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As the Church Newsroom undergoes leadership changes, I have some completely unsolicited advice for the PR team:

Stop talking so much. Please. The kingdom of God on the Earth already has mouthpieces, called Prophets and Apostles. You are not the face or the voice of the Church, they are! Help them be effective in their role.

God wouldn’t have called them to be Prophets and Apostles if He didn’t trust them to speak in public. Set them up with the biggest possible platforms on which to speak for our Savior.

I would love to read their columns in newspapers. I’d love to see them on TV more. I’d love to follow an actual Twitter feed from an actual Apostle. Enough with the canned quotes. It doesn’t have to be that hard…

“I had a fresh insight during scripture study this morning…”

“The Wasatch Front looks beautiful in the Spring.”

“We sang ‘Abide with Me’ in Sacrament Meeting today—my mother loved this hymn.”

“This Sodalicious is amazing-licious!”

“I’m in Ghana for the first time this week, and the spirit of the faithful Saints here is the best possible cure for jet lag.”

“It’s hard being old sometimes—thank you for your constant prayers.”

Anyway, you get what I mean.

I’d fully expect some of the Brethren to resist this kind of openness. Executives hate it! And that’s OK! You’re there to help them see why honesty, transparency, and humanity are so important in today’s world.

And welcome to the world of corporate communications. We’re all rooting for you, and you’re going to love it!