Facebook

The first time I got on Facebook was after my mission. I remember feeling like a stalker going through the photos of some friends that I hadn't seen since high school. I felt like I was looking through the front window into the living room of their personal lives. Although I had been given permission in a sense, I still felt like I was invading the privacy of another person. It felt overwhelming to realize that everyone on the planet could potentially find my name, look at the picture of me in fourth grade with my pet turtle, and analyze all that I am based on what they see. Like Megan noted in her post, the self-promotion of social networking can seem so shallow. Now I realize that it can serve a bigger purpose than that. Just as easy as it is for someone to search my picture of me with my pet turtle, they can also see that I am a practicing member of the Church. They can see pictures of me with my family, living a chaste life, and serving others. They can see applications relating to General Conference or President Monson. This power to persuade through simply publishing who I am is a tool that I have not used to its full capability.

Last semester I was an intern in Washington DC and I became friends with some wonderful people. I gave several of them copies of the Book of Mormon and have since wondered how I would be able to stay in contact with them in case they have questions or concerns. Hello! Facebook! I am adding them tonight and I hope that we can continue our gospel conversation via the Internet. One of my friends said to me when I gave him a Book of Mormon, "You can come back out to DC when I get converted." I hope to take him up on that.