Week 5

 Lesson 4: Flooding the Earth Through Social Media

The Primary Purpose of Social Media

February 4, 2019

1. What do you think is the greatest technological advancement in history? The plow? The printing press? The personal computer? Is it the Internet? I believe that the greatest technological advancement in history is the internet because people from around the world are able to access a wealth of information and communicate with one another in an instant. This has sped up the process in getting things done without having to get up and move.

2. Why have we witnessed such acceleration in technology in these last days, and why do you think the Lord might be behind it? We have witnessed such acceleration in technology in these last days because we are prospering as a society. There has not been any major wars, neither has there been famine, disease, etc. The Lord may be behind this because his goal is to allow each of his spirit sons and daughters to participate in his plan and receive eternal life. It was also prophesied that the Lord would hasten his work in these last days.

3. What might your day-to-day behavior with technology tell others about how you really feel about the purpose and blessing of technology? My day-to-day behavior with technology tells others about how I really feel about the purpose and blessing of technology in whether or not I use it for my benefit. When I use technology to increase in learning and serve in the Lord’s kingdom, I am making the most out of what God has provided. If I idle away my time, I show lack knowledge and overall appreciation of my chance for growth and progression.

“Use technology to further the work of the Lord” Ballard, R.M.

To Sweep the Earth as with a Flood by Elder David A. Bednar

Elder Bednar in his address defined this last dispensation as a time where not only do we have all the keys to the Priesthood and ordinances to receive eternal life, but the technology to help all others to receive it as well. It was prophesied that the Lord would hasten his work and we are to act as his hands in accomplishing the purpose of bringing the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. The church and its members have used social media and technology such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, movies, and LDS church videos to share gospel related content. Six guidelines to help us be more effective in sharing the gospel online include: to be authentic and consistent, edify and uplift, respect intellectual property, and be wise and vigilant. As we are consistent in posting truthful messages about ourselves, we would not want to post anything that we would later regret. As we consistently participate in quenching the earth with gospel light, we will flood the earth with delight.

·         Even though the focus of Elder Bednar's talk is focused on sharing the gospel, how is doing family advocacy using the internet is, in effect, sharing the gospel?

Anything that is pro-family is pro-Christ. Therefore, if advocating for the family is pro-family, we are advocating for Christ and what he taught.

·         What has been your primary purpose for using technology, social media, and the Internet? Has it been to uplift and edify, or to isolate and idle?

My primary purpose for using technology, social media, and the internet has been to help me learn and accomplish what I need to for school. I also use it to share the gospel as I keep in touch will old friends or people I meet. Throughout my use of social media, I have consistently posted gospel related messages and invitations for others to see. By doing this, I believe that I have sought to edify others and avoided isolation and idling away my time.

·         How could you improve in your stewardship over these technological blessings the Lord has given us?

I could improve in my stewardship over these technological blessings the Lord has given us by seeking out and taking advantage of these technologies to spread the gospel. Although school has taken up much of my time, I might benefit others by sacrificing some of my time to post uplifting and edifying messages.

3. Sharing Your Beliefs video

We can find opportunities to take pictures and add quotes to them that remind us of all the Lord has blessed us with to strengthen others’ testimonies. Uchdorf said, “preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words.”

4. Design for the Ripple Effect: How Small Acts Leads to Big Change video by Jennifer Aaker, Ph.D.

Jennifer Aaker, Ph.D., social psychologist, business professor at Stanford University, and author of The Dragonfly Effect studied how to effectively use online social media to advance a particular cause. In her example, she shared a story of two friends Sameer and Vinay, both South Asians, diagnosed with Leukemia. Knowing that finding a bone marrow donor match was 1 in 20,000, they used “The Dragonfly Model” which included various ways to reach to people in various contexts such social media, traditional media, education, and registration. The lessons they learned were: 1. develop a clear goal: there is elegance in simplicity; 2. Act, then think, (reverse the rules) maintain a deep bias for action. Resist the temptation to have a master plan before taking the first step; 3. Tell a good (truthful) story: tell stories to connect with human emotion. Develop the right voice, and strike a bond; 4. Design an architecture for collaboration: enable others to contribute- allow the army to self-enroll, and let soldiers to choose their own weapons; and 5. Focus on empowerment marketing: empower people to market your organization and its cause. Although they had success in finding a match and operation, they both passed away. However, they left a legacy of saving 250 lives for which their event found 80 matches. As this experience influenced a movement we also learn that: 1. most revolutions are sparked by the actions of a few ordinary people, 2. Your biggest asset is a clear mind and a very large idea, 3. Find the ignition point of a chain reaction, and go ignite it. Overall those who participated in this movement felt happiness. We might then question the nature of our own happiness by asking: 1. Are we commoditizing happiness (if we do a, b, and c- we will be happy), 2. How are we measuring success? (where are you spending your time), 3. What are we teaching our kids? (Is ‘I just want my child to be happy’ a lurking goal), 4. How might we redefine work? (so that it becomes meaningful, purposeful, interesting), 5. How might we rethink happiness? (the goal is not to find happiness, but perhaps to create an environment that would enable happiness).

“And we can move on now. Doing it all with more grace and more balance and more joy than others have done before us.” ~Arianna Huffington

What connections did you see between Jennifer Aaker’s video and Elder Bednar’s talk? 

Connections that I saw between Jennifer Aaker’s video and Elder Bednar’s talk was that they both recognized the advantage technology may have to reach a vast audience in order to make a difference. In Aker’s example, social media enabled her to reach 20,000 South Asians in order to find the donor. Bednar’s initiative is similar in the way that he is asking all members of Christ’s church to spread His message of hope. In this manner, we may be confident that as we participate in this initiative, we will be able to make a difference and accomplish the goal of spreading forth the Lord’s kingdom to all corners of the earth.

Gender and Sexual Rights

       The Church of Jesus Christ leaders have emphasized the Family Proclamation which states that the family is the fundamental unit of society. This week, in my Family Advocacy class, we are learning about the many threats to the family and how the degradation of it can bring destruction to our society. There are threats seen and unseen. Threats seen include: Pornography, prostitution, abortion, fetal impairments (poor nutrition/drug-abuse of the mother), disease, misuse of media, child malnutrition, denying birth, promiscuity, and homogenization. 

     All unseen threats are ones that are affiliated with the adversary himself, also known as Lucifer. We, must ask the that the Lord would give us discernment to see those forces unseen in ourselves, others, etc. that are keeping hindering the full functionality of family unit. 

So what can we do about it now that we've seen this awful amongst ourselves?

     First, I am inspired by Captain Moroni's example in Alma 46. Captain Moroni recognized that the Nephites' sinful behavior had cause them to become weak as to their strength. As the Lamanites sought their destruction, he foresaw their their victory. Rather than cowering in fear, he knew that he could depend on the Lord to provide the power they needed to defend their freedom. So, he rent his coat and inscribed The Title of Liberty which stated, "In Memory of Our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children" which he fastened to a pole and cried with a loud voice that all those who would covenant to keep the commandments would maintain their freedom upon the land which they beheld.

From this I learned that when we recognize such risks, the Lord calls each of us to be courageous advocates in the defending the truth.  

     Our voices can be heard by first understanding the threats to the family. Some of these threats might be in our own homes. As we become aware of these threats and change ourselves, the Lord will guide us to know what to do next. It would be wise to study the words of prophets and give strict heed to their words. We might also talk to others to broaden our perspectives. Next, we can learn what can be done through policy, community action, social media, and our own homes. We can join groups and other organizations around the area such as ones that might be affiliated with school boards. 

In America, we stand for freedom but what is the balance between that and what is actually good for us?

     This week our teacher Brother Rarick shared a document which Planned Parenthood is planning on sharing and teaching our children in our schools. It is called, "It's All One Curriculum." The following link describes the principles which they wish to instill in our children.  https://unitedfamilies.org/email-archives/training-your-child-to-be-a-gender-and-sexual-rights-activist/

Do know the consequences of legalizing prostitution and that abstinence is not necessary?

There are a lot of famous artists who sing about broken families and their father never being there. When you get down to the realization of it, we must face consequences to every decision we make. even though, those consequences may not be manifested until a later time, but of course it seems right in the moment. Would you rather get an A on your test and study? Or would you rather eat Cheetos and play video games and get an F? Sometimes, we take the risk of supposing that if we do something, the consequence will not happen to us. It might be considered pure luck! "If I speed through this yellow light it may not turn red and then I might get to work on time." Or "If I slow down at this yellow light, then I will not risk getting in a crash or a ticket which would further make me late for work." In our logical mind, we would never choose the worst consequence, but in reality sometimes, we do. If we do not think logically, acting on our emotions lead us to acting irrational. Parents or those who are wiser find themselves reminding teenagers to complete certain tasks because their prefrontal cortex is not fully developed. Luckily, as adults we have a Father in Heaven, who if we ask will lead us to make good decisions.

So instead of ending up in a state of failure and depression, wondering why this came to be, think logically. If you are wondering why hearts are failing in society and we are becoming a weak and depressed society, think logically! Would you rather see more crime rate, mental illness, pollution, complaining, loss of integrity, loss of loyalty, etc.? Or not having to worry about locking our doors at night?

Don't Take Life Seriously

I think that people may in general including myself take life and themselves too seriously. When this happens they get angry, upset, etc. No one is perfect in this world, including ourselves. It's really okay that things don't work out or life does not work out the way we want it to. Like for instance, after I was having the worst day, I was driving home and saw some truck driver pumping iron on the side of the highway and I could not help but be amazed and laugh, and it made my whole day. I think God places people in our lives to remind us of this fact.

Addiction

Myth buster...
Smoking cigarettes will not help you lose weight. Yes, smoking is an addiction and like any addiction will occupy your time, but it will not help you lose weight and if it has, then you are fooling yourself. Why? Because you can become addicted to anything, NORMAL. You do not have to sacrifice your health to a "supplement". Here's the solution. I believe that addiction is normal to some extent. I believe Heavenly Father put these strong feelings in us to enjoy life. But like any matter, Satan can distort that virtue. That is the only way we get good at something because we create endorphins in our successes. So instead of smoking, find something else to occupy your time and have it become an addiction. Especially Family History! It becomes an addiction, you just want to find more! Yes, we all need to "relax" sometimes, but trust me, sooner or later you will find that there are different (LASTING) joys to experience in life that you have never experienced before and you will not want to sell yourself short. Think long-term.

My addictions: reading the Book of Mormon, running, Family History, yoga, art....

Scary thoughts: Are you experiencing more trials in life related to feeling down about life or are you experiencing more trials pertaining to your growth such as learning a new language, christlike attribute, or instrument?

Play the game of Would You Rather with yourself. You'll find that you are sabotaging your life than you thought. Ex. Would you rather have a cigarette and be late for work or go to work on time and get a raise. If we think about the long-term and weigh the consequences of our decisions, I think we'll find that we'd rather choose the better way.

Do Things You Have Never Done Before

Do things you have never done before to experience thoughts and feelings about yourself and others and life that you had not before.

Also, be the first person to make someone's day. You might have been the first person to ever give them a compliment, take them out to lunch, or made a difference in their life in some sort of way. Maybe you were the first person to talk to them all week.

Propaganda

Prayer has the capacity to touch millions of lives I believe it can be felt across the world. Don't underestimate your power when relying one the Lord's strength rather than the arm of flesh. In the bible, the people of Moses were complaining a lot. We complain a lot these days because we live in a world that is corroded will all manner of pollutions. We are a complaining people. Depression, anxiety, etc. is increasing. I really feel like if we all prayed that this world would be a better place, we would be amazed at how quickly this world would change. I really think people have an "emotion meter." There are so many things that may happen in a person life to make them depressed or angry. For example. After a loved one dies, or they are abused, they might become depressed. Then if let's say their room mate fails to clean the bathroom that might make them angry. Then someone cuts ahead of them at the grocery store. All in all, their head is down at the end of the day because no one fails to look at them or smile at them or say a kind compliment the whole day. Then they come home and their in a terrible mood. Now, lets compare that with a person that had all of these things happen to them, but one person in their day smiled at them or did a kind deed. That increases their happy monitor. I wonder if this would also decrease the likeliness of them treating their wife bad when they come home at night, or abusing someone, or some otherwise evil act. I think if, instead, we plan to "make someone's day" by showing them whose boss, we might show an act of kindness to truly make their day.

Be sure to watch General Conference today!

Hey...what are you doing? Nothing? Watch General Conference today 10 am-12 pm and 2-4 pm, tomorrow 9:30am and 2pm. Yes, 8 hours of spiritual instruction and all about having a healthy family! Copy and paste link below into your browser...

https://byutvstage.byu.edu/watch/livetv