Brennen C. Murray, president of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Stake, opened the Saturday evening session of stake conference with a presentation on why it is important for the Saints of Pittsburgh to share their love of the gospel and Church of Jesus Christ with others.
He shared findings of a study by Gary C. Lawrence and others, "How Americans View Mormons," that found that for every American who strongly likes Mormons, almost five strongly dislike us. However, 84% of people who know five or more Mormons favor the Church, while only 16% of those who know only one Mormon favor the Church.
President Clinton D. Topham of the Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mission concluded, "We need to be 'us' more publicly!"
He shared findings of a study by Gary C. Lawrence and others, "How Americans View Mormons," that found that for every American who strongly likes Mormons, almost five strongly dislike us. However, 84% of people who know five or more Mormons favor the Church, while only 16% of those who know only one Mormon favor the Church.
President Clinton D. Topham of the Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mission concluded, "We need to be 'us' more publicly!"
So what can we do?
- State facts about the Church in casual, friendly, one-on-one conversation. Share facts about our faith, about families, and about the fruits of Mormonism. Find facts at mormon.org/faq and mormonnewsroom.org.
- Get to know more people who aren't members of the Church.
- Redefine success as simply having a positive interaction.
President Murray concluded with this counsel: "Invite our neighbors to serve with us. We need to act on what we feel. Work closely with the missionaries. Let's do our best. That's all we need to do, and we will help the Lord to hasten the work in this part of the vineyard."
