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SALT LAKE CITY — This Easter weekend will kick off with a never before seen social media blitz by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The initiative, sponsored by mormon.org, runs Friday through Sunday and consists mainly of short advertisements posted on YouTube and Facebook aimed at fostering understanding of what church members believe regarding Jesus Christ.

The church will also use Twitter and Google+ to encourage people to share their beliefs on a website created specifically for Easter weekend.

"There's no question that the Internet is where conversations are happening," said Ron Wilson, senior manager of Internet and advertising in the church's missionary department. "It is certainly where people are learning more about religion."

Wilson said the church now looks at social media as a new type of "town square": a digital representation of how missionaries once spread the church's message.

There's no question that the internet is where conversations are happening. –Ron Wilson

According to Wilson, the LDS Church is the first religion to participate in a type of advertising campaign on YouTube called "First Watch": visitors to the site on Sunday who try to view videos by partners — such as Discovery Channel or HGTV — must first watch a 15- second ad.

"They are very similar to ‘I'm a Mormon,' but it's these same people talking about their belief in Jesus Christ," Wilson said.

Wilson said the department saw Easter weekend as a perfect time to begin conversations with people in an effort to promote understanding of the church.

A 2009 survey by the LDS church found that half of U.S. adults did not "really know anything about Mormons or the LDS Church," according to Wilson.

"But that changed quite a bit for people who happened to know member of the church," he added. "Understanding of the Church and what it meant to be a Mormon was very different. They had different opinions, and their opinions were based on fact, instead of misinformation or misperceptions."

"This is an invitation to join the conversation and come talk about your feelings about Jesus on Easter."

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