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.

General searches on your project can reveal many helpful links with tips and recommendations for getting it done right. There are usually some YouTube videos available that show someone actually doing the job so you can watch how it’s done.

There are some sites which specialize in helping you as well.

Instructables is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with others.

wikiHow is a collaboration building the world’s largest, high-quality how-to manual. Eventually, it will contain accurate instructions on almost every imaginable topic as a multilingual resource.

FindHow’s Mission is to empower people to achieve success at every task, in whatever role and stage of life they are in, by simplifying and speeding access to trusted, reliable How-To content on the Internet.

eHow.com is an online community dedicated to providing visitors, like you, the ability to research, share, and discuss solutions and tips for completing day-to-day tasks and projects.

Good luck with your projects!  Now if something goes wrong, you can blame it on someone else.

Things as They Really Are – By Elder David A. Bednar Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Positive Uses of the Internet – By Elizabeth Stitt

There are some incredible resources available to see some very detailed views of places on earth.  Some of them are:

http://earth.google.com/

http://www.bing.com/maps/

http://www.mapquest.com/

http://maps.yahoo.com/

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

The fun really starts when you look at the linked photos, street views, and satellite shots.  You can really get a decent idea of what things look like and where things are located.

These maps have also proved useful when disasters have struck certain locations to help people identify the damage that has occurred.  Some archaeologists have also found the maps useful to decide where to dig and where past civilizations might have been located.

All in all, it’s a fun and educational way to spend an evening.  Have fun with it and explore the potential ways to use it for good.

Other common bad examples are cell phones going off in concerts, funerals, church meetings, and prayers.  While it’s interesting to see what someone has picked for their ring tone, it is pretty distracting to the participants of the event.

Whether it be laptops, GPS devices, MP3 players, cameras, tablets, cell phones, or whatever, it’s important that we make sure that they are being used at the appropriate time and in the appropriate way.  Elder Scott Whiting gave a message in the March Ensign about Digital Detachment and Personal Revelation.  His message emphasises the importance of using technology wisely and turning it off when it is time.

Part of using technology for good is knowing when to use it, where to use it, and when to turn it off.  When we are in control and use these devices appropriately, we can avoid embarrassment and help keep the Spirit in our lives.

When you get to the book and chapter that you’re interested in reading, notice in the upper left hand corner the link to listen (written in the language you have chosen).  If you click this you will be able to listen, or download the audio of that passage of scripture.  Both reading and listening will allow you to learn about the pronunciation and language structure.

There are many resources available for learning languages online.  Don’t pass up the valuable, and free, resources found at http://www.lds.org.

Some of the podcast sites that I’ve found useful are:

University and College podcasts:  http://www.openculture.com/2006/10/university_podc.html.

The Educational Podcast Network:  http://epnweb.org/.

Podcast.com Channels  http://education.podcast.com/

There are even more sites if you just do an internet search.

Remember, in all your learning, to learn more about the truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the purpose of life, and the teachings of the living prophets. You can find many of these podcasts at http://podcast.lds.org.

Give yourself a treat and learn something new, or learn more about something in which you’re interested.  There’s never been a better time.

We have K9 installed on the “kids” computer (http://www1.k9webprotection.com/). (It actually makes a barking noise if a site is accessed that is not allowed) It has worked pretty well and lets you type in a password to override the settings for any given web page.  We have customized it a little bit to allow some sites (like Facebook).  It locks out the internet after so many blocks in so much time.

Probably the simplest and most effective protection we have used is to put our computer out in the open and have a password to unlock it.  Sometimes it is a pain but if we have to log them in, then we know when they are on and can keep track of what they are doing (because we are around).  We have the computer set to lock when the screensaver kicks in.  Sometimes we turn this off when somebody has to do homework while we are gone or something.

On the “parents” computer I have Privoxy installed (http://www.privoxy.org/).  This is basically a proxy that the internet traffic goes through.  It blocks most of the ads and junk that I don’t want to see anyway.  It helps from accidently coming across something I didn’t want to see.

Another tool that we use on both computers is the Firefox browser with the add-ons of Adblock Plus (http://adblockplus.org/en/) and NoScript (http://noscript.net/).  Adblock Plus will block the ads and will also let me right-click on any image and block it so that I don’t have to see it.  This works good if there is a certain image that keeps showing up that I don’t like (e.g. somebody’s profile picture in a blog).  NoScript prevent scripts from running unless you allow them.  It can be a bit of a pain to “allow” all of the good sites but after awhile you’re pretty well set and are more protected visiting new sites.

The last thing we use on the “parents” computer is OpenDNS (http://www.opendns.com/).  We have the single computer set up to use OpenDNS but you can also set this up on the router so that all the computers will use it.  Signing in on their website (it’s free) allows you to set up filtering options to block the types of sites that you don’t want.  When any application requests a web page (like www.google.com) it goes to OpenDNS (instead of your internet providers DNS service) to convert it to the IP numbers (like 208.67.216.231).  If an application requests a page that falls into a blocked category, OpenDNS will just return their generic web page instead.  This has been helpful to block bad or unwanted pages that you didn’t mean to go to.

Probably your best option is to try out the different choices and keep and use what works for you.

First of all, there is the “Prepare a Talk” section on the website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Here you can look up many gospel talks and have easy reference to General Conference talks and the scriptures.  Each of these topics has a discussion about the topic, scripture references that would apply, Church magazine articles, and other materials that are available online.

If you don’t find all that you need in the “Prepare a Talk” section you can use the Search box on the front page of the Church’s main site.  This will bring up many (sometimes hundreds or thousands) of references and talks that would apply to your topic.

Finally, check out the “Ten Tips for Terrific Talks” article.  You’ll get some great ideas on how to make that talk really come together.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has a web page that lets you listen to some of their songs and learn about future events and concerts.  You can also find many of their music videos on YouTube.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has a great page on music that will not only let you listen to and download church hymns and other songs, but also let you learn about music, directing, and accompanying.

You can also find other websites that will let you download good positive music legally and free.

With all of these great resources available, we should be able to find ample good and uplifting music to fill our listening time.