There are good reasons why the Church doesn’t just have a list of approved things to watch, read, and listen to.
10952_000_017 Here’s an imaginary conversation. See if it feels familiar.
“Hey, Joe. How’s it going?”
“Hey, Tyler. I’m doing all right.”
“Did you see that episode of Junior Varsity Superspy last night?”
“Uh, no …” [Joe starts to feel a little uncomfortable because he always thought that show had content that was against Church standards, and Tyler is his quorum president.]
“It was awesome. I love that show. It’s way better than Rich Kids with Issues. That just has way too much swearing and too many bad scenes. Don’t you think so?”
“Uh, well …” [Joe feels even more uncomfortable because that show is actually one of his favorites and he never thought it had that much bad stuff in it.]
If you can relate to any of this, then you may be able to see why some teens kind of wish the Church would just come out with a regularly updated list of approved media so that it’s clear to everybody what’s OK and what’s not OK.
There are a few reasons why this would never happen. First of all, keeping up a list of TV shows, movies, songs, books, and so on, everywhere and in every language, would be pretty much impossible. But more importantly, the Church is following a fundamental rule that the Prophet Joseph Smith expressed this way: “I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves” ( Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 284). Correct principles, not hyper-detailed lists of do’s and don’ts, allow us to exercise our agency and become familiar with how the Spirit guides us. There are greater blessings in this than in being “compelled in all things” (see D&C 58:26–29).
In addition, a list of approved media would distract us from the heart of the gospel, where our focus should be. In other words, it would be pharisaical —meaning “like the Pharisees,” the people in Jesus’s day who “[paid] tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and … omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith” (Matthew 23:23). They were so caught up in the outward minutiae of what they considered winnie the pooh episodes to be God’s law that they gave no thought to the “weightier matters”—the true principles that can sink into our hearts and help us draw near to God and make good decisions.
So, what are principles, anyway? Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has explained: “Principles are concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of circumstances. A true principle makes decisions clear even under the most confusing and compelling circumstances. It is worth great effort to organize the truth we gather to simple statements of principle” (“Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 86).
For instance, For the Strength of Youth says this about entertainment and media:
“Choose wisely when using media because whatever you read, listen to, or look at has an effect on you. Select only media that uplifts you.
“Satan uses media to deceive you by making what is wrong and evil look normal, humorous, or exciting. He tries to mislead you into thinking that breaking God’s commandments is acceptable and has no negative consequences for you or others. Do not attend, view, or participate in anything that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in anything that presents immorality or violence as acceptable” ([2011], 11).
These are principles you can apply when you’re thinking about whether to download a song or watch a movie. “But,” you may ask, “if I haven’t seen it or listened to it yet, how can I know if it’s OK?” Well, that’s one of the great things about the information age, actually. There are lots of websites, apps, and other resources that can give you the relevant information about the content of movies, songs, books, or other media. So do just a little bit of homework and you’ll be able to make an informed choice in line with these principles.
So, instead of thinking, “Does kung fu panda legends of awesomeness the Church disapprove of Vampires in Lust II? ” you might instead think, “How will this affect me? Does it invite the Spirit? Is it uplifting? Does it make evil look normal? Is it vulgar or violent?” and so on. These guiding principles can place your focus on the “weightier matters” and help you govern yourself by making good decisions. And there’s power in that.
Note: Back to that conversation between Tyler and Joe—when you’re in a situation like that, you may be tempted to criticize the media choices of others. But it’s probably best to hold off on doing so unless the Spirit prompts kung fu panda legends of awesomeness full episode you to.
More on Entertainment and Media For videos, articles, and more on entertainment and media, go to lds.Org/go/mediaNE12.
Hindsight , which finishes its first season tonight, depicts an intense female friendship — I'd categorize it more as Angela and Rayanne than anything else, with the "good" one and the "wild" one, though naturally it's not that simple. That show is charming as hell: Our heroine Becca finds herself somehow back in 1995, and she gets to make all of her choices once more. Her biggest regret about her current (well, future) life is the end of her friendship with Lolly, and that looming crisis is the central drama of the show. Pssst, Becca, buy some stocks. Now, sure, at first, 30 shows a week sounds like a large number. But it's really not: Let's assume that's 15 hour-long shows and 15 half-hour shows. But those shows are really more like 44 and 22 minutes each, assuming you fast-forward through commercials on a DVR, which leaves us with about 16 and a half real hours of TV a week. Around two hours a day, on average, of TV. To many people, that's a tremendous amount. I'm guessing for most Stay Tuned readers, that's not much after all. For me, this is certainly basically Amish. Tell your boyfriend to mind his own business. If he wants to spend more time with you, or he feels neglected or ignored or whatever, or he thinks you're not maintaining your fair share of the household, that's a different conversation. But there's no one allowable amount of TV to watch, and if watching shows is how you want to spend your time, that's around you. You're a TV enthusiast — why wouldn't you want to watch TV? Is that braindead half-hour of semi-sleep better spent, what, listening to sports talk radio or something? back, Kristina's boyfriend. I started thinking about the rarity of true female friendship on TV and if there are any left now that Ann and Leslie (and hell, even Robin and Lily, who at minimum tackled some real issues like "what happens when one of us has a baby") exist only in syndication. Will Seinfeld ever be back than it TV? I just get frustrated by the futility of life some times. —SC Orange Is the New Black portrays a range of female relationships, some so true you could navigate a ship by looking toward them, while others so fraught and dangerous that people finish up beating the shit out of each other. There are many things to love and treasure about OITNB , and its devotion to exploring the kinds of bonds women form with one another is high from it list. Broad City focuses on one particular friendship, and in its own hilarious and original ways makes it clear that when these people look back on their 20s, this will have been the defining love. Jobs come and go, dildos melt in dishwashers, dogs tie the knot and divorced. Get yourself a buddy then hold on tight for dear life. Are there any other shows out there that can I can watch to start filling that void? Are there any other Paris and Rory friendship arcs out there for me to invest in and appreciate a greater number of with each viewing? Where my ladies at? —JG
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét