First Steps

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (commonly called LDS church or Mormon church), members are encouraged to share their experiences and beliefs with others, bearing witness of Jesus Christ and his works whenever possible. It is to this end that this blog exists.

I am a computer and internet consultant by profession, with over 25 year in the field. I find that the internet is one of the best communication tools in the world, for both good and evil. Today, the majority of internet traffic is pornagraphic in nature; however, good can also be found, and with much effort, the bad ignored or filtered. I encourage all to share the good that they find and promote positive uses of the internet.

It is hard to even do an internet search on a search engine these days without encountering content that, if it were rated by even the Motion Picture Industry standards, would be considered R, NC-17, or X rated. Pornography and loose standards of dress and behavior are portrayed all around us in popular advertising on all forms of media, but particularly rampant on the internet. But, the internet is also one of the best tools for sharing the word of God, and for organizing good and worthwhile pursuits. The information at our fingertips today and the ease of access boggles the mind.

I lived through the advent of the personal computer in the early 80's. I was at BYU as a student when the internet was rounding the corner from an academic research and email tool between universities and government to the commercial business to business and business to consumer tool that it is today. Before the internet's popularity, there were electronic bullitin board systems that people with computers and modems could dial into and participate in discussion groups, and file sharing. I was a systems operator (SysOp) one of these sites at BYU. It was here that I got my first taste of the true power of the coming internet. The discussion groups were powerful tools of free expression. Even at BYU however, there was already a problem of people unloading content not in keeping with the standards of that University. We did regular purges of the file upload area to remove offensive content.

An an LDS father (six children), I constantly strive to teach my family and their friends about the dangers of the internet, how to protect themselves, and how to find the good. Please share with me on this blog ideas you may have about this, and any links to good and wholesome content.

Here is an example: http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=snAjZ8mfoYw