Monday Musings: Media the great Evil???

Well, if you have noticed my recent 'tweets' you know that I spoke in church on Sunday.  I spoke in the LDS Spanish Congregation that my family and I attend.  For the very first time in my whole life I wrote out the entire talk word for word including scriptures because it was all español.  It was very challenging, but good.  I also found myself following along with my finger and reading and not just 'speaking'.

What I spoke about was the influence of media.  I wasn't able to quite express all I wanted to so here we go for Monday Musings.

I look at the media we consume much like food.  We even use the same metaphors (consume).  There is a vast amount of junk food on the internet.  Media full of intellectual empty calories.  The stuff that is out there is entertaining, fun and inviting, but leaves you feeling bloated and ultimately unsatisfied.  There is also a fair array of toxic and poisonous stuff out there, or maybe it's just rancid, spoiled and rotten.  Anyway, people can choose to consume media that if it were food would kill us.  Having said this I actually believe that people have a right to say what they want, just please respect my right not to partake.

Most importantly, though, there is literally a feast laid out of intellectual delights.  There are just so many good things available for us.   I don't mean just the great things the LDS church or other churches produce, but the simply amazing free resources that are available.  Documentaries, classes, books, literature, science, history.  There is a mountain of good media available.  Online, through Cable and Satellite and free over the airwaves.

The Doctrine and Covenants in Section 88:78-80 teach us to learn all we can:
From http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/88

78 Teach ye diligently and my ^agrace shall attend you, that you may be ^binstructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;

79 Of things both in ^aheaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must ^bshortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the ^cnations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a ^dknowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—

80 That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to ^amagnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the ^bmission with which I have commissioned you.

If we are truly to fill our missions and magnify our calling....to truly fulfill our purpose on earth we should be filling our minds with a knowledge of our world.  To do this we must seek learning out of the best books
From http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/88

 118 And as all have not ^afaith, seek ye diligently and ^bteach one another words of ^cwisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best ^dbooks words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.

Our faith and our study help us to gain the wisdom we need to fulfill our purpose.  When we study the scriptures, and modern prophets as the first foundation of our understanding of the world then all the other things we learn are understood through the lens of the gospel.  This allows us to know both what is good for us and what we should avoid as well as how to use what we experience for our good.  The concern then becomes less what media I am consuming and more how I am choosing to integrate it into my life.  Two people may read the same thing, watch the same movie, or hear the same discourse and one may choose to take offense and leave behind the fellowship of Christ, and another may choose to draw closer.

As we continue this process the time we will by our own nature and choices leave aside the poisonous and toxic, we will for the most part avoid the junk food of the media world and will consume those things that enrich our lives and fill our souls and we will be come filled with light.  We can see also that the time of merely, passively consuming media is changing rapidly into a world where each of us creates our own media to contribute to the feast.  The choices about what kind of media we consume will also affect the types of media we create.


I know that this post has gotten rather long and also rather verbose,  that happens, but I guess since no one reads this anyway it doesn't matter.

Hey, I joined the Church!!

Why, yes I do thanks!

Do you want fries to go with that shake?

Yesterday, my wife wanted a break from cooking and so did my mom (my folks live with us) So, my mom and I bundle into the car with the younger son and head out the door. Mom has coupons from Carl's Jr. and I am a sucker for a Bacon Guacomole Cheeseburger.

Mom and I sift through the coupons and I head inside to get our food. I never do the drive through with coupons. I lay out my order

1. Chicken Bacon Club with (free fries and drink)
2. Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger ($1.00 off)
3. Six Dollar Cheeseburger (free fries and drink)
4. 2 Bacon Guacomole Burgers (buy one get one free)

The cashier at the counter looks at my and in all seriousness without the slightest sense of sarcasm or humor with a straight face asks:

Do you want that to stay or to go?

Monday Musings: Zion

Well, it's been a while since I was able to make a Monday posting. I really like this blogging stuff, but still not always regular about it, but since no one is reading it anyway it doesn't make a lot of difference.

My musings today come from reading Moses in the Pearl of Great Price during Sacrament meeting. I probably should have been paying attention to people sharing their testimonies of Christ, but I was sitting there with my son who was begging to use my iPod and I told him he could only read scriptures on it and shared with him the story of Enoch the Prophet.

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/6
31 And when Enoch had heard these words, he ^abowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: ^bWhy is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people ^chate me; for I am ^dslow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?

  32 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy ^amouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good.

  33 Say unto this people: ^aChoose ye ^bthis day, to serve the Lord God who made you.

  34 Behold my ^aSpirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the ^bmountains shall flee before you, and the ^crivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore ^dwalk with me.

  35 And the Lord spake unto Enoch, and said unto him: Anoint thine eyes with ^aclay, and wash them, and thou shalt see. And he did so.

  36 And he beheld the ^aspirits that God had created; and he beheld also things which were not visible to the ^bnatural eye; and from thenceforth came the saying abroad in the land: A ^cseer hath the Lord raised up unto his people. 

 

My wife and I were reading this and noticed the power of Enoch's personality.  He was humble and maybe more than humble he was reluctant because of his own self doubts, but God gave him courage and told him that he would justify his words.  Another point that was valuable to my wife and I was in verse 35 "and he did so."  Enoch obeyed.  He became a seer to his people and in the next chapter it confirms the power he recieved.  

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/7

13 And so great was the ^afaith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he ^bspake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the ^cmountains fled, even according to his command; and the ^drivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so ^epowerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him. 

 

So great was Enoch's faith and trust in God that he preached as he was called and he and his whole city 'walked with God' and were taken up to heaven.

Pretty weighty stuff for me.  If one good man could do that, what might I do as a father, friend and citizen in my community and world?   

I was looking at this partly with and for my son because he has been reading some books about the Dragonlance world.  He talks excitedly about how cool it would be to have magic or use a mystical staff.  Star Wars and 'The Force' also fascinate him.....who isn't fascinated at least a little by to possibility of amazing powers.  What I keep talking to my son about is the power of one good life and the faith we have.