The first meeting we had attended in our current ward happened to land on Fathers’ Day - though I don’t recall any mention of Father’s Day whatsoever. The two talks given seemed to focus on Social Media which I thought was a strange topic to be delivering over the pulpit on a Sunday morning. I didn’t realize that only five years later it would become a necessary tool for the missionaries.
We didn’t have social media when I
was on my mission. Facebook was out when
my three boys had served their missions, but it certainly wasn’t encouraged and
now the missionaries are required to have facebook accounts. We had two elders
over on Saturday night and they asked if they could leave a thought before they
drove away. Their thought was on
contacting others through facebook – which is what triggered the memory of our
first meeting which one elder said must have been an inspired theme.
Though many churches have met as a
congregation there are still a tremendous amount of people who do not attend
because of age and health risks. Thus
many wards and stakes offer the option of viewing though social media. In our ward the viewer has to belong to the
ward page to click on the facebook link.
We were told that the meeting can no longer be viewed once it ends. But I have been able to view it within an
hour or so after returning home. I think
it might vanish once everyone has left the building.
Then there’s my sisters stake as
well as others in the surrounding Salt Lake Valley that offer church services
through YouTube. I know my
daughter-in-law had provided a three hour window before the video of the meeting
was removed. My sister hadn’t provided a
time limit when she has sent videos.
There is a sacredness which could
easily be desecrated by sharing on social media. On the other hand, I also see this as a
missionary tool – perhaps a stronger one than a disappearing share. One may accidently stumble across a meeting
and might find someone they know. They
may recognize my brother-in-law for example as someone they had worked with or
who had taken their pictures. That seems
like it would be an effective tool for those who are curious enough to explore
beyond his words and research the church and ask for the missionaries who do
teach outside of the home but are able to set up virtual meetings too.
I remember having to knock on doors
to find people – not the most effective way in my opinion. Missionaries aren’t even allowed to knock on
doors anymore – not even a member who has invited them over for dinner - at least
in this area. They stand outside and
wait for someone to remember to open the door without the knocking reminder.
I’m grateful for the good things
that can be found on social media and having it available to me. I enjoy being able to view other wards I can’t
realistically attend in person.
One plus that Bill's parents see about the year 2020 is the zoom meetings. Before the pandemic, it used to be that they would call each of their children to get an update on how the family is doing. Now, they can have all there children there at once and can get updates without having to make at least 5 different phone calls.
ReplyDeleteThat is cool. Would like to do that with us.
Delete