Thoughts on social media and the gospel

So, I just watched Elder Bednar's Education Week address on using social media to share the gospel. As a General Authority, he gave a lot of great general suggestions that I suggest you look at. Since I am a specific person, I am going to give some specific suggestions and confessions.

First, the confessions:

• If you link to a conference talk, there is a good chance I won't read it.
• If you link to a conference talk with a quote, there is a better chance I will read it, but I will probably conclude that everything that needed to be said was already shared and won't read it anyway.
• If a quote is too long, I won't read it.
• I hate anything and everything having to do with modesty, no matter whose opinion it is or how much I agree with it. (I never said these were rational confessions.)
• If you share a Mormon message, I will probably not watch it unless you are the 10th person to share it.
• I cringe at hashtags.
• I don't look at quotes in pretty fonts with graphic designed backgrounds.
• Or pictures in general.

So, I get that I am probably not the target audience for much of social media. And likewise, a lot of what I post is probably not what most people want to see. (I like to write a lot, okay???) But here are my suggestions anyway:

• Don't wait until you have a testimony of everything. If you are struggling with certain aspects of the church or gospel, it's okay! You are not alone. You can still share what you do believe.
• Have a story. Although people have differing opinions about memes, pictures, articles, videos, etc., the one thing that everyone likes is stories. (Granted, some people only like telling their own stories and not listening or reading others, but I still stand by my statement.) What does that mean for social media? It means that you should make the gospel of Jesus Christ part of your story, and make your story part of your testimony. If you are good at making up analogies, that's great, but the rest of us can still share a real-life story that can touch others.
• Do more than just show your happy life -- explain where the happiness comes from! Do people really know why you want them to join the church? Do they know of the beautiful doctrines, the powerful covenants, and the welcoming community? Do they know that they can join it too?
• Be honest, especially about trials. Happiness is the end goal, but it's not always a given for most of us. If you share your tough moments too (within reason, of course), you will seem much more real online. (I know that online isn't the real world, but if that's where a lot of interaction occurs, we may as well do our best to be real there too.)
• Try to avoid being narcissistic. That can detract from what you're trying to say.
• Make the church sound less like a social club and more of a way of life. I fear that sometimes we may be prone to name-dropping or being too proud of our own. Everyone -- even prophets and apostles -- are just humans, and we shouldn't turn them into superheroes or Chuck Norrises. What matters most is our devotion to Heavenly Father and our dependence on Jesus Christ's Atonement.
• Avoid getting into too many discussions about controversial subjects. Everyone can read them, and sometimes they are annoying. It's also important to remember that while your faith may be secure while discussing something (such as fallibility of the prophet), others may not be at your same level, and constantly bringing these topics to them will do more harm than good. (I do think everyone should confront these things for themselves, but I think human interactions are better for that.)
• If you do share a quote from a General Authority, make it personal! Why do you like that quote?
• Don't just post church stuff, or people will probably glaze over it or hide you from their news feed. Did your spouse say something funny today? Was your kid cute? Did you have an opinion about a current event? Share it!

Above all, approach everything -- even social media! -- with an attitude of fasting and prayer. Like Elder Bednar was saying, this is one of the most effective methods of sharing the gospel. If we incorporate faith into our social media use, we will see the power of God more in our lives, and we will touch the lives of our friends for good.