Welcome one and all! My friends and I are a group of BYU students who are set on helping set the record straight on the LDS faith--especially in light of Governor Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. There are a lot of journalists, government officials, and even leaders of other faiths who have misconceptions about our beliefs. Many are simply not informed with accurate information. As a result, Latter-Day Saints, or “Mormons,” are often cast in a negative light. While any publicity for the Church tends to be good publicity, my friends and I have devised a system of “badges” that could help spread the word on what Mormons are all about and what we really believe.
What is a badge? This is a relatively new phenomenon online. It works like this: certain organizations online offer a course or set of material that must be learned like, say, TV/VCR repair. An individual may take that badge course, and if he meets the necessary qualifications, such as reading the lesson material, watching relevant instructional videos and passing a quiz at the end of it all, he is rewarded with a badge which signifies that he is competent in that particular body of knowledge or skill set. This badge can then be attached to that individual’s blog, as a sign that they are knowledgeable about that specific topic.
Well, we want to do the same thing...sort of. We want to give badges to people like you and your friends who take the time to more accurately understand some of the more controversial issues surrounding our faith, like polygamy, blacks and the priesthood, and “baptizing dead people.” The required course for each badge will be 5-10 minutes of material from Church websites, videos and LDS scriptures. You can then display your badges on a Facebook profile or blog, giving more clout to your writings about the LDS people and their faith. It’s a win-win situation: You get more credibility and have something interesting to talk about, and we get the satisfaction of knowing that our religion is being more accurately represented.
Why are we telling you all of this now, before the first badge has been released? If you’re LDS, this General Conference (a bi-annual church-wide meeting) is a great time to get the word out to your friends because interest in the Church is higher than usual. If you’re not LDS and you want to understand us better, we hope you’ll keep checking back to earn your first badge as soon as it’s released, in about two weeks. We really want you all in on this. As we work on the first badge, we’re looking for your comments, input, questions, and help, from LDS and non-LDS alike. If you have an issue that you’d like to see addressed in our system, let us know! If you want to donate some time to the project, please tell us how you can help and email us your contact information. We really want this project to succeed. That’s why we’re turning to you! Thanks in advance for all your support and prayers!
-The Mormon Badges Team
What is a badge? This is a relatively new phenomenon online. It works like this: certain organizations online offer a course or set of material that must be learned like, say, TV/VCR repair. An individual may take that badge course, and if he meets the necessary qualifications, such as reading the lesson material, watching relevant instructional videos and passing a quiz at the end of it all, he is rewarded with a badge which signifies that he is competent in that particular body of knowledge or skill set. This badge can then be attached to that individual’s blog, as a sign that they are knowledgeable about that specific topic.
Well, we want to do the same thing...sort of. We want to give badges to people like you and your friends who take the time to more accurately understand some of the more controversial issues surrounding our faith, like polygamy, blacks and the priesthood, and “baptizing dead people.” The required course for each badge will be 5-10 minutes of material from Church websites, videos and LDS scriptures. You can then display your badges on a Facebook profile or blog, giving more clout to your writings about the LDS people and their faith. It’s a win-win situation: You get more credibility and have something interesting to talk about, and we get the satisfaction of knowing that our religion is being more accurately represented.
Why are we telling you all of this now, before the first badge has been released? If you’re LDS, this General Conference (a bi-annual church-wide meeting) is a great time to get the word out to your friends because interest in the Church is higher than usual. If you’re not LDS and you want to understand us better, we hope you’ll keep checking back to earn your first badge as soon as it’s released, in about two weeks. We really want you all in on this. As we work on the first badge, we’re looking for your comments, input, questions, and help, from LDS and non-LDS alike. If you have an issue that you’d like to see addressed in our system, let us know! If you want to donate some time to the project, please tell us how you can help and email us your contact information. We really want this project to succeed. That’s why we’re turning to you! Thanks in advance for all your support and prayers!
-The Mormon Badges Team
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