Thursday, October 14, 2010

Featured Media: God's Truth Has Been Restored on Prezi

Elder Tyson Boardman was the first missionary to begin proselyting online in May 2008.   He returned home in May of this this year, but before leaving he created a valuable tool for teaching principles from the first missionary lesson.  This Prezi goes over God's pattern for revealing truth to the world, how Jesus Christ chose Joseph Smith to restore His Church, and how each of us can learn the truth of the Book of Mormon.




Boardman explained the following:
The reason I created "God's Truth Has Been Restored" is because at that time in the mission, we talked a lot about using alternative methods to teach our investigators - specifically emphasizing interactive media. Jeff Swift, the former mission leader for the Pleasant View 1st Ward, introduced us to Prezi, and so naturally being drawn to cool media sites, we talked to President Allen about using it. He assigned me to create a Prezi presentation based on the First Lesson. 
I think it's a fairly comprehensive visual aid/teaching tool, and much thought went into the presentation to subtly show what we focus on in the Church. For instance, you'll note that Christ's photo in the line of prophets is larger than all other prophets - including Joseph Smith, thus symbolizing that while all other prophets were an integral part of God's church, our ultimate focus rests on Christ. This is further emphasized by the final photo of Christ. Additionally, visually presenting a repeated pattern of "Restoration" followed by "Rejection" makes the idea that the calling of Joseph Smith was and is a natural step in God's plan of continuously calling prophets. Even the directional motion path from gospel point to gospel point was created purposefully so as to make the transition throughout the presentation as natural as possible. (ha, I guess I thought to much about the presentation). 
Typical uses for the presentation included giving it out after teaching the 1st lesson for a comprehensive review. We also shared this with those who showed promise but didn't have enough time for us to share a lesson at the initial contact. All those who I have shared this with have given positive reviews, and I think it is an appropriate way to teach the 1st lesson with all age groups.
If I must say, I think it's an excellent resource to share with any investigator (or member of the Church - having them share it with their non-member friends)!

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