a missionaries virtual lifestyle

I've been meaning to put this post up for a long time but Now I'm finally getting round to doing it.

I've had this question ask to me a few times "What do you do as a digital missionary that makes you different from other missionaries?"

I stole this from elder foster but I love this picture

So first the tools, the standard array of tools missionaries use to find are usually:

1) working with specific member's to help there friends 

2) organising events in the chapel to bring as many people to the church building as possible.

3) Knocking on doors and talking to everyone on the street 

BUT... As digital missionaries we have so many more possibilities. I know personally that people on Facebook are so much more open to what we teach and... lets face it... most people in England have a Facebook account, there are far more people we can talk to in much less time.

So another Question I always get is "So do you just sit in front of a computer all day?"

The honest answer to that is we try not to but its very hard some days. We have a local area to try and find and teach people which we need to take care of so we spend more time out in the sun than online. However there have been occasionally known to be teaching up to 4 people at once. (1 on Mormon.org chat, 1 by email and 2 more on facebook) it doesn't happen often but when It does we need to take as much time as it takes on the computers

The 3rd and biggest question I get asked is "which is better digital or area work?"

This one I can only give you my opinion, yes I think it really is much better. partly for the reasons above but for me it's mostly because I get meet and teach so many more people through the wide world of the internet. there are just so many possibilities available on-line that aren't in the area, I can see very clearly why a Prophet of God has started introducing this side into finding and bringing people unto God.

If there are any more questions or anything at all you want to ask just leave a comment and I will get back to you :)

Baptism for the dead

1 Peter 3:18-19, 1 Corinthians 15:29 and John 11:25

(links are attached to each scripture)

Last time in My blog I was talking about some of the "whys" behind all the Genealogical records in the bible. This week I will explain the other "why", namely:

"Baptism on the behalf of the dead"

In the New testament Jesus declares that "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter in the kingdom of God" John 3:5 and even He himself is baptized "to fulfill all righteousness" Matthew 3:15 

So it's clear that a person must be baptized if he is to live in the kingdom of God, But what about people that die before the have the chance to be baptized? Baptism on behalf of those that are dead was and is a practice that was used to give those that have passed on the opportunity to enter into the kingdom of God.

The whole of the scriptures talk about people doing things for those unable to do it for themselves the greatest example of which would be Jesus Christs sacrifice on the cross for those unable to make it into heaven on there own (namely everyone that sins) but there are other examples too. In the apocrypha there is a record of Judas Maccabaeus in which he collect money from the survivors of a battle in order to buy sacrificial animals (according to the law of Moses) as it says in the account in 2 Maccabees 12:45
 "Thus he made an offering of reconciliation so that the dead would be forgiven of their sin"

It's clear from this that in the old Jewish culture preforming thing for the dead that they could not do for themselves, both with sin offering and baptism. As with the great example of the Savior taking the payment for our sins, doing these works for the dead  does not save them unless they accept what has been done.