There is a great website at https://www.lds.org/youth/for-the-strength-of-youth?lang=eng that provides inspiring messages on issues relevant to the youth today.  The messages ring true and will help our youth learn how to develop moral strength and good character.  The site also features articles, videos, and music associated with each topic.

Use the internet for good today and take a step to strengthen your rising generation.

Assuming you already have an internet connection, Skype allows you and your loved ones to carry on a conversation for free over the internet.  All you have to do is head over to the Skype web page, make sure you have the required equipment, and sign up for an account.  Your loved ones will have to do that as well.  Once your both setup, exchange your contact information and wait for that magic ringing sound.

Don’t let cost keep you from talking with family and loved ones that live far away.  Answer the call today and re-kindle those precious relationships.

Consider the possibilities…

You could watch Mormon Messages videos on Youtube for Family Home Evening – in all it’s big and flat screened goodness.

You could attach your computer to the TV and bring up a giant version of the scriptures right there on your flat screen.  Now you can all sit around in your comfy recliner’s with drink holders and do some family scripture study.

You can watch General Conference like never before with the speakers being nearly life size (well at least their heads).

The possibilities are nearly endless…

How can you use your new technology for good?

Give it some thought.

Consider opening a Google account and creating a shared Google Document as a family log or journal.  Everyone in the family can have access to input and edit what’s there.  Pictures make a great addition as well.  You can even access and edit the documents from mobile devices like Android phones, iPhones, iPad, etc.

You’ll likely have some people put in a lot, and others not very much.  But, overall, you’ll get a decent account of the history of your family for the year.  Then, you can print it off and save it in your very own family journal.

Now, when it comes time to write those Christmas cards, you can sit by a nice warm fire, smile, and chuckle to yourself.

Facebook is a great place to look for family members and contact them once you’ve found them. You can even create an account for your family so that all of your family can be friends.

Email is a basic tool but it can save you hours trying to find the latest phone numbers for people and giving them all a call. You could send letters but then there’s the cost of the stamps and it takes days to get there. You can also use email to send out occasional reminders so the family doesn’t forget.

Lastly, you can use your computer and word processor to copy and paste all of those names, birthdates, families, and details into your comprehensive list of family members. Maybe you can even use your family history software to create a pedigree of your family.

With the technology available today helping out with a family reunion can be easier than ever – though getting everyone to attend may still be a challenge.

The new FamilySearch web site is a great resource to help you identify your ancestors.  It even has some neat tools like maps and dates of significant events in their lives.  You can also easily identify if all of the temple ordinances have been completed for them.  If it hasn’t yet been done, you can arrange to do the work yourself right on the site.

Personal Ancestral File (PAF) is a program that you can download and use for free to track and keep a record of your genealogy.  This is a Microsoft Windows based tool that you can install and run on your computer even without internet access.  It will let you print your pedigree charts with many options as well as saving or editing your data.

FamilySearch.Org is another great resource that will let you search indexes and other records as well as view your pedigree and family charts.

You’ll find it very fulfilling and satisfying as you track down your loved ones from the past.  It’s amazing the things we can learn about ourselves and our families by studying our relatives from days gone by.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has provides some good resources to help parents in this battle.  With their Mormon Messages channel on YouTube, there are very uplifting and inspiring videos available to watch.  Brigham Young University has provided a great site to help their students use the internet in a good way.  This site is also a great resource for parents and families.

Using the internet has become essential in today’s educational and business institutions.  The skills to be able to avoid the bad and take advantage of the good will bless our lives.  A good article on this can be found in a previous New Era Magazine (A monthly magazine that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints puts out for the youth each month).

I have used Google Docs to share family histories with my children.  They are able to access the histories shared from  my account and even make comments on the sections they like or find interesting.  Learning about our ancestors and discovering our family history can be very fulfilling and is an important teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Another way I’ve considered using this service is to create a family newsletter.  Each person would first have to sign up for a Google account.  Then, they could all input, update, and modify their section in the family newsletter until it was complete.  Extended family members and children could also provide input into the letter to keep everyone up to date on their life events.