Social Media is Bringing Families Together

A bishop in California is struggling on how to advise his youth on social media. He knows that it is a useful way to spread the gospel and to preserve relationships among families and friends. He also struggles knowing that it can be the force to tear apart families. Things like pornography, profanity and evil ideologies are all over the social networks. This bishop had a daughter and son at home when the social network craze began, and he feared for his own children's salvation. This wasn't just the youth in his ward but it was his eternal family that could be affected by the evil side of social networks, even if they originally wanted to support the righteous and good things. The Californian bishop still struggles with his judgements on it, but he has learned that the only way to preserve his youth and his family is to become a part of the new social network craze that is sweeping the nation and the world.

Families, over time, get further and further spread apart from each other. Distance can cause a family to go from being close to being further separated than the strangers they walk amongst in the day. This isn't because they stop loving one another; it's difficult to keep a family apart through the distance. Social networking is a way to connect family members and friends from high school, college and wards together like magic. As a college student who is living away from her family, I've realized that the comments and the likes on Facebook keep my sibling, parents and me close together even through the distance. I continue to hear about my nieces, nephews and the rest of their accomplishments. Though we are able to connect, you also have the issue of connecting with those who are better off forgotten. The exes, enemies and the high school ghosts of our past come back and make a person question whether they made the right decision on their lives. Just Google "Facebook ruining marriages" and you will have articles and reports talking about families that were torn apart due to these social networks. We live in a world where we can't remove or avoid social networks and other technology, but we can avoid the evils within it.
The Church encourages members to use social networks to spread their testimonies and the gospel. M. Russel Ballard said “I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration,”. We are encouraged to simply spread the simple truths we know. This is difficult though when people post pornographic, profanity and inappropriate material all over your timeline on Facebook. The answer to using social networks and other technology is not to avoid or to completely delve into it. The answer is to use it cautiously, watching what pitfalls lie ahead. 

The Bishop with his grandson that died about 5 months ago

Things like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and whatever other social networks there are can lead to a family being closer than they ever could be before. That Californian bishop just realized the magic of the Internet when his grandson passed away. He had children, grand kids and further family separated all over the west. Facebook was able to bring them all together to mourn and to get past the pain together. This bishop, my father, was able to support me in my heartache through things like Facebook, along with calls and texts. Yeah, it can be used for evil, but it has so much power to be used for good. The phrase "you can have too much of a good thing" explains this phenomenon. When we allow the Internet to take over our lives, we are affected and our spirits attacked by the wicked and evil things. When we realize it's potential, though, we are able to use it to it's best ability.