LDS Bloggers making a difference

There are now many more LDS bloggers who are actively expressing positive and interesting things about their faith and the LDS Church. This is a huge increase from this time last year. If we have learned anything in the last few years, it is that we are still not understood by the majority of the world. We need more LDS bloggers, actively writing and sharing our message.

I mentioned Seth Adam Smith last week, but once again, I am blown away by this talented LDS Blogger who creates videos that portray depth and meaning through beautiful music and imagery. Today’s video is on the Anasazi Foundation. It is about leaving things behind and moving forward. It is a sublime message. I recommend Seth’s work and look forward to more.

Bloggers who report LDS news

I wish I could tell you who does Mormon-Chronicles or what is the purpose of the blog, but it has consistently provided a source of LDS news articles that you won’t find in Mormon Times or other pro-LDS sources. Go through the archives. You may be surprised at some of the stories there. I know I missed a lot of them and I think I’m a pretty good LDS news junkie.

Are gays taking over Salt Lake City? Chris Bigelow seems to think so in his recent essay, More Prophesying about Salt Lake City. He references Newt Gingrich‘s recent article on Gay Fascism. That seems to go right along with what Brian Fitzpatrick had to say in Crouching fascism, hidden media. You can read more about this viewpoint in the Salt Lake weekly. Interesting stuff.

Positive LDS news in blogs

Another recent favorite for me is Beetle Blogger. She just started a few months ago but has already built up a regular following of readers and commenters. I believe we’ll be seeing a lot more good stuff on the Beetle Blog for a long time to come. Article VI blog continues to provide great coverage of the issues of religion in the political arena. Good stuff and well worth reading.

Although Guy Murray’s Messenger and Advocate has been around for years, I found his coverage of the proposition 8 campaign extremely insightful. If you are a regular reader of the Bloggernacle then you are probably familiar with his work. If not, check out his blog and join the discussion there. Ditto for Connor Boyack at Connor’s Conundrums. Lots of great essays there.

Plugs for some of my favorite sites

I’ve always enjoyed Rough Stone Rolling. The man knows how to write headlines. Today’s offering is “Mormon Times, Vampires and Underwear.” Another favorite blogger that started about when I did is Mormon Soprano. I think she is under-read and deserves more serious attention to essays like this: “A Rebuttal To: “Mormonism LEGALLY Declared Not Christian.”

For great discussion on doctrine that applies to spirituality, testimony and every-day living, check out Jared’s blog, LDS Alive in Christ. Sometimes it’s only me and Jared going back and forth but I have found that we think alike on so many things related to spiritual experiences. Another under-read blog is Richman Ramblings. Larry is the CEO of Evergreen International.

You are probably already familiar with Clean Cut out of San Antonio, Texas. His essays are always worth the time to read. He also gets good participation in comments. Of course, there is Bryce’s Temple Study blog. Sometimes he will get dozens of comments on an essay, other times, nary a peep, but they are all worth reading. I always learn new things about the temple there.

LDS group blogs vs. solo blogs

You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned any LDS group blogs. I confess that I stopped visiting them just about the time I started my own solo blog. I’ll still occasionally visit Steve Evans‘ group at By Common Consent or John Dehlin‘s Mormon Matters, but for the most part, I no longer spend much time on the group blogs. And what happened to Times and Seasons?

I have found that many of the essays and many of the commenters at the LDS group blogs just don’t think like I do. I confess that I am fairly conservative and tend to interpret the world around me though the lens of a lifetime of activity in and study of the doctrines of the LDS Church. So many of the essays on group blogs just seem to have a worldly liberal approach.

I know, it’s good to have multiple viewpoints of important political and social trends, but so many times when I try to engage in dialog on those group blogs, I find little support and much arguing about what I think are standard orthodox positions on doctrine and policy. I have great respect for fellow solo blogger Papa D, who has great talent in navigating the LDS group blog waters.

Summary and conclusion

The last few weeks have been difficult in the Blogosphere as there have been so many negative articles and essays about the aftermath of Proposition 8. Is it just me, or does it seem like the national media coverage of this has been very slanted towards the civil rights side of the issue? I read so little about the moral side. That message isn’t heard except in many of our LDS blogs.

Like Elder Ballard has said many times, we need to be the ones telling our story and defining what it is that we believe. I am grateful that Proposition 8 passed, just as I was when we worked so hard on Proposition 22. But the resultant national dialog has been, quite frankly, a world of difference compared to what it was eight years ago when we went through this same battle.

I remain convinced that more LDS people need to join the online dialog. We are just getting started. There is much work to be done. Just visit some of the blogs of those who opposed proposition 8 and read what they have written about us. They do not understand us and they have said so. Let’s give them more material, well written, well presented and shared widely.

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Update: Thanks to Dave Banack at Dave’s Mormon Inquiry on Beliefnet for linking to this essay. You may also be interested in reviewing my recent listing of the top ranked LDS blogs according to Alexa ratings. It breaks out solo blogs, group blogs and popular LDS websites.

14 thoughts on “LDS Bloggers making a difference”

  1. Thanks for this post. I agree that we need lots of people to participate online. Have you seen ldsblogs.com? The More Good Foundation has done SO much for getting more content about the Church on the internet — 160 sites, many translated into multiple languages!Posts like this that link to many resources can also help the cause. The more we support one another in our efforts, the more likely it is that content will be found via searches and the like.

  2. mormonsoprano.com

    What a great post, Tim! You have compiled many exceptional LDS blogs for reference on one page. I’m so honored to be included. I visit many listed here. Looking forward to checking out the new finds. I also add a second witness for Adam Seth Smith’s work. I use his beautiful videos often on my site. There are several amature LDS filmmakers who are using their gifts to add light into the otherwise dark YouTube abyss.For me, the creation of a blog one year ago, and then remaining actively engaged in the blogosphere community has provided tremendous personal blessings that I never could have imagined. My eyes have been opened very wide reading the common misconceptions and vicious criticism “out there”. However, researching the issues and immersing myself into official LDS doctrine has strengthened my testimony 1000 fold. We are truly members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ on earth. What a glorious blessing! Satan is waging his war for souls on-line at a startling pace. I am convinced that the power of our collective creativity can and will make a difference!

  3. I’ve wondered about Times and Seasons as well — especially as the aggregators keep noting new posts and all I get is the godaddy parking page.

  4. Times and Seasons is back online. Apparently it was just a temporary hiccup.m_and_m: Yes, I am very familiar with ldsblogs.com and have had it listed on my sidebar for most of the past year. Good stuff. It deserves a mention of it’s own in another essay along with other great sites.

  5. Tim,In my estimation your contribution to LDS blogging will be recorded in histories yet to be written. Your site contains timely and interesting post on a wide variety of subjects. By the way, thanks for noting my blog in this article. You’re very kind.Lastly, thanks for blogroll/aggregator. I really enjoy coming by and using it.Keep the good work up.

  6. Amen on the entire Group Blog thing. “Worldly” and “liberal” is a perfect definition of them. I read them for a while but then gave up on them. Frankly — and this is probably where I sound a bit like a conspiracy theorist — I’m under the impression that posters to group blogs are there to subvert LDS beliefs. I’ve gotten more upset reading those posts than anywhere, so I finally, for my own sanity, stopped reading them altogether.

  7. This is very nice compilation of blogs. I agree with you completely on the group blogs. They are not for me. Keep producing the good work.

  8. m_and_m: Yes, I am very familiar with ldsblogs.com and have had it listed on my sidebar for most of the past year. Sorry I missed that. 🙂

  9. thepomegranateapple

    I love beetle b! she has the most awesome posts. lately they’ve been super interesting too.another blog I love is kingfisher it just started recently, but the blog already has tons of interesting information regarding families and the news.thanks for this post! i look forward to checking out your suggestions

  10. I have found that many of the essays and many of the commenters at the LDS group blogs just don’t think like I do.As have I, which is one reason I keep coming back for more.

  11. AHA! Another Beetle Blogger fan! Good to see the Beetle getting some face time up here. Did you know they’re part of the DNA? Digital Network Army, marriage defense organization. It’s a group of hundreds of writers, bloggers, columnists, editorialists and regular joes of all faiths banded together to protect and defend marriage.We need all the help we can get!http://beetlebabee.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/dna/

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