Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church
Introduction
This past Sunday, I attended Ward Conference. In this conference, the Stake Presidency opened up the last 2 hours for a “no-holds-barred” question and answer session, where we could ask absolutely any questions we wanted to ask. One brother asked a question about how to live with all the many “things” that there are to take up our time. I stood up and addressed a technological perspective on how we can benefit from the great resources available on the Internet. This evening, I sent the following email to my bishopric and the brother herein referenced. I present it here in hopes that it may be of benefit to someone. With that, here is the email I sent:
Brethren,
I was grateful for the opportunity to be present in and participate in the Spirit present at the Ward Conference this past Sunday. One of the brethren present asked a question, the exact phrasing of which eludes me at the moment. I do remember that there was a reference to technology in his question. I thought it may be of benefit to stand and share some thoughts with regards to how we can use technology for our benefit. If you have the ability to, and find it to be of benefit to share this with the Stake Presidency, please do. I was unable to locate their email addresses.
I am attending the Stake Institute class every Thursday evening. This past week, I was speaking with the instructor about some of the free technology available that allows us greater access to inspired, uplifting, edifying, instructional, and thought-provoking messages from various authorities and members of the church, and also other experts in their fields.
This brother was curious as to how these amazing resources could be free, and was unfamiliar with the technology of which I spoke. He requested that I explain it a little more, point him to some software that performed the required tasks, and then provide him with the resources available for the software to use.
Because of my comment on Sunday regarding how technology can help and uplift, I thought it might be relevant to forward to you the thoughts that I shared with the Institute instructor.
Much of my efforts at discovering (or even creating, in some cases) a myriad of resources such as this are inspired by the speech given by Elder M. Russell Ballard at Brigham Young University-Hawaii’s graduation ceremony on 15 December 2007, entitled “Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church” available here:
“Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church” – transcript
“Using New Media to Support the Work of the Church” – mp3 download
With this preface, let me share with you an example of the “New Media” to which Elder Ballard refers:
Explanation of Podcasting
Brother [last name witheld],
It was a pleasure speaking with you this past Thursday evening after your uplifting and edifying class. Thank you for bringing the Spirit with you into your presentations. I wanted to share a few things with you in regards to pocasts or podcasting. The first place I would have you reference is wikipedia.org. They give a general description, with links to other concepts with which you may not be famliar, allowing you to explore the topics and ideas as you find necessary and helpful. Here is the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting
Another place that gives a broad overview of podcasting is here:
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/documents/briefings/briefing-83/html/
If you wish to research the concept further, type “podcast introduction” into Google, and you should find hundreds of useful resources that may clarify the concept a little more.
Podcasting Software
With regards to the software that you can use to retrieve the podcasts, I would recommend Miro, a free application which I have tested myself on Windows Vista. I found it feature-rich and easy to use. Here is a link to the home page for Miro:
It should have a green download button in the middle of the page. Go ahead and download that and install it. When it’s done installing, run the program. The best way to learn how to use the software is by exploration. Click through menus and see where the different options are located. The longer you use it, the more familiar you will become with its various features and configuration options. The key is to just jump in head first. 
The functionality you are looking for is the ability to add a feed. The feeds that I will provide below are all “audio” type feeds, and point to (as best as I can tell) church-sponsored speeches, presentations, talks, or devotionals. Every so often, refresh your feeds, and you will see when new talks or presentations are available for download.
LDS Feeds
Here is the list of feeds that I have found:
http://www.byub.org/bookofmormon.rss
http://feeds.lds.org/cesfiresides
http://speeches.byu.edu/rss/podcast1.xml
http://www.byub.org/oldtestament.rss
http://www.byub.org/DoctrineAndCovenants.rss
http://new.ensignpodcast.org/feed.asp?id=2008_11
http://www.byuradio.org/gt.rss
http://www.byub.org/isaiah.rss
http://feeds.feedburner.com/mormonism
http://www.josephsmithpodcast.org/feed.asp
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/ldsvoices
http://speeches.byu.edu/rss/podcast2.xml
http://feeds.lds.org/NewsroomPodcast
http://www.byub.org/newTestamentSeason1.rss
http://www.byub.org/pearlofgreatprice.rss
http://www.byub.org/NewTestamentSeason2.rss
http://feeds.lds.org/Ensign
You may notice that there are a couple of feeds that reference the Ensign. You can get the entire Ensign available in audio format for absolutely free.
As a matter of fact, everything that I am presenting to you in this email is at no cost to yourself. I am simply excited about the Gospel and not many people are aware of this method of immersing themselves in it. I share this with you in hopes that it may be of benefit to you in your personal endeavors to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”
The Inspiration
On a very related vein, I have recently listened to a talk by Todd Parker, given at Education Week on August 16, 1999, entitled “True Doctrine, Understood, Changes Attitudes and Behaviors,” and found it incredibly insightful and edifying. Here is a link to it:
http://byubnew.byu.edu/talks/Talk.aspx?id=1618
It is interesting to note that there is no transcript of this talk, due to its being a part of Education Week, and the material is copyright Bro. Parker. So the only way you’ll be able to get this presentation is through the audio recording.
Ironically, in his talk, he references a talk that was written by President Ezra Taft Benson for a Priesthood Meeting. Because everyone before him spoke too long, he was unable to give the talk. However, he did have it printed for all to read in the May 1986 Ensign. Thus, there is no recording of this talk, but it is available in print only. It is called “The Power of the Word”, available from this link:
For the longest time, I have been in search of a way to change myself, mainly my psychological, mental, and emotional faults. Finally, I feel like I have an adequate answer, as given by these two talks. It is especially helpful that one came from a living oracle of the Lord in our time.
Forgive my verbosity. I get excited about feasting upon and understanding the Gospel. Before I take any more of your time, I will make an end. Have a marvelous day, and I look forward to hearing your inspired thoughts and lesson next Thursday.
– Scott Morris
Additional Resources
With all the negative out there on the Internet, there are a lot of wonderful, uplifting resources.
If you would like access to more audio files, take a look at these sites:
BYU-Hawaii Devotionals and Speeches
Enjoy, and be uplifted.
