Unfortunately for them, they can't help but sound like the brainwashed cultists that they are.

The increased presence of Mormons on social media will only damage their dismal reputation further.

How would you feel if people that you knew, but didn't know they were Scientologists, or JW's, or Moonies, suddenly started asking you to join their cult?

"Just read our book, it will make you happy!"

To add to this, there are plenty of Mormons that are effective communicators who will put social media to use well enough to see some success. The problem is, as others have pointed out in other threads as of late, the rest of the Mormon story is at the fingertips of the people they are reaching out to. My shelf broke when I finally accepted one simple thing: what I WANTED Mormonism to be just simply WASN'T what it was; I finally ran out of gas trying to explain away and/or own the words of crazy 19th and 20th century religious opportunists. I think this social media push will have a similar affect on many of the more intelligent and effective communicators. The fatigue of explaining and justifying it all will eventually trigger something in many of these people.

Inside the world of mormonism, testimonies are familiar and accepted. When mormons go online and post their testimonies, they don't realize how odd they look. When I read the rebuttals from mormons on online sources and articles, I don't think they're impressing anybody, but rather showing the non-mormon population how sequestered and/or odd they are.

Think of fundamentalist women being interviewed about how happy they are. Mainstream mormons aren't thought of much differently.

IMO your average nevermo is simply not going to understand the concept of a testimony. You are sharing with me what you beliieve or "know" to be true? That's nice. But it has nothing to do with what I may believe to be true.

It would be like saying, "I believe in reincarnation" to someone. Okay, that's fine. But the person that you are saying that to might or might not share your belief. Simply saying that you believe something is not by itself convincing.

Or at least the Mormon version of a testimony. I would submit that Mormons have no idea what a testimony really is.

Mormons do not know that they sound odd because they cloister themselves.

Who has time for socializing when your time is commandeered in one, two, three callings plus chapel cleaning?

So the connotations of common phrases and words as the general public is not understood instinctively by Mormons. They are not socialized in with everyone else.

I'm talking about Mormons in both the Morridor and elsewhere because the ward makes up an inner society separate from the blood and sins of the outer world. The isolation is deliberate.

The unintended consequence is the communication problem most recently demonstrated so well by Mitt Romney. He doesn't get the INFERENCES of his words to the non-elite. He doesn't see that he is being patronizing, insulting, etc. He's clearly baffled why, for example, the unemployment of a billionaire does not bond him with the unemployed working man.

"Well, I AM between jobs, it's TRUE!"

WHen a Mormon says, "I have a testimony," what he means is "I believe this and so should you."

What a citizen hears is, "I am forcing my religious beliefs on you and do not care whether you are interested or not."

It is not acceptable in the main American society to launch a discussion on religion without some indication of interest by the other person.

When I worked for the neurologist, one of the notes she would make is if the person prattled on about a subject of their own narrow interest with no expression of interest on the part of the other person. It was considered a symptom of social maladjustment.

The airing of a multitude of Morgbots programmed to spew their proselyting propaganda off-topic regardless of reciprocity of interest, it will not end well.

Next we will be hearing cries of "persecution" as Mormons are banned right and left.


Anagrammy

LDS Inc has been able to dismiss most internet claims as anti-mormon material.

They really cannot do that with social media, because there is a real live person on the other end. I would also venture to state that if LDS Inc, or their henchmen, accuses people of being 'anti' for their remarks on social media, they will be poking a hornets nest.

The people will respond at an exponential level. LDS Inc is in way over their heads here.

LDS Inc has ignored the fact that the internet is where religions come to die.

When my daughter left TSCC she wanted to find another church. She visited the web sites of churches in her area. I visited the web sites of churches in her area. I don't want my daughter and her family to trade one cult for another cult.

When my friend decided to buy a house in a tiny town, I googled the name of the guy she was buying it from and got lots of information about him.

Using social media is going to be a reminder to people that information is out there online. They are going to find the truth fast.

I went to the FAIR website. There home page has a list of questions you might have about the church. That list could give people questions they would never have had on their own for years. Good job FAIR.

That's why me and my kids Don't Use them. I grew up without "Social Media" (and no cell phone either, so can they.

It can hurt the Mormon church's image too. I read comments in news stories and online blogs. Honestly, many Mormons that post would do their church a huge favor if they would just shut up. Some of the nastiest personal insults come from the Mormons online whenever someone disagrees with them. They say things they would never say to another person's face. And some Mormons sound completely nuts when they try to come up with answers after someone has pointed out the truth about their doctrine.

^^^^+1000000^^^^

I agree, this could also backfire as more people will see how Mormons react when people disagree with them. They often have nastier personal attacks when they think they're safe behind a computer screen, yet won't say those things to someone's face.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2013 04:22PM by adoylelb.

If people don't want mormons knocking on their doors unannounced, they won't want them on their social media either. On a computer, it's easier to ignore them or just be down right nasty.

If mormons want to post something about the church on their facebook page, I have no problem with that. I can block their comments or ignore them. But if they want to bother me, they won't like the outcome.

Easy to do with Mormons what I do with people whose babble I don't want to read, but whose feelings I don't want to hurt. It's easy enough to put "friends" in Facebook on a restricted list...where they can't see your posts and they can't see yours. Not quite as much drama as the door knocking.

Someone mentioned MLMs with crappy products... I think that this is a matter of expecting the advertising methods to suddenly make the product seem less crappy...without changing the crappy product. But with technology, it's now much easier to see how crappy the product is. I looked at the "product" before I had the internet (early 1990s), using only official company literature...and I said, "this is a crappy product." Now we have other Consumer Reports type websites (aka "anti-Mormon") where people can share their experience with the product and confirm the gut instinct that the product is crappy. Bottom line is I cannot see this helping TSCC.

I love it that the internet lets the idiots get out there and expose their bigotry and intolerance.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Passive-Aggressive Posters.

When does this social media actually start for the missionaries?

Does anyone see the church getting missionary contacts through social networks as being pretty much EXACTLY the same as how uber-annoying and dangerous MLM schemes attempt to recruit new members/sell products? If people spam their non-mormon friends about the church this way I don't see it going very well. The leaders can't seem to get away from the latest sale tactics for their missionary work.

There is strong, emerging technology and processes for using marketing to effectively sell. The Mormon church leaders bought a consulting pitch.

The trick is that the current consumers are going to serve as satisfied customers. How good will their testimonials based on feelings and ignorance go against transparency. Will they be able to identify a market they value that will respond to their process.

One possible group might be educated, but socially awkward teens, young adults. This might help them socialize them into their culture, especially if Mormin women are not pairing up soon enough with men because of lack of good choices.

I am not optimistic for them, but they are basically manifesting their corporate culture, not a charitable religious culture.

TSCC just gave TBMs the green light to act like trolls online, on both LDS and non-LDS sites. It's sickening and disrespectful.