Mormons Use Technology to Reach Millions
Lincoln Cannon
3 December 2009 (updated 31 July 2024)
A well-meaning anonymous fellow Mormon once chastised me, encouraging more focus on the powers of prayer and priesthood and less focus on the powers of technology. He argued that it will be the traditional religious mechanisms that will save us. I responded with a question: why does the Church use technology to share it’s message? He didn’t answer. The question stands.
While I heartily recognize the practical value of sincere prayer and ecclesiastical authority, I cannot honestly pretend that their power is as broad as some suppose unless they are combined with technology. Our prayers to move mountains work best when they motivate us to turn on the bulldozers. Our ecclesiastical authority works best when it organizes a unified effort that complements (not ignores) the tools at hand.
As the Book of Mormon put it, do you suppose that God will save us when we do not make use of the means available to us? If so, you suppose in vain. Pray. Indeed, pray! Then allow the inspiration to raise you up to work, both hard and smart, leveraging the divine endowment of technology.
