Wildflower Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I am curious what other people think about missionary blogs. I have mixed feelings. Every now and then when I am doing a blog search under the word 'mormon' I come across a missionary blog. Here is an example of one I just encountered:Elder Floyd's Missionary Blog: 7 October 2009Perhaps others don't see this as a big deal, but here is a minor example on this blog of something that bothers me. The missionary writes,"I just thought I’d inform you that we’ve found a great young married couple: Allan and Camile. I’ll explain their little story the next time I write."What bothers me is that these people probably have no idea that they are being talked about online. Perhaps the names are changed for confidentiality, but that doesn't mean the story wouldn't be recognizable if the person discovered that blog. I have seen other missionary blogs that go into much greater detail about the people they are teaching. I don't like it. If I were investigating a church, I can tell you right now that I would absolutely not be happy to find out that the missionary was writing about their experience with me online, even if my name was changed. What do you guys think? Do you have a problem with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goofball Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I agree with you on this one. I don't think that this is appropriate use of the missionaries time and is done without consent of those involved. Letters home are different as they are not available for anyone with an internet connection to view. The missionary may argue that they do this so friends and family can know what he/she is doing. However I would anticipate that the missionaries are doing this without consent of the Mission President. I just don't see this as something they would be allowed to do even on their p-day. However when I was in the mission field only snail mail was allowed so I cannot speak with any first hand knowledge of internet usage on the mission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejason76 Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Let's set aside whether or not the missionary is breaking the rules and focus on what was being blogged about. The only things he mentioned were their names and marital status. We don't know if the names were changed. We also don't know if he got their permission to blog about them. Is this really harmful? He didn't reveal any private things about their life. He only mentioned who he found. I have to assume that he will be respectful in future blogs and only mention general things about their lives (number of children, prior religion, how they were found, etc.) and won't divulge anything that shouldn't be divulged. Don't crucify him for something he has not done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildflower Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 All I know is that if I were an investigator and came upon a blog where I was being talked about, it would upset me a lot. Perhaps even to the point of not wanting to meet with the missionaries anymore. The missionary I used as an example says "...I'll explain their little story the next time I write". While their little story might not be anything juicy, I still feel it is inappropriate. It is inappropriate because whoever is being written about probably doesn't know about it, and if they came across the blog and recognized themselves being described, it would probably feel like a violation of trust. At least, that is how I would feel if it were me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdfxdb Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I agree, missionaries should not share those types of things on public domain, regardless if names are changed to protect the innocent. How do missionaries have time to blog anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 i know they can send emails home on p-day rather than snail mail..... not heard if they are allowed to blog or not, i would imagine they would be discouraged from places like fb or myspace but a private blog where they just post... not sure i have a problem with it but i think (if within the rules) they should be given some etiquet lessons on what to say or not say. not a fan of them sharing personal info on investigators.... i agree letters home are different.... also think the blog should be set to invited friends only, not the entire world to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will227457 Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I agree, missionaries should not share those types of things on public domain, regardless if names are changed to protect the innocent. How do missionaries have time to blog anyway?+1I never had time on my mission to blog, granted I served in a third world country. Public domain is not the place for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 +1I never had time on my mission to blog, granted I served in a third world country. Public domain is not the place for it.+2A missionary can create a journal - but public domain is not the place for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildflower Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Here is another example of a missionary blog that I think is inappropriate: elder riley harper: THE HARDER THE ADVERSARY WORKS, THE MORE I KNOW THIS GOSPEL IS TRUEI'm not saying that I'm completely against missionary blogs. But there should be some very strict rules about them. I feel bad about posting these blog sites. I don't want to do anything that would harm these missionaries. I will not post any more examples. There are so many out there. I just think that something needs to be done about this, to protect investigators, missionaries, and the Church. All of these could be harmed by irresponsible blogging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdfxdb Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I don't think you need to worry about "harming" the missionaries. If they are within the rules of thier mission to blog, then I guess it's ok. If they are outside the rules of thier mission then they are in public domain and as such have to be responsible for their own actions. imho, those blogs are not at all appropriate both from the standpoint of privacy, and where do they get the time to do them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I find all the confusion about where missionaries would find time to do something like a blog a little confusing itself. It's called preparation day, if you can find time to play an hour or two of basketball you can certainly find time to type up a blog. Both blogs linked look to be once a week deals, my guess would be P-Day. Now questioning if its kosher I can understand, but that can vary by Mission President. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will227457 Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 let be honest if you are mataining a blog I guarantee they are not doing it once a week..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildflower Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Furthermore, what if someone posted a bunch of negative comments with links to anti-mormon websites? The missionary wouldn't be able to do anything about it for a whole week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 You don't think a family member wouldn't be watching out for that as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildflower Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I think that family members would watch out for that - hopefully! And if the family members aren't mormon or supportive, hopefully someone would be around to monitor the comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahone Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 They are breaking the rules. If I remember correctly, the missionary handbook (which applies to all missions worldwide) states clearly that the only websites the missionary is authorised to visit throughout the duration of their mission are ldsmail.net (for their e-mail) and any other website offically owned by the church. They are not even allowed to have their own third party e-mail account. They have to use church run e-mail accounts. However, while they may be breaking the rules, Dravin is right in saying they do have time to do stuff like this on p-day. Providing they do the other stuff they are supposed to do on p-day, they can pretty much spend the day doing what they want, within reason. They are only human like the rest of us, they need a little time off too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 let be honest if you are mataining a blog I guarantee they are not doing it once a week.....Except both blogs referenced in this thread do not appear to be maintained by the missionaries in question. Elder Floyd's appears to be maintained, or at least posted by his family and Elder Harper's by somebody named Michelle. Actually, if Michelle is family then such a blog wouldn't even have been against my mission rules, simply email home to family and they post it. Actually a quick look at Elder Floyd's looks like the family might be doing just that, his 'posts' read like letters home. Haven't really looked to closely at Elder Harper's beyond noting they are posted by Michelle.I'd say that his doing what he is doing (whatever it might be) on more than just P-Day is not a forgone conclusion. That said I wouldn't be surprised if some missionaries do (I knew missionaries who got online more than just P-Day, though none of them were blogging... that I was aware of anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahone Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Except both blogs referenced in this thread do not appear to be maintained by the missionaries in question. Elder Floyd's appears to be maintained, or at least posted by his family and Elder Harper's by somebody named Michelle. Actually, if Michelle is family then such a blog wouldn't even have been against my mission rules, simply email home to family and they post it. Actually a quick look at Elder Floyd's looks like the family might be doing just that, his 'posts' read like letters home. Haven't really looked to closely at Elder Harper's beyond noting they are posted by Michelle.Good point, I didn't even read them so didn't notice that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 (edited) They are breaking the rules. If I remember correctly, the missionary handbook (which applies to all missions worldwide) states clearly that the only websites the missionary is authorised to visit throughout the duration of their mission are ldsmail.net (for their e-mail) and any other website offically owned by the church.They are not even allowed to have their own third party e-mail account. They have to use church run e-mail accounts.It must be remembered that Mission Presidents have remarkable latitude in how they run the Missions, I have heard about missionaries getting permission to email home to friends, or allowing you to check you Hotmail account or various other things that one might assume were against the rules via the white handbook. Heck, I've heard of missionaries getting permission to visit with parents (parents visit them rather), or weekly phone calls while on the mission. So if a Missionary actually got an okay from the Mission President I'm gonna let him have it (whatever it might be) even if it contradicts the white handbook. Speaking of rules and not commandments at least, I don't think any missionary is getting off the 'hook' for violating the law of chastity because his MP went crazy and told him to go for it. You are right though, baring 'house' rules by the Mission President those things are a no-no. Edited October 21, 2009 by Dravin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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