When we think about New Media and Mormonism, it is tempting just to dive into the technology available in the digital age. But before getting too caught up in the tools, we should recall that Christianity itself is based upon the concept of mediation, and that Mormonism itself constitutes a new medium for Christianity.
I think these facts are terribly important to keep in mind, since it is very tempting simply to imitate how others are using new media secularly. We have a better vantage point; we can view our own uses of media as continuous with our core beliefs and our own religious history. Let me explain just what I mean by relating Mormon history and beliefs to the New Media.
It goes back to the core of Christianity. "In the beginning was the Word," John testifies, referring to Jesus Christ, who is also known as the "Messenger of Salvation," and of course, the "Mediator." Our very understanding of God Himself is in terms of communication and mediation. When we respect the Mediator, we are also respecting mediation, the use of some kind of vehicle to take us toward the divine and to represent God to us.
And of course, language and scripture are media through which we know God. The revelations upon which our faith is based came about through the discovery, translation, and publication of written records. But the religious purposes for writing are not simply through reading scripture. We Latter-day Saints also see a divine purpose and function in recording our personal lives. It helps us to build our faith as we document how God has answered prayers and seen us through hard times. And it helps our descendants and others when we leave a record of our lives for others to profit from.
This morning I was reviewing the life of my own ancestor, John Sutherland, a sailor from Scotland who lived in the 1800s. I know about him because my father wrote a family history that included him, which he derived from other written records. Now, my son is plotting onto Google Earth the travels of our ancestor, which we will in turn share with others. It will make Grandpa Sutherland's life and his sacrifices more real to us. I am grateful for the written record; I am grateful, also, for the electronic media that will bring the Spirit of Elijah more powerfully into the lives of my family in this way.
And this is the sort of trajectory we should understand when using new media. We respect the tools of language and expression precisely because they are what have brought us and will return us to God. We inherit sacred records and the sacred nature of record keeping both as a people and within our families.
We also inherit from the latter-day church a history of developing positive uses for new media. Mormonism has always used media to the fullest, from the time that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery took the Book of Mormon to the Grandin Press in Palmyra, through when Brigham Young got the telegraph into Utah, through when Heber J. Grant inaugurated LDS radio broadcasting; George Albert Smith, television; David O. McKay, movies; Spencer W. Kimball, satellite broadcasts; and Gordon B. Hinckley a great variety of audio-visual aids for spreading our faith.
The "dawning of a brighter day" about which Parley P. Pratt wrote has been illuminated over the decades by a series of different media. And now, in the 21st century, we have a few more. I plan to make the most of them, just as my ancestors have with the media at their disposal.
No comments:
Post a Comment