The bright side of Globalization

Andrew Muhlestein
Political Science 150
Professor Hawkins
5 December 2012

Blog 10: Globalization and the Church

            A great debate is raging about the effects of globalization and if they are worth their inherent costs.  While this is certainly a topic worthy of the attention it’s meriting, as a Mormon at BYU we have a slightly different take on it.  What, exactly, are the effects of globalization on the church itself?  Just as in the economic debate, there are both positives and negatives, but by and large globalization has been a force that has moved the work forward.
            In order to understand the impact that globalization has had on the church, we need to define exactly what globalization is and what it does.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “the development of an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by free trade, free flow of capital, and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor markets,” while the Globalization Website cites the definition in T.L. Friedman’s book The Lexus and the Olive Tree, which defines globalization as "[T]he inexorable integration of markets, nation-states, and technologies to a degree never witnessed before-in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before . . . . the spread of free-market capitalism to virtually every country in the world ."
           So that’s what it is, but what does it mean?  In short, where our parents had the chance to travel little, if at all, today it is easier than ever to get to anywhere in the world, to buy products from anywhere in the world, and communicate with anyone in the world.  Of course, it also means a lot of other things.  Because it is so easy to move people and capital, we face more competition than ever before in all facets of the economy.  The most competitive group wins, regardless of whether they have the same standards of safety, wages, health care, or anything else.
            It’s easy to toss this away as something that might matter to economists, and maybe when looking for a job, but certainly not for the church.  On the contrary, it has had a major impact.  On the positive side, it’s easier to send missionaries all over the world.  It’s easier to communicate with people and plan and build temples.  It’s no coincidence that President McKay’s announcement of more and smaller temples (Encyclopedia of Mormonism) and the recent announcement changing the missionary age (and thereby increasing the number of missionaries both short and long term) are coming now, as globalization extends its reach.  Never before have we been able to reach so many people with the message of the gospel, with over 55,000 missionaries already and climbing (Mormon News Room).
            Of course, there is always a cost, or to use scriptural language, there is “opposition in all things.”  Just as the church has more of a voice, so too does the opposition.  Never before have lies, misinformation, and bigotry been more easily encountered, which effect is only multiplied by the anonymous nature of the internet. 
            Yet overall, the benefits far outweigh the costs.  There has always been opposition; it is part of the plan.  But not only can we spread further across the world, we can also come closer together.  Never before has the leadership of the church been able to access so many of the followers.  Where Alma walked from city to city, President Monson can be on the other side of the globe in a single day.  Where in early times it was difficult to prevent regional doctrinal issues, and regional church identities, from cropping up, now the vast majority of the church has direct access to general conference and all of the talks and council.  The manuals of the church can be held, read, and followed in the native language of virtually every member, and the scriptures have been translated into dozens of languages with more to come.  None of this would have been possible without globalization.
            So yes, there are costs.  We are more economically interdependent then before, and more at risk from frightening people and forces in the world.  But this is a great time to be alive and a member of the church, because we have never before had the chance to do as much good as we do now.

Sources

"Facts and Statistics." Www.mormonnewsroom.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec.
            2012.http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics/
"Globalization." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.
            http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/globalization
Lechner, Frank. "Globalization Issues." The Globalization Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.
            http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Temples