SALT LAKE CITY -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced a new way it makes members available on the Internet to become virtual friends and missionaries to those seeking information about their faith.
With a new launch of Mormon.org 4.0, 2,000 members now are available to allow interested visitors to view their profile and talk to them online. Another 13,000 profiles are soon to be added.
Organizers are hoping that number jumps to 100,000 profiles on the site in a year as the church continues to ask members to visit to visit Mormon.org and share their faith through creating a profile.
Those with profiles on the site also often list their addresses to social media sites where they may talk privately to those who meet them through this means.
"We need to have an opportunity for everyone to have a virtual Mormon friend and opportunities for them to connect with them through social networks," said Ron Wilson, manager of Internet and marketing for the church. "It allows members of the church to be the face of the church."
"Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are known the world over for knocking on people's doors to share the gospel," states a church news release about the new launch. "Now people interested in the faith can figuratively knock on Mormons' doors on the Internet to better understand their beliefs."
Wilson said the change began as organizers continually asked themselves how to improve the Mormon.org website since it launched in 2001.
He said workers on the site continued to have a "gut" feeling that something much different needed to be added.
One issue that they wanted to address was the many misconceptions nonmembers often have about the church, including that the church practices polygamy, is sexist and that members worship Joseph Smith Jr.
Eighteen months ago, the church put together a prototype website and took it to focus groups of nonmembers several times to see what they learned about Mormons from operating the site.
He said with the last focus group, participants reported learning that Mormons were not who they previously had thought they were.
"That said to us, 'We are ready to launch,'" Wilson said.
The manager said the idea for making it easier for nonmembers to find out about members' core beliefs stems from an observation that nonmembers who have Mormon friends have different perceptions about Mormons.
In his own life, he said when he met his late first wife in Oklahoma, her friends told her that she should be careful because he probably had other wives back home in Utah.
As she got to know him, Wilson said her perception changed.
And her grandmother, who had been an anti-Mormon before meeting him, also had a change of heart once she saw who he really was.
"She said, 'You are a good person,'" Wilson said.
The manager said he hopes people who visit the newly changed website will get the message from members that: "We are living our lives, We are trying to be good people. We happen to believe in a faith that believes that Jesus Christ still lives and is the head of our church today."
For example, when asked what it's like to be a member of the church, Shannyn Marie began by saying, "It's like being a part of a large family who cares for one another. There are so many people from different backgrounds and situations with diverse talents, but we are all unified in our morals and beliefs."
Members also share personal stories and answer dozens of other, more specific, questions such as "Are Mormons Christian?" "What part does prayer play in your life?" "Why don't Mormons drink coffee, tea or alcohol?" and "What do Mormons believe about the Bible?"
"The previous version of Mormon.org was an excellent resource for people seeking to know more about Mormonism to get official information from the church about our beliefs and practices," said Scott Swofford, director of media for the church's Missionary Department. "The goal here is for people to understand that any institution, any collection of people, is really just a manifestation of the beliefs of its members. It's not so much what we believe but what we do because we believe that makes Mormons interesting."
A significant media campaign will begin in late July to raise awareness of the new website. It will combine elements of traditional and nontraditional media, including online, television and radio spots and billboards.
"Like the new Mormon.org, that media campaign will put our membership as the face of the organization," Swofford said.
Wilson said those wishing to add a profile should go to mormon.org/create.
While his staff does not edit anything on the profiles, workers do check them for accuracy when members state anything about official church doctrine.
Should someone misstate information about the doctrine, Wilson said workers send them an e-mail and ask that the information be corrected before the profile is approved.
He said staff also checks to determine if social sites listed on profiles actually exist and make efforts to screen those with profiles to assure that those seeking such profiles do not have ill intentions.
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