Elder Ballard inspires my new Blog

I tend to believe that those that frequent our blog can easily determine that we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known colloquially as Mormons. While many of our friends (and blog readers) are LDS, many of our close friends are not. Nevertheless, I hope all of our friends can see that our religion is important to us.

Today, I was reviewing my Google Reader RSS feeds and saw one from the Church entitled "Mormons Encouraged to Share Personal Perspectives Online to Explain Their Faith". It talks about how the July edition of the Ensign, a monthly magazine put out by the church, features an address by Elder M. Russell Ballard that encourages Church members to participate in the growing online discussion about the Church. In the talk, Elder Ballard, a member of the Church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles, says:

"There are conversations going on about the Church constantly. Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches. While some conversations have audiences in the thousands or even millions, most are much, much smaller. But all conversations have an impact on those who participate in them. Perceptions of the Church are established one conversation at a time."

The Church's Public Affairs Department developed some nice guidelines set of guidelines and suggestions for Church members who wish to use the Internet to explain their religion to those of other faiths.

After reading this, I have been inspired to do what I have been procrastinating for so long --- develop a separate blog of my opinions of life, politics, religion, sports, or whatever fits my fancy. One of the talents God has given me is the ability to write well. I also am somebody of strong opinions --- the jury is still out on whether that is a gift from God. I believe it is a gift, if I can control my opinions.

This blog, as the name and title line imply, serves the purpose of updating our friends and family on our family activities. I don't want to muddy it with too much of my personal pontifications. This new blog will be a place where I can put my thoughts down, perhaps for others to read and discuss, but mostly for me to remember my personal development and for my children to see some day. I envision it being something slightly similar to that of my friend Carson Calderwood's Conservative Cake and Liberal Icing, but a little less about the Church (although still included) with more about politics, education, and sports.

I am working on the blog now and will keep you posted when it goes live.