Where to Find an LDS Community Online

Pam Peebles was divorced, just barely. She had two small children; she worked from home. She was at an an achingly lonely moment in her life–she craved any kind of interaction. The Internet was a new thing, it was 1999, and she wandered on looking for something LDS.

I happened to find it one night and one night is all it took,” Pam remembers.

She happened upon LDS Talks, an online forum for Mormons and anyone investigating the Church. There was Gospel discussion and sharing of testimonies; it was a place for questions and community.

Pam found what exactly what she needed so desperately in those lonely times.

LDS Talks evolved, and exists today as LDS.net. LDS.net is an online community of Latter-day Saints, learning in the Gospel and navigating the world outside of it, together.

A Community of Real People, with Real Testimonies

LDS.net, recently relaunched in April. The sites is hosted by The More Good Foundation.

As of its relaunch, LDS.net features a “newsroom” that tracks what’s trending online in regards to Mormons, responding and reposting hourly. The site also features more in-depth, researched articles meant to share, profiling members of the church with inspiring stories and offering further understanding of Gospel topics. There are forums–the ultimate place to consult other members with questions and conversations.

A Gospel-centered life brings about so many different pursuits. LDS.net addresses stories on family history work, parenting and missionary opportunities. A regular column, Faces of Faith, features profiles of women in the Relief Society from around the world, sharing their lives and testimonies. There’s help for teaching Sunday School and church news from around the world.

You can think of LDS.net as a place to taste Mormon culture and learn its nuances. Aaron Bylund, the current director of LDS.net, explains this authentic experience is one the site’s missions,

“It’s about the culture and the community. The traditions, the beliefs, the unique quirks and the way we interact with each other. The funny things about us that you don’t find anywhere else, that’s what you can expect.”

It makes sense–the need for an outlet. Official websites of the church offer beautiful resources to share the Gospel and learn its principles, but seeing Mormon life through an everyday lens is different.

LDS.net is growing, and the more growth the better it gets.

The first month of the relaunch in April brought 60,000 more hits than the previous high record month. LDS.net got a facelift and the Internet noticed.

More than a facelift, the community broadened. This community is one that’s been growing pretty much since the Internet has been around.

LDS.net: Seventeen Years and Counting

But LDS.net is a website with a history. The history spans 17 years, all beginning and ending with the purpose of having an authentic, useful resource for Mormons and non-Mormons alike to gather on the Internet.

Heather Newall is the original founder. In 1997, she was in the middle of an English teaching degree and a class that require she learn the techy side of things (just in case technology ever took off). She eventually created a web page for Mormons–and it’s a good thing she did.

“I made a web page for the class and spent like 9 hours on it. I got totally into the internet from the project, I was hooked… I  started going on and talking to people,” Heather recounts.

I started in yahoo chat and frequently talked with a guy from Memphis. When he found out I was from Utah and that I was Mormon, he started asking questions. I went to Deseret book and bought the missionary discussions …he ended up getting baptized.”

Heather realized there wasn’t anything for the church online. She was ahead of the masses with the Internet at this point and started making all kinds of web pages, her first: one for LDS people to chat. It’s name was LDSTalk and it was a hit.

People realized there was a community to be had in those early chat rooms. The Internet was a curious place and connecting with people from around the world was a sensational experience.

For church members especially, the chance to talk and share with people beyond your own ward proved a means to grow spiritually. The comfort of an anonymous username allowed for honesty. Users found questions and answers they were a little too shy to bring up in Sunday School.

Pam Peebles has been involved in LDS.net since 1999.  She became a “moderator,” watching the content of the forums for anything inappropriate or out-of-hand. Her experience on those forums has been one that fostered her faith.

“It’s been about finding connections. There are still people that I’m in contact with constantly–people I’ve met in person, I’ve even been to their kids’ baptism. It’s like family, but at the same time being able to discuss things. I have no idea how many people from the forums who have come, asked questions and joined the church.”

Those forums drew in investigators often, people browsing the Internet with questions and stumbling upon a whole village eager to answer them.

“I’ve never been on a mission, but this sort of feels like it,” Pam says.

The forums are still a part of LDS.net and still harbor a huge, evolving family. One member of the forums, Dahlia*, wandered onto them years ago, searching for an answer to a question. She wasn’t Mormon and didn’t anticipate becoming one, but she found herself engaged with those faceless members online as they answered her questions and built her faith. She was baptized and has since received her endowments in the temple. Her family at LDS.net has watched and rooted for her the whole time.

Another member of the forums is an Evangelical minister from Washington, such a contributer and confidant that he’s been trusted to be a moderator as well, in charge of stirring discussion and keeping things friendly. The environment is friendly and uplifting and hardly exclusive to members. His presence as someone from another faith only enriches the dialogue, Pam says.

What started as a chat room turned into a forum. What grew into a forum became LDSTalks and what was LDSTalks is now LDS.net, always evolving into what’s most useful and most needed.

In 2007 the More Good Foundation bought LDS.net from Heather Newall, but LDS.net is really meant to be a resource, an offering to the LDS community.

It’s never been a more thoughtful, beneficial offering than it is now.

How to Join the Tribe

LDS.net relaunched in April with a purpose–it’s been crafted to foster that spiritual (online) community we all need. There are a series of ways to contribute; the idea is interaction.

The best place to start is creating an account–allowing you to comment on articles and participate in the forums. An account gives you an ID, but the more you interact you’ll find an identity. The forums especially allow for a place to find answers and inspiration. You can get started on the forums by introducing yourself.There’s even a chance to contribute to the Newsroom, it’s easy to offer up your own creative material for publication.

The thing is, we all get on the Internet (and we do it everyday). We search it, read, respond and repost. We’ve come to need it. Follow along on Facebook or YouTube. Introducing LDS.net into your daily (hourly?) internet digest is a way to bring the Gospel–in it’s most beautiful and casual forms–into your life.

Heather’s patriarchal blessing hints at “taking the Gospel to the whole world,” a prospect she never fully understood. That college project grew into something bigger than she could have imagined. LDS.net is a fulfillment of her blessing–it’s brought the Gospel to hearts and ears only willing to listen online. For those of us already living the Gospel, LDS.net is a place to make the Gospel even more present in our day, and our hearts.

In short, join. LDS.net has never been more capable of bringing the Gospel into your life, and enhancing your testimony in the process. The key is joining up and participating–it’s the best way. It’s a wide, world web out there and LDS.net is a great place to start.