Let's get involved and support LDS bloggers on the Washington Post

[Heather]

Each week (roughly) Michael Otterson (director of media relations for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) writes a blog post for the Washington Post On Faith blog. Here is the latest:

Michael Otterson: The Resurrection: An Electrifying Moment - On Faith at washingtonpost.com

There are always many comments, ranging from uplifting to dumb to blatantly anti-Mormon. I would really like LDS.net users participating on these blogs. Any positive participation there would be great for the potentially large audience that would see it. You can subscribe to an RSS feed or perhaps someone can start a new thread in the Gospel forum to let everyone know there is a new blog post that we can comment on.

I think it is really important that we lend our support these bloggers and allow Internet readers to see both sides of the story. You can also add a link as part of your comments to your Blog, Profile, or even add links to specific pages on LDS.org or other great websites. There is no need for html coding. Just go to your blog and copy the URL, and paste it at the bottom of your comments. I would encourage you to add your link as part of your comments, so people can click on it easily, and help your page archive better search engine results.

The other two Mormon bloggers on On Faith are Richard Bushman and Kathleen Flake. Their blogs also get lots of comments, including some good ones from "LDSNana"

Richard Bushman: On Faith at washingtonpost.com
Kathleen Flake: On Faith at washingtonpost.com

Starting a blog might be overwhelming to some members, but participating in the comments of someone's else blog is doable. And in these cases, participating in the comments may be more productive since there's already a larger audience.

[skalenfehl]

Heather, can you make a little banner/icon that we can use to link back to this site when we contribute to other blogs, etc? What do you think?

[Ray A]

I think these are three excellent choices for bloggers. I had these blogs bookmarked but haven't commented on the blogs. There is some meanness in some of the comments from readers, so beware from the start it's not going to be an G-rated experience. It might also help to understand more about the backgrounds of these people.

Kathleen Flake's PBS interview: The Mormons . Interviews . Kathleen Flake | PBS

Richard Bushman: Meridian Magazine : : Church Update:Richard L. Bushman Named as Hunter Visiting Professor in Mormon Studies at Claremont

(Notable comment:
Elder Holland recalled that President Hunter encouraged us to “talk with those beyond our own circle.” He urged us to “communicate first and foremost in our language of faith.” But, Elder Holland reminded, President Hunter also urged that wherever possible we should “add the language of scholarship, which would expand our circle of influence even further.” )

Mike Otterson was the Public Affairs Director (media relations) in Sydney in the late 70s and early '80s, and I met him a few times then. One comment from the More Good Foundation blog struck me:

It is my observation that Mike’s posts invariably serve as a lightning rod. The comments that follow each of his posts, almost without exception, devolve into a “shouting contest” among people concerning the truth of the Church, the supposed evils perpetrated by the Church, and (from time to time) how Mormons aren’t Christian and barely rate as humans.

Maybe a slight exaggeration, but not surprising to me, at all.

[Heather]

Originally Posted by skalenfehl

Heather, can you make a little banner/icon that we can use to link back to this site when we contribute to other blogs, etc? What do you think?

I can definitely make some badges, but then it would just link to the home page of LDS.net, and not your specific blog or profile. Also I tested out the comments on the Washington Post, and it won't allow for html coding. All you can really do is add a URL and it will turn it into a link.

If you do want to add text links to LDS.net, try to link it using just the text "LDS," like I did in this post. I think that will help us a lot.

HappyNIL - Great testimony on Brother Otterson's blog. Thank you for sharing

[skalenfehl]

Sounds good.

[WANDERER]

Comments: Guidelines (please add your thoughts)
Make a thoughtful comment. Sometimes the discussions that happen via comments are more interesting reading than the blog or article itself. Discussion is great. Comment spamming: great site etc doesn't add anything positive.

Online arguments via the comment forum are just the worst publicity anti or pro. Comment flaming can be pretty rough and this does happen. It doesn't mean that you can't disagree or defend your beliefs. Do it with wisdom. Fuelling hate is just not productive. Don't get dragged down with it.

When typing in your details you can sometimes put in a link: to the LDS website or other such sites is a great way of directing traffic to positive places. Subscribing is a great way of lifting site visibility.

[Heather]

Wanderer, those are excellent. I think anytime someone notifies us there is a new blog post to comment, we should include those guidelines as a reminder.

[FamilyHistoryGeek]

I just posted a comment on Michael Otterson's blog, and I listed the URL to my blog. Then I created a new post on my blog incorporating the thoughts into a larger post. I don't know what will come of it, but I'm watching to see what happens.