The algorithm is a tool of faith, BYUH students say
Across campus, BYUH students share how they successfully turn the algorithm into a powerful tool for their spirituality. While social media is part of their daily routines, these three students have discovered that reclaiming their spirituality online requires intentional efforts to sustain their personal faith.
Lionel Lui Patterson, a junior majoring in business management with an emphasis in finance from Vanuatu, expected to serve his mission in Brisbane, Australia, walking the streets, knocking on doors and sharing the gospel face-to-face. He never imagined that social media would become the primary tool for his missionary service.
Paris David, a junior majoring in Pacific Island studies and psychology from Australia, believed the algorithm was more than a time-wasting void—it was about fighting the pressure to fit into a carefully curated social media aesthetic.
Meanwhile, Angeline Flores, a junior majoring in business management with an emphasis in marketing from the Philippines, admits that mindless scrolling is second nature—a habit she actively fights through intentional consumption.
Beyond locked doors
As COVID-19 travel restrictions closed borders, Patterson was reassigned to his home country, spending a year and two months in the Port Vila, Vanuatu Mission. He split his time between the mission office and sharing the gospel through social media. After training at the Missionary Training Center, he began posting scripture messages and invitations on the mission page and his own profile.
Patterson said using social media algorithms allowed him to continue serving effectively despite long hours in the office.
It’s a powerful tool. Even though I was in the office, I could still reach out and fulfill my purpose.
Patterson recalled a specific day when a teenage girl and her brother messaged the mission page after seeing a post about finding hope in Christ through trials and struggles. “My companion and I shared how difficult moments can either pull us away from God or bring us closer to Him,” Patterson shared. “I think the post felt personal and relatable, especially for people silently going through hard times.” It turned out that the siblings belonged to a family of less-active members.
Through online conversations and later in-person visits, Patterson and his companion taught them the gospel. Patterson noted that the impact was generational: the siblings were baptized, and their grandparents returned to church.
“It strengthens my testimony that the Lord can use small efforts to do powerful things. If you look at it, it all started with a post,” Patterson said. While managing digital reach mattered, Patterson noted they had higher priorities: striving to keep Christ at the center of their content rather than chasing views.
Online proselytizing changed Patterson’s perspective on missionary work, he said. “I thought a missionary was someone who knocks on doors. But I realized we can always reach out to our brothers and sisters in so many ways.” Seeing how a post could help someone at the right moment transformed how he viewed technology. "Instead of seeing the algorithm as just a social media feature, I started seeing it as a way Heavenly Father could place uplifting messages in front of people who needed them the most," Patterson said. "Even though I was not on the street, I still shared the light of Christ."
Beyond the aesthetic
While Patterson found success, David felt sharing raw elements of her faith online was a social risk. “It is so much easier to filter out the most meaningful parts of who we are,” she explained. This hesitation led her to maintain a divided online presence across her existing profiles. On her primary account, she carefully controlled the narratives to protect her beliefs, curating a social life entirely separate from her faith. “I feel like I have to have a very certain aesthetic on Instagram, and it does not fit my church aesthetic,” David said.
This division had taken a toll, David said, leaving her feeling as though her “personalities are conflicting” across two different platforms. Posting her faith online made her feel she would be judged more harshly if her daily actions did not match her digital posts—a pressure she placed entirely on herself. “I feel like I have to uphold a certain expectation, but there’s actually none placed on me,” she noted.
All this changed while scrolling through Facebook stories, David said. She came across a quote that read, “Joy is not the absence of sorrow in your life.” The words forced her to pause and evaluate the presence of Christ in her daily life and her digital habits.
It’s tricky to navigate anyone’s faith. But our faith in God allows us to use our agency to find Him.
David used to think her digital presence needed to follow a social aesthetic rather than align with her beliefs. Realizing how this split was affecting her spirituality, she decided to change her approach: “I have allowed room for Jesus in my content,” David said. This brought a sense of authenticity and peace that no algorithmic aesthetic could replicate.
Guarding the feed
While David focuses on fighting aesthetic pressures, Flores’s spiritual battle is all about guarding her social media feed. Though her daily feed includes sports highlights and pop-culture clips, Flores intentionally balances her consumption by following major official church accounts, like Church Newsroom and individual Latter-day Saint creators. She explained this curated balance opens her mind to understanding different perspectives, and she is also aware of the dangers of passive consumption.
While digital content can reinforce belief, Flores noted it cannot replace scripture study or personal revelation. “[Digital content] will add something to your faith, but not to your personal and [spiritual] growth.” She has two simple rules: she does not open her social media at all during Sunday service, and she actively unfollows pages that spread negativity. “When I come across content that I don’t like, I block the content creator and report the content itself,” she explained.
For Flores, the algorithm is not a replacement for discipleship, but a choice. “I believe the algorithm is both a tool and a challenge,” Flores said. “It helps me feel like there is still goodness online—it’s not all toxic and bad. You just need to be very critical ... sometimes just block, report and move on.” Flores shared an important piece of advice:
Know what your principle in life is and be honest about it. If you want your algorithm to be clean, you really have to make a stand and practice self-control.