“Social-Media Investigator,” New Era, Oct. 2013, 15
From the Mission Field
Social-Media Investigator
Elder Brayden Prestwich is currently serving in the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission.
Photograph of tablet by iStockphoto/Thinkstock
One day my companion and I were leaving an apartment building when we ran into a 19-year-old young woman named Grace.
We said hello, introduced ourselves, and asked if we could discuss our message further. Because she’d just met us, Grace wasn’t willing to give us her phone number. But thinking on our feet, we decided to give her a Mormon.org pass-along card and quickly wrote our Facebook profile names on it.
To our surprise, Grace added us on Facebook and began eagerly asking us questions through Facebook Chat about who we were and what we believed. My companion and I turned these first conversations into discussions of the Restoration. We actually ended up teaching almost all of the Preach My Gospel lessons to her through Facebook, which was unusual even for us. Later we also taught her the lessons in person.
After a few weeks, we invited Grace to participate in a Church meetinghouse tour. We felt the Spirit strongly that day as we used the pictures hanging on the stake center’s walls to teach her the gospel. After the tour, Grace gave us her phone number. We continued to maintain daily contact with her through Facebook, texts, and in-person lessons.
Many members of the ward, including the ward mission leader, fellowshipped Grace, helping her feel like she belonged. One member who accompanied us to the meetinghouse tour helped Grace feel comfortable, came to other lessons, and invited her to watch general conference with us in his home.
Shortly after Grace attended Sunday meetings for the first time, my companion and I felt prompted to invite her to be baptized. She said yes! Because of our daily contacts and invitations, she’d gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of living prophets for herself, and she chose to be baptized.
I’m grateful for social media and the support of members—both of which made all the difference in Grace’s conversion.