Over the next few months, the Church will release a series of brief videos that illustrate creative ways members can share goodness through social media in more personal ways than reposting Church videos and quotes.
For example, one video shows Diana Salvador making breakfast for her mother who experienced a stroke and is lying in bed. She happily works along and feeds her mother. “I believe there is a scripture that says if you take care of your parents, your life will be longer upon the land,” said Sister Salvador. “I live that scripture and that scripture comes back to me. … I believe in family with all I’ve got.”
Another video features a Spanish-speaking man named Leslie, a single dad who raised his young children alone. Often he left home at 5 a.m. and worked until 5 p.m., at which time he returned home to make dinner for his children. He says, “I believe that the difficulties we have in this life make us stronger and build character. They help us increase our faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. He takes upon Himself our burdens.”
In a recent address at BYU Education Week, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “I exhort you to sweep the earth with messages filled with righteousness and truth — messages that are authentic, edifying, and praiseworthy — and literally to sweep the earth as with a flood.” (“To Sweep the Earth as with a Flood,” LDS.org, Prophets and Apostles Speak.)
The new videos are part of a campaign to share messages of goodness under the hashtag #ShareGoodness. The campaign and website at social.lds.org were created to help members get started with Elder Bednar’s request to flood the earth with goodness.
The website provides examples and ideas of what can be shared with an emphasis on staying positive, genuine and respectful. It also poses questions to prompt people to think about what they can share from their own lives that people might enjoy, such as “What makes you feel grateful?”
Some example posts include:
• “This is the second week in a row a neighbor boy took my garbage cans out to the curb. Funny how such a small thing makes me feel so good.” #ThankYouKevin #KindnessRocks
• “When I look for good things in my life, I’m more likely to find them. And when I find them I’m more likely to put more good out there.” #CircleOfGoodness • “My friend’s cool mom (math genius) just took time to explain this math problem to me. It’s like the math light switch came on.” #Sarah’sMomIsAwesome #ThankfulForTheHelp
• “My neighbor was walking by my house as I got the mail. She stopped and we talked for a moment. Just her kind smile and friendly words made my whole week.” #SmallKindActs
“These videos were created specifically to show how we can share ourselves and our lives with others and be the light that Elder Bednar invited us to be,” said Fernando Camilo, an awareness of social media manager for the Church. “We want members to be a force for good online. There is a lot that they can share. It doesn’t need to be hard or invasive. Members can be authentic and positive in their posts.”
“Our goal as people is to become the message that we are spreading,” Elder L. Tom Perry recently taught. “We can always do more to reach out and set examples of Christlike behavior to those who are not of our faith. … There are individuals out there who need our examples of faith,” he said. “We must never stop reaching out” (“Become the Message,” Church News, Oct. 19, 2014, p. 6).
Starting this month, the videos will be shared on Church social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, LDS.org and other channels.
