While walking the halls of church with my crying child I overheard a friend talking to a lady from another ward. Christina (oops-she won't care I used her name) mentioned she is moving in a week and asked this other lady if she was on facebook. The other lady said "Oh no, our Bishop has advised us not to" I was just wondering what you thought? what would you do if your Bishop advised you not to be on Facebook/My Space/ Blog's? My Bishop hasn't done this, his wife is on Facebook/Blog's so I don't think I am in danger (hee hee), but what if he did? Would I follow his advice? Would you? just curious......
A halloween improvised
1 week ago
12 comments:
Were you in OR when the Bishop asked all the men to shave their beards/facial hair? It was really bold of him, but a lot of people were obedient. I like to think I would follow the counsel of my Bishop, but I might have to have a good discussion with him about it first.
Boy - I would like to say that I would always obey but that would bug. We have had a little FB event in our ward that was a problem. But, I don't think it would be grounds for saying members can't use it. Just use a little more common sense.
I guess I'd want to know WHY my bishop doesn't want me on Facebook...
I would definitely want to understand why, and if the reason was sound I would follow his counsel. Of course, I'm not very fond of facebook and have thought of deleting my account multiple times! I personally have had bad experiences with it, but from information I have received from others. I don't feel like it is as private or as protected as I prefer to be.
I do love blogging, however, and wouldn't give that up. Our blog is private, but I feel that there are a lot of good things that can come from blogging (whether your blog is private or not).
Elder Ballard said:
"May I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration. . . . you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true. . . .
[Church members] have recorded and posted their testimonies of the Restoration, the teachings of the Book of Mormon, and other gospel subjects on popular video-sharing sites. You too can tell your story . . . Talk honestly and sincerely about the impact the gospel has had in your life, about how it has helped you overcome weaknesses or challenges and helped define your values. The audience . . . may often be small, but the cumulative effect of thousands of such stories can be great. The combined effort is certainly worth the outcome if but a few are influenced by your words of faith and love of God and His Son, Jesus Christ."
Anyway, I feel that there are a lot of good things that we can do with our willingness to be involved with online "communities". But, we do need to be careful. Which I'm sure is what prompted that bishops counsel. I just wonder if that really was his counsel, or if it was more of a caution to be safe if you do have a facebook account. It is so hard when the information isn't received first hand!
Also, there are many people who depend on the social networking that facebook and blogging provide. I know that there have been several times when I have just wanted to see a friend, but have been too far away from anybody to have that contact. I love being able to read blogs to catch up, and it definitely helps to keep me feeling happy to have those connections. I think that that is worth a lot.
hmmm. I would check to make sure that this was a case of a "bishop speaking" and not just "someone who happens to be a bishop voicing a personal opinion".
There is a difference.
That being said, I would have to do some serious personal thought. It's hard to accept counsel that we don't agree with...movies, music etc...but there is usually a reason. Just as with Myspace, Facebook has a dirty, nasty side....
Honestly, no. haha Just because of what the first presidency has shared about internet usage as a whole. The key is moderation. However, if I went in having family/marriage problems and the bishop counseled less usage or no usage I would follow that individual counsel. But to counsel the entire ward to not use FB/MS... ummm... no. haha Sad, but hey - that's how I feel about it.
This is a funny question, being that most of my "friends" on facebook are LDS and 2 of them being Bishops or former Bishops. It would really bug me if my Bishop said that. I think I would ask him why first. I haven't had any negative experiances with FB...yet. I have re-connected with a ton of people from High School and stuff, that I would otherwise not have been able to re-connect with. I know myspace has a dark side, and I can "feel" it whenever I log into it (which is rare). I love my blogging. I also think, if a person is on the computer ALL DAY long, not getting anything done, dinner not getting made, not attending to your kids, etc. I saw on the news last night. One Mom, is on the computer 6 hours a day. Holy Cow!
I think for me, I would need to ask the bishop to explain his reasons behind asking us not to be on it. yes, it can do some damage if you are not wise.....but that is true of the internet on a whole. Then I would really have to pray about it. The rebel in me says" NO WAY! I would keep my account", but the good side of me says we need to listen to and respect the counsel of our church leaders. The computer has been my key to keep up with all my friends that I have made through the years of military moves. I would be crushed if that vehicle was taken away.
Christ taught us to love our fellowmen. If we connect with them on Facebook, why not? I've reconnected with old friends and a far flung family (including you!) through Facebook.
Perhaps the Bishop should lighten up and get back the basics!
The Heretical Aunt!
i would have to ask why. . find the reasons i suppose. but hopefully i could obey.
Um, I think some Bishop's advise against Diet Coke, too! Am I a bad mormon? Ok, that's my snarky comment. My thoughtful/hopeful comment is, maybe the Bishop was advising that individual against it for reasons only known to him and her? Maybe she was flirting with old boyfriends or something!
I know my husband and I would pray about it but ultimately we would obey. But I'd be sure to get everyone's addresses that I'd connected with first.
I've heard of other wards being told this and have heard that in each case it was because of problems with people getting in trouble (spouses hooking up with old flames, internet gossip about members, and the crazies who whine to the Bishop about not being "friended.")
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