“This is a first for us,” said Stuart N. McReynolds, president of the England Manchester Mission. “We’re all in lockdown; however, despite the challenges, we felt it [was] important to continue with the devotional, especially on this Easter Sunday.”
The virtual choir was composed of more than 100 missionaries who sang the hymn “He Sent His Son” at the “Why I Believe” devotional broadcast on the mission’s Facebook page.
When Elder Adriann Torres prepared to go on a mission, he thought that it would include traditional street contacting and teaching people in person.
“I’ve always loved using technology,” said Elder Torres. “Because of the freedom that using social media gives us compared to face-to-face teaching or finding, we are able to think outside of the box and use our talents to catch the attention of those that we are connected with online.”
The online congregation consisted of people from over 20 countries throughout the world, including Argentina, Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Mexico, New Zealand, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“This first virtual devotional and the response to the posting of the missionary choir has opened our eyes to the possibilities of social media for greater reach and a more diverse audience,” said President McReynolds. “We have already started planning our May devotional and look forward to joining again with others to listen to the inspiring stories of our new members.”
To watch the devotional, click here. The meeting begins at about 00:31 on the timeline.