Before you watch it, consider these two powerful quotes.  “I plead with you…to please be more accepting of yourselves, including your body shape and style, with a little less longing to look like someone else. We are all different.” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Ensign, Nov., 2005).

“Clearly, Satan wants us to see ourselves as the world sees us, not as the Lord sees us, because the world’s mirror…distorts and minimizes us. Satan tells us we’re not good enough. Not smart enough. Not thin enough. Not cute enough. Not clever enough. Not anything enough. And that is a big, fat, devilish lie (Sister Sheri Dew BYU Women’s Conference, 2001).

Be who YOU really are. Be your best, but don’t worry about comparing yourself to the people in the magazine!

Is this game o.k.? Read Moroni 7:12-17

This week we received this question:  Why can’t I play violent video games?

With all the new gaming systems that people probably received for Christmas and with the continued phenomenon of on-line gaming, we thought this might be a timely question to answer and do a post on.

Perhaps a personal story from Anthony’s life would help answer the question:

“After blessing our newborn daughter, we gathered after church at my parents’ home with family and friends.  We had the customary food for all to eat, and after everyone arrived and had made small talk, we thanked everyone for coming and got ready to bless the food.  As we all quieted down and the prayer was offered, in the background we could hear two people upstairs who were playing a video game that required them to shoot each other.  They apparently had turned it on and were playing it as we waited for people to arrive, and didn’t realize that we had all gotten quiet to say the prayer.  Literally, as my grandpa was thanking God in prayer for this new gift of life that had come to us in the form of our baby daughter, we heard from upstairs “Why won’ you die!  I’m shooting you!  Die! Die! Die!”  Although it was kind of comical, it was a stark contrast to compare someone expressing gratitude for life and another screaming for murderous death at the exact same moment.  I wonder which one is more in harmony with the gospel?  Hmmm…..”

For the Strength of Youth teaches that violent video games that glorify violence “contradict the Savior’s message of love for one another.”  The prophets further teach:  “Do not participate in entertainment that in any way presents immorality or violent behavior as acceptable…Depictions of violence often glamorize vicious behavior. They offend the Spirit and make you less able to respond to others in a sensitive, caring way” (p. 17).

Although there is debate in the scientific world as to the relationship between violent video games and violent behavior, we don’t need a research study to tell us how violent video games affect our ability to be in tune with the Holy Ghost and live the Savior’s message of kindness, love, and above all, charity.  If the video game promotes the opposite of the Savior’s message, it should be clear to any Latter-day Saint  which side of the line the game falls on (see Moroni 7:12-17).

It has always been interesting to note that the man in the Book of Mormon who was perhaps the greatest warrior of all, Captain Moroni, didn’t like to kill other people: “And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed” (Alma 48:11; emphasis added).  Based off that description, it is doubtful that Captain Moroni would have played violent video games because he was a man of a sound understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and he had a respect for the sanctity of life.  Of the righteous Nephite warriors the Book of Mormon says, “Now, they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood” (Alma 48:23).  If we become more like the Nephites and Captain Moroni and not delight in shedding the blood of others—even if it is on the video screen—we will be more in harmony with the Savior’s message of love and more in tune with the Spirit of God.

This week we received the following question: “Why do we need to keep ourselves physically strong?”  In the days of summer when we are a little more concerned about our biceps and waist lines, we thought it might be good to answer this question that is connected to our physical fitness.

We know that “the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7), so our being physically fit has little to do with the Lord wanting a bunch of saints who could be on the cover of a health magazine.  Whew! In our day and age, when both boys and girls are under constant pressure to conform their bodies to an unrealistic standard of perfection, it is refreshing to know that the Lord’s command to “be ye therefore perfect” (Matthew 5:48) has more to do with spiritual muscles than physical ones.

However, the Lord does want his saints to be as physically healthy as possible.  We know this because the Word of Wisdom is entirely connected to the well being of our physical body (see D&C 89).  The Lord wants us to have “health in our navel and marrow to [our] bones” and to “run and not be weary, and…walk and not faint” (D&C 89:18,20).  However, the Lord has never given a temporal, or a purely physical commandment.  “My commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal” (D&C 29:35).  So there must be greater, spiritual reasons for the Lord desiring His saints to be physically strong/fit/healthy.  Here are a few thoughts as to what those spiritual reasons might be:

a) We know that our bodies are physical bodies are connected to our spirits: “And the spirit and the body are the soul of man” (D&C 88:15).  Therefore, we cannot do intentional harm to our physical body without negatively affecting our spirit. One reason why we need to keep ourselves as physically healthy as possible is so that our healthy body can foster a healthy spirit, and the delicate lines of revelation that pass between body and spirit can be connected without interference.  Notice that one of the blessings of the Word of Wisdom is that those who obey it will “find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge” (vs. 19).  This is speaking about eternal knowledge, eternal truth, which comes through the Holy Ghost.  In other words: keep your body physically healthy and you’ll be more in tune with the Holy Ghost.

b) We have all been sent here to earth to accomplish certain things, both large and small (Jeremiah 1:5; Abraham 3:22-23).  This requires that we live out our allotted time on earth to its potential.  It is true that to God our “days are known, and [our] years shall not be numbered less” (D&C 122:9), but we can cut them short through our disobedience and rebellion.  If we destroy our bodies through sin (both sins of omission and of commission) and are not as physically healthy as we should be, then it is possible we will not live long enough to accomplish all God sent us forth to do here on earth (see Hymn #292, O My Father).  We need to be physically fit so we can fit in all God wants us to do while we’re here on earth.

c) We need to be as fit as possible because sometimes the work of the Lord, and the moving forward of the kingdom of God, simply takes physical work and therefore physical health.  For this reason, missionaries are held to certain levels of physical fitness to meet the demands of their work.  Talk to any mother of young children and ask them if their work of nurturing God’s children is physically demanding. You thought bicep curls were so you could be “toned” and look good?  No, they are so you can pack a 25lb. lug of a kid on your arm for a few hours.  Service work of many kinds often requires physical fitness.  Someone once said that Joseph Smith was blessed with such an extraordinary physical strength simply so he could fulfill his prophetic mission–which required an obvious amount of spiritual strength but a huge amount of physical strength as well.  The pioneers are a good example of that: without their physical strength they would not have been able to endure the hardships required of them, and it is possible that many more would not have made it to the great Salt Lake valley to build the kingdom of God.

These are just a few reasons why we should strive to be as physcially fit and strong as possible.  Nothing to do with vanity, but everything to do with eternity. It is important to note that we all have different inherent levels of physical fitness and ability.  Some are tested in this life because of physical impediments, or natural genetic problems that came in their bodies.  There isn’t some ideal perfected level of physical fitness we all should be in.  That will only take place in the resurrection (can you image the beauty and perfection of a celestial body that is so glorious, the only metaphor Paul can use to describe it is the glory of the sun? see 1 Corinthians 15:40-42).  Like all things in life, we simply need to do the best with what we have been given, and make ourselves as spiritually, mentally, and physically strong as possible to do the work of the Lord in our corners of the vineyard.

How many times today have you heard music?  Think about it.  Did you wake up to music from your alarm clock?  Was it on during your drive to work or school this morning?  Did you hear it in the hallways before class?  Did you hear it in class at some point? Did you have your IPOD on and heard it when you should have been listening in class ? Or maybe your cell phone went off to the tune of a song? Did you pay attention as you walked into a store or a restaurant—because music was probably playing? What about in the background of a TV show?

The fact is, music is everywhere:  The invention of digital music has only increased the constant availability of music to the masses.  As of 2008, the latest IPOD “Classic”, with its 160 GB of storage, allows us to hold 40,000 songs in our pocket, or 2000 hours of music listening (source: http://www.apple.com/ipodclassic/) . That’s 3 months straight of music if you had really good batteries.  Never more in the history of the world have God’s children needed to understand why the music they listen to matters.

President Steven Richardson, a stake president, wanted to teach the youth in his stake about the effects of music. So he decided to do a little experiment. He put plants in different parts of his house and made sure that they got equal amounts of light and water. The only difference between the plants was the music they listened to. Plants listening to music? Yes! One group of plants listened 24 x 7 to a station that played alternative rock. A second set listened to classical music. The results? Interestingly enough, every time the plants that listened to classical music grew better and appeared healthier than those that listened to harder music.

If music affects plants, it definitely affects people. Have you noticed how music can affect how you feel? Maybe you have heard a patriotic song being played and had a feeling of national pride. Or perhaps you have been hurt and then listened to loud angry music to make the pain go away. Hopefully you have had the experience of listening to sacred music and feeling the presence of the Spirit.

One reason why the music we listen is important is that music affects how we feel, and therefore our ability to recognize the Holy Ghost. For The Strength of Youth teaches, “Unworthy music may seem harmless, but it can have evil effects on your mind and spirit” (For the Strength of Youth, 20). The prophets specifically tell us to, “Pay attention to how you feel when you are listening” to music (“Music and Dancing,” For the Strength of Youth: Fulfilling Our Duty to God, 20; emphasis added).

On the positive side, if you listen to good music it increases your ability to respond to the Spirit. An example of this is found in the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel 16. The king Saul was being afflicted by an evil spirit that was not from God. When this happened, “David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him” (JST 1 Samuel 16:23).  The effect on our feelings and the Spirit is the first reason why the music we choose to listen to matters so much.

Just a few short months after President Eyring prophesied of the torrent of sounds, sights, and sensations about to hit our youth, the first iPod was introduced to the general public. Two years later, the first video iPod came out. The youth of today are the first generation to be able to carry thousands of songs, images, and videos in the palm of their hand, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Not only have iPods blossomed, but since 2001, so have cultural phenomenons like You-Tube, Google Images, MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP , satellite radio, high-definition TV, and home theater systems. Truly a torrent of sounds, sights, and sensations has washed over this current generation like never before in the history of the world. If ever there was a need to understand why it matters so much what we watch, it is now.