In Madeline’s new mission, they are testing some new ways to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Soon she will have a smartphone and will be using social media. This doesn’t mean that she can take calls or texts or interact the way she will when she is done with her mission. Madeline is dedicated completely to sharing the Gospel and leaving other things behind until her time as a missionary is done.
This leads to some important guidelines for interacting with Madeline if you see her in different online forums. Below is the letter we received from the mission president. They also posted this online, so it is okay to post here.
Dear Family and Friends of California Redlands Missionaries,
From January 2018-December 2018 our mission has been selected for an accelerated proselyting test. We are beginning now to make preparations. For one aspect of the test we will become a full on-line proselyting mission. This means that over the next few weeks your missionary will be using a smartphone and joining Facebook and Facebook messenger. All rules for communicating with family and family about how they are doing, etc. will remain the same. Missionaries are to exchange emails with family and friends once a week on Mondays (preparation day).
We are writing to ask for your help with your missionary. In the Book of Alma Chapter 43 in the Book of Mormon, the armies of Lamanites come against the Nephites to battle and Chief captain Moroni makes preparations for war by making shields and breastplates and armor. These preparations made it so that when the armies of the Lamanites, more than double the size of the Nephites, came against them they were no match for the Nephites. But Moroni does not stop there. In Chapters 48-50 we see Moroni fortifying his cities with walls of stone and earth. And though the Lamanites come again, this time with shields and armor, they are no match against the preparations of the Nephites. Alma 50:1 “And now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparations for war, or to defend his people against the Lamanites” Moroni had them build timbers and pickets and they erected towers and stayed one step ahead of their enemy so that they could not be defeated. Similarly, our church leaders today are staying one step ahead of the enemy. What once was effective in missionary work, will not be enough and the Lord is providing us new tools on the battlefront as we work to bring His children home. We believe that social media puts your missionary on the front lines.
Social Media is quickly becoming an effective tool in missionary work. More than facebook, missionaries will be spending their time on-line in Facebook messenger focused on their purpose as missionaries; inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel. They will be teaching people they find in the area by sending them videos, scriptures, and resources needed to facilitate teaching. This intented to keep the missionaries busier teaching and help them to reach people who they could not before. Missionaries may be able to use their talents and skills to do the work in new and exciting ways. This will not replace face to face teaching, but will enhance it. However, as we all know, this tool can also be a major source of distraction for your missionaries. Homesickness is real and can keep a missionary from his/her purpose and lead them to be very unhappy. Please consider the following recommendations:
Distractions: Please do not attempt to communicate with your missionary via social media by sending messages or posts. All communication online that the missionary receives will also be viewed by his/her companion. Continue to communicate personally with your missionary through Monday emails. Please make every effort not to share memories, or tag your missionary in posts or pictures that may distract them from their purpose.
Privacy: Please do not share pictures of your missionary with their investigators online. Because your missionary is friends with the people they are teaching, we would not want their privacy to be violated in any way. Also, do not share photos or stories of people being baptized or share what your missionary writes home online in facebook posts or blogs. For many converts, these are big life changes and they may be uncomfortable with some knowing of their conversion. They also may be uncomfortable with people knowing and sharing private information about their lives.
Join in the work: Feel free to help your missionary in the work by sharing your testimony and insights gained in comments on his/her posts. If you wish to comment on a post made by a missionary or a member, do so if it is in regards to the work here. In this way you can join in the work that your missionary is doing! For people to see families and friends who feel the same and allows them to see missionaries as real people.
Sincerely yours,
President and Sister Dixon
California Redlands Mission