints Warning
Do Not Join The Latter Day Saints
Until You've Seen This...
www.SecretsofMormons.com
The case is a little bit different when people type in "Latter-day Saints" but how many people outside of the Church (and even inside) refer to people as being Latter-day Saints as opposed to Mormons? The images listed when mormon is searched is predominantly negative, and probably highly offensive to many members.
If someone was interested in learning more about the church and came across the amount of anti-LDS websites, it could deter people from learning more about the true doctrine of the church. As a LDS member who posted a comment on the newest Mormon Message about how people should be nicer to LDS people stated:
So do I. But then that would mean that they would have to actually do some research outside of all of the anti-LDS sites out there. It's a lot easier to just sit back and not do anything and hate for no reason.
So my question is this: does the Internet cause people to shortcut learning about different religions based on the top websites on Google, thus causing false information to be instilled in more people, or does it help promote digging deeper to learn true religious beliefs because of all the controversy / anti and pro websites that are listed?
I think most of us realize, or a have a least been told many times over, that the a lot of what is posted on the internet is trash. However, I think even though we know this we don't completely apply it when we're online. I think this is especially true if what we're reading confirms our pre-conceived notions that we don't really desire to change. So maybe all the many anti sites aren't really changing anything because even if people looked at our website they wouldn't want to change their opinions. I guess I think only real life people can really help to do that.
ReplyDeleteI totally dig what you're saying. I think the issue you bring up goes beyond religion to the pursuit of knowledge as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I recently got a virus on my computer, the first thing I did was type the info I knew into google. I clicked on the first web site that came up and followed their instructions for removing it. Luckily it worked, but this site could have just as easily put another virus on my computer or instructed me to do something that would harm my computer.
We have become so dependent on getting information easily and quickly that we may often sacrifice in terms of the quality of information. Especially with religion there seems to be more false information available online, so this can be very dangerous. As a whole I think society, myself inlcude, is too lazy to dig much deeper than the sites that initially pop on google.
While there is always going to be the bad with the good when it comes to the internet, I think it overall helps the cause of religion.
ReplyDeleteWhile many people use search engines like Google to "quest" as talked about in the chapter, I kind of find it hard to believe that people could form their opinions on a given religion just based on what they've seen on some random website. I also think that most people have enough familiarity with how search engines like Google work to know what is a credible source and what isn't. People are always going to be exposed to the filth that is out there on the internet, but I think that the true seekers are going to go directly to to source to form their opinions.
Just taking a look at the LDS church resources that are now available to anyone almost anywhere in the world, it is easy to see how the internet has blessed the lives of members and non-members alike across the globe. I definitely think it is a good thing.
Josh Scott
I think I am simply saying what everyone else has said. The easiest way to get information is on the internet. It's the first place I go in order to get started. However, I do not beleive that we are as naive on the web as we used to be.
ReplyDeleteTo the casual user and someone casually looking to find information on the religion, then yes, this google top web sites are going to really cause a problem. They are a casual user and whether writing a paper that they simply want to get done, or if they are simply seeing what is being said about that certain religion, this is where it is going to cause a problem.
However I feel that people who really intently are trying to find something, know that the internet is not truth, and may not be satisfied with simply the top sites from google. They want to see the top ones and the little ones, as well as find out what is valid or not.
Dane