Before reading Everyday Missionaries, I’d heard all the talks in General Conference about the power of online missionary tools and the miracles associated with sharing the gospel through technology. However, aside from sharing an occasional quote or Mormon Messages video on Facebook and creating a Mormon.org profile, I hadn’t considered doing much else.

I’ve written blogs in the past and the book, especially Chapter 6, “Questions and Answers on the Internet,” inspired me to consider what I might do from my laptop to share my testimony with others. I started reading blogs on gospel topics written by members of the Church. I figured out what my skill-set could support and what approach I might take if I started a blog. I ultimately decided to focus on writing about basic gospel topics and that my target audience would be people who are not familiar at all with LDS doctrine. My intention is to also share that content with other Church members who may not want to publish a blog, but still are looking for content they can share through their own efforts. I’m still figuring out what works and what hasn’t, and trying new things as I go.

I quickly found out that people are indeed looking for information about the Church online who might otherwise not have the desire/courage/knowledge to ask Mormons they know or to call the missionaries. I was overjoyed when I received my first blog inquiry from a man who had questions about the Church. He had found my blog through another LDS blog, and used the “Ask a Mormon” tab I’d incorporated on it. We have since been exchanging emails where he’s asked some great questions, and I’ve given him additional web links to check out (in addition to sharing my own experience with similar questions).

He lives 2,500 miles away from me, but he now has contact with local missionaries as well as the closest church building. I see how the Lord is planting people in our path online! It’s a testament to me that we can do much good in finding, teaching, and most importantly, inviting from the comfort of our homes with nothing more than a laptop, tablet or mobile phone. These positive online experiences are also having an impact on my courage to start gospel-related conversations with people in my daily life.

-Chris S. Overland Park, Kansas