"Mere Entertainment"

I feel like I should move forward with my talking about General Conference talks. Now that I know a way to increase my faith and trust, I'm going to implement it faithfully, perhaps religiously, as much as I can, for as long as it takes to see whether it's working. In the meantime, there are other topics of great importance that I should write about. The trouble is that I don't really have any thoughts about the next few talks that I feel I can share here. Maybe I should just skip those talks? Or maybe I should talk about something else for now.

You've heard of EFY, I'm sure. EFY stands for Especially For Youth. It's some kind of Mormon Youth Camp, I think. I've never actually been there. All I really know is that they produce CDs with gospel-themed music, and that that music can really help if you're trying to focus your mind on spiritual matters. I'm sure this must have helped me a lot on my mission, without my even realizing it. Now, I've felt my faith waning, and perhaps that's because I'm spending so much less time thinking about spiritual things. My entertainment has been far from gospel-related. This morning, I was feeling especially distracted, and I knew the EFY would help me refocus.

But even refocussing wasn't enough. I still couldn't think of what to share or how to share it, so I'm sharing a message about EFY instead.

President Boyd K. Packer shared a message called Worthy Music, Worthy Thoughts, wherein he said that music can direct thoughts in the mind like water in an irrigation channel. Uplifting music and, if I may broaden the topic, entertainment can lead us closer to God. Other forms of entertainment can cause us to plateau in our spiritual development, or even backslide, depending on what we watch, read, and listen to.

The talk whose message I've been struggling to share is Elder David A. Bednar's talk about the Law of Chastity. It's a difficult topic, and he uses some very bold and specific language, making it difficult to draw any message from his talk than exactly the message he intended to share. However, there's a paragraph in his talk in which he says, "Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly."

What some people may see as "harmless entertainment" can actually be devastating and destructive to the soul. There's so much violence, sex, and bad language in the media and in the world around us. Many people are being affected by it without even realizing it, just as I was affected by EFY without my knowledge.

As with many things, entertainment and media can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how, how much, and when it's used. Use it wisely, and it can be an uplifting and inspiring influence for good. Use it unwisely, and it can hold you back and pull you down. According to Elder Bednar, the same is true about physical intimacy. If it's used at the right time, with the right person, for the right purpose, it can be a very positive thing. Used in any other way, it can break hearts and stain souls.

I suppose the moral of this message, then, is to pay attention to what's going on around you. What do you watch, read, listen to, and think about when you get a spare moment? Where are those forms of entertainment taking you? Do they bring you closer to God or pull you farther away? Are they making you stronger or weaker? Better or worse? (And if you think 'neither,' you may want to check again.)

Satan is very good at taking something dangerous and making it look harmless. Sometimes, only God knows how dangerous something is, while everyone else thinks it's fine. Like tea. I don't know why tea is against the Word of Wisdom, but God does. Perhaps we ought to take His word on it, trust Him, and not drink it. Maybe we'll find out later what God knew all along. And same-sex marriage. Many people think there's nothing wrong with it. Personally, I would be okay with letting it be a personal choice, meaning that individuals would be allowed to participate in it, but other individuals shouldn't be forced to recognize it. But I take my political advice from someone who's a LOT smarter than I am. If He says it's not okay... I'm just going to have to trust Him on that.

Maybe I trust God more than I thought.

Life is full of choices. Some choices are really hard to make, some are seemingly inconsequential. God knows what's best for us, and He advises us to the extent that we listen to Him. If we follow His advice, even in the small matters of what music we should listen to, He can help us make the choices that will bring us closer to Him.