Facebook Haves and Have Nots

Just an observation here. Most of the priesthood leaders in my ward tend to avoid Facebook, and do not have a presence on the ward Facebook group. That tends to isolate them from the ward membership, especially the younger members who use Facebook on their cell phones, and are constantly in touch. This has an interesting effect on ward communications, especially concerning events and late-breaking changes to those events.

It will be interesting to see if the new Gospel Living app affects ward communication.

Unfortunately, now that Gospel Living is out, only 5 members of my unit have used the circles to communicate. I have never been called to leadership so I can’t say I ever felt isolated, but the Gospel Living app has not made me feel less isolated either. Everyone I contact gets reminded of the fact that it exists and we should use it more.

Gospel Living has its own weaknesses – not everyone has an Android or iOS smart phone, there's no web portal for participating in circles, and there's no system for Gospel Living messages to be forwarded to a phone number or email address. So the same problem exists where not everyone is available on the same channel. For anything important, multi-channel communication is essential.

I believe there will never be a one-size-fits-all for a worldwide church. Each unit (ward or branch) will need to customize their communication based on the needs/abilities of their members. Most likely it will have to be a blended approach in most units with a mix of old and young members. "The problem with the man who is good with a hammer is he tends to see every problem as a nail." I believe leaders are responsible to figure out how to communicate with the members, not the other way around. Stake, Ward and Branch leaders need to develop various tools that they can use as needed, just as a good mechanic has different tools for the different things that need attention. That is how the Savior worked - He met individuals on their level and worked with them to bring them up - He never required anyone to meet Him on His level...