Digital Only: Young Adults
How Social Media Helped Me Share the Gospel
I used social media to fulfill my calling, and God used me to do His work.
When I was deciding if I should serve a mission, I was called to serve as a digital missionary in my home ward. In this calling, I was asked to share the gospel on social media by posting uplifting messages about Jesus Christ. I wanted to do my best, so I posted conference quotes, scriptures, and gospel insights on Instagram every day.
On most of my posts, I got likes and comments from people I knew, but there were also times when I would get likes and comments from people I didn’t know. One time, I shared part of an address by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles about the principles of Jesus Christ’s gospel. A girl I didn’t know saw the post and reached out to me. Her name was Emma (name has been changed). She was a college student in England and had been searching for truths and more meaning in her life.
When Emma saw my post, she searched for and read the full talk by Elder Bednar and felt a deep desire to learn more. So, she started messaging me to ask questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and what I believe as a member. We had some insightful discussions as she expressed her interest in the gospel.
Over time we continued to reach out to each other and get to know each other. Eventually she became more and more interested in the Church, and I explained how she could get in touch with missionaries in her area. Soon she was meeting with them often!
After a few months of being taught, Emma accepted the invitation to be baptized, and she became a member of the Lord’s Church. She struggled for a while with difficult family relationships because of her desire to join the Church, but I was amazed by her courage and faith to keep moving forward with hope in Christ. Today, she loves the gospel and is so thankful for the effects it has had on her life.
Before I became connected with Emma, I had been contemplating serving a mission but had felt so uncertain and insignificant. I didn’t feel that my efforts to share the gospel would make a difference for anyone. But seeing how much Emma’s life changed simply because a stranger like me posted a message about Jesus Christ on social media, I was filled with hope that my desire to share the light of Christ as a full-time missionary and as a disciple of Jesus Christ could truly change people’s lives and bring them to Christ.
Emma and I continue to encourage each other and are now both serving full-time missions.
I know that Heavenly Father inspired me to post that original message from Elder Bednar on social media. The message was small and simple, but that’s all it took for Him to work a miracle.
This experience has confirmed to me what Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently taught about sharing the gospel:
“You don’t have to write a sermon …
“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of uplifting things you might find worthy of sharing.”1
Social media is full of lots of contradicting voices, but it is also a remarkable gift that can allow us to serve others and share so much good in the world. Its limitless reach also enables us to further the Lord’s work and gather Israel in ways that wouldn’t have been possible years ago. I know that by being willing to share the gospel online, we can help others come closer to Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. I’ve seen that truth come to fruition through my new friendship with Emma.
I join with Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy, who said: “The gathering of Israel—the greatest cause on this earth [see Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel”]—is our covenant responsibility. And this is our time!”2 Let’s not waste the technology God has given us; we can use these amazing tools to do the Lord’s work and inspire others to do the same.