Truth Restored

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is doing a Mormon Campaign. Commercials have now aired in three test areas of the United States, each spot featuring a recent convert to the Church sharing his or her personal experiences in searching out answers to questions such as “Does my family go beyond this life?” and “Does God know me?” The Church conducted over 200 interviews for the campaign, with most of the interviewees suggested by their local Church leaders. Only a handful of people were selected to share their conversion stories on camera. Those chosen received no coaching. They were asked to simply share their answers to questions about their baptism and conversion or elements of their faith.

And guess what? We're one of the three test areas! We hear the commercials on the radio and we see them on the Television. It's so great to know that the truth is spreading!

The religion known in the past 30 years for its cutting-edge public service ads on the family has now redefined ways to share its message in a major multimedia campaign. In ads being run in three test areas throughout the United States, recent converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share their experiences unscripted and in their own words.

Journalists in the test areas have already asked if the campaign, known as “Truth Restored,” is a response to the current presidential campaign in the United States and the attendant interest in the Church because of the Mormon faith of one of the candidates. The answer to that is a decided “no.” The Church, which conceived the campaign three years ago, does not take account of political trends and emphasizes its neutrality in partisan politics. The new campaign builds on a long tradition of broadcast and print advertising by the Church, beginning with the award-winning Homefront public service series in the 1970s, which featured family-oriented themes and entertaining messages. The ads pioneered the use of public service time, which has now become an industry staple.

Scott Swofford, media director for the Church’s Missionary Department, says the ads, while successful, didn’t explain what Mormons believe beyond family values. In 2004 Church leaders put together a task force made up of industry professionals from the advertising, media, entertainment, public relations and research fields to answer the singular question, “What message does the Church want to send?”

The result, says Swofford, was a campaign based on a series of powerful questions. “Almost everyone in some point of their life reaches a point where they ask one of these great questions of the soul. Does God know me? Does He care about me? Does He have a plan for me? Where do I go when I die? Do my relationships in this life go beyond the grave? Why does God allow so much suffering?”

As the people in the ads responded to questions, they raised additional questions that they could not answer. Instead, readers or viewers were invited to look for the answers on www.mormon.org. Mormon.org not only provides information about the Church but also offers a chat function where visitors can ask questions and receive immediate answers. It’s a function that Swofford said visitors are using.

Results for the campaign won’t be compiled until next year when Church leaders will decide if it should be taken to other cities in the United States. But Elder Cook says he believes it is generating interest because the number of visitors to Mormon.org has increased significantly. Notwithstanding the final outcome, Swofford says the campaign ultimately will prove useful to the Church. “What we’ll learn is how to better speak to those not of our faith and explain what we believe,” he said.

(Look to your left. Can you see the video bar? You may have to scroll up a little, or down depending. See it? Click on the third one down and watch carefully. Cool,hu? The second one down is cool too. The top one is Elder Ballard talking about his very thing. It's interesting.)