Elder Ronald A. Rasband took an innovative approach during the Tuesday, Sept. 15 BYU devotional by discussing religious freedom and fairness for all and then asking students to comment on his Facebook page about their respectful conversations on issues like gay rights.
'I want to hear about your experiences and the successes you are having in creating friendships with those who see life differently than you do,' the senior president of the Quorum of the Seventy said.
Students responded eagerly to Elder Rasband's social media invitation. There were dozens of comments within hours of the devotional's end and the list continues to grow.
This may be the first time a church leader has ever turned a personal social media page into a discussion board. The LDS Church has previously only used hashtags, such as #LDSconf and #LDSface2face, to generate dialogue.
A BYU student looks at Elder Ronald A. Rasband's Facebook page. Elder Rasband asked students to tell him about their experiences. (Maddi Driggs)
(Whitney Hales)