Elizabeth asked:
Brother John and others – if any of you feel inclined to answer and discuss, I want to pose this question: What level of Babylon do you feel is appropriate to let into your life, your home, and to partake of? As I have progressed spiritually over the years I am led to try and cast out every ounce of Babylon that is within my control – including and especially TV, media, music, etc. Of course I don’t put any absolutes on my family members, meaning that my children can watch some shows/movies if they are wholesome. Personally I usually do not have time to watch even wholesome TV. The couple hours of free time I have per day I am prone to spend on spiritual study. But I pose this question because I see so many saints and family members moderately or heavily partaking in Babylon and not seeing anything wrong with it when balanced against their daily prayers, scriptures, and weekly Church and temple attendance. What do you think is appropriate? Living in the world can sure be hard at times.
This really is a weighty matter. It is something we all face, and which most of us over-indulge in. I have an opinion on this subject, but want to hear your thinking before I share mine.
What say you?
Brother John
UnBlogmysoul 
Heather’s and the Brashears’ responses resonate for me. Nephi told us that the spirit will tell us all things whatsoever we should do. I think extremes are dangerous and harmful for many reasons and so would rather be led by the spirit to change as part of my growth process. Pres Benson simply pointed out that things in life tend to happen in a process.
Thank you everyone for contributing.
LikeLike
I don’t think that things are so black and white so as to be the Church or Babylon, in other words, I believe that the Light of Christ operates with people and inspires them both in and out of the Church. I have heard many songs, read a number of books, and even watched a few movies that I knew were inspired and yet those so inspired were not members of the Church.
I remember pondering this very thing a few years ago and it seemed overwhelming to me. I thought that if I followed the Savior I would have to give up so many things all at once. I remember praying about it and I heard the voice of the Spirit and the answer I received I knew was true.
He told me that it wouldn’t be anything like I feared. He told me that He would put my focus on things that were so desirable to my soul that I would let go of the things of the world almost without thinking about it, because they would no longer be desirable to me.
I also felt that when I came to my Savior I would have to let go of sin all at once. It seemed scary to me because I didn’t feel up to that challenge, and once again He enlightened me. He told me that as a person draws closer to Him He doesn’t take them out of sin all at once, but rather, He leads them out of sin gently as they’re able to handle it. Like in the allegory of the olive tree where the Lord didn’t clear away the branches that bore bitter fruit all at once, but removed the bitter as the good grew.
I am convinced that if we put our focus on Christ He will not cause us to dwell on those things that we have to give up, but rather, He will put our focus on things that build a desire stronger than the things of the world. Additionally, as we follow Him, He will lead us line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, and we will not be in danger of running faster than we have the strength.
The Lord knows me perfectly, and He knows how to lead me out of the world in a way that is not overwhelming to me. I believe the best and truly the only way to leave Babylon is to let Him lead us out rather than trying to run out of it ourselves.
Brother D.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great topic, very pertinent. I grew up in a house where the tv was on constantly. We weren’t churchy people so we watched all kinds of things. In college there was no time for tv and also finding the gospel, in time it became completely uninteresting. Haven’t watched tv in 25yrs. Don’t know what’s on and don’t care. My teenage kids don’t either. We do Netflix though. They keep ordering flicks like My Fair Lady. That’s my wife’s doing.
We were doing youth baptisms once and a random young man joined our group. I greeted him, he was polite and reverent. Soon we could notice the youth just a little more giddy than usual, especially the young women. One of the other adults approached me and pointed to the young man and asked me if I knew who that was. I said no, I hadn’t got his name. He said that’s David Archuleta. I said who’s that? I thought maybe he was the worlds youngest GA or something. Neither my wife kids or I knew who he was. We googled him to find out. It was neat he came to the temple. He has some pleasant music. My point is we are getting by quite fine not knowing about such things. Some random thoughts:
Wrt cable tv. We pay a fee to have garbage hauled away from our homes. Why pay even more to have it delivered into your living room. Try cancelling cable and giving the money to fast offering.
Wrt music, Josh Groban is a gift from God. Although his latest album left lot to be desired, but nobody is perfect. There are others along these lines
See Isaiah 33, the whole chapter is great, but wrt this subject, note those
who shall ‘dwell with Everlasting Burnings’, among other things, who
‘stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil’.
So how much of Babylons media? As little as possible in my opinion.
LikeLike
I agree with the wonderful comment of Brother C. This is a gradual process. As we come unto Christ, the desires for the things of the world diminish. Unfortunately, our spouses or children are not always progressing at the same level.
I have felt the worldly desires decrease in my life over the past several years. My family has noticed it and they are very respectful. Although they have not eliminated many TV programs or DVDs, I have seen a change come over them. They definitely screen TV programs and movies for me. Additionally, they are slowly starting to eliminate worldly things from their own lives.
I am patient and know that we are all progressing. The influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a wonderful thing. I have always felt and taught that putting off the natural man is really not that difficult or overwhelming. If we simply strive to put God first and heed the promptings of the Spirit, we slowly become changed. This process is so natural it is hard to put into words. These changes become part of our Being and we relish them.
LikeLike
Brother John
Thanks for the probing question about how much of Babylon we should be willing to engage in. It seems to me that we, Latter-day Saints, fall into the same trappings that most, if not nearly all saints have fallen into throughout the history of man, which is to become complacent and fail to see things how they really are, as opposed to how they can or should be. In other words, it’s VERY easy to loose focus on the weightier spiritual concerns and promised blessings, ESPECIALLY when we belong to the Lord’s true and living church and have no real issues in our lives. In short, we become more complacent than we should in our relationship with God and become more familiar with the gifts of Babylon.
Allow me to explain with a little greater detail. Because we know God loves us, it’s easy to feel “OK” or “GOOD” about our relationship with Him. We have no serious sins in our lives and we attend church every week and even attend the temple on a fairly regular basis–we are a good people. And because we are basically doing and serving in the church on a regular basis we have a strong tendency to become complacent in our spiritual growth–thinking all is well with us. We rest the scriptures, rather than becoming a scriptorians, and we so FILL our lives with the “good” things of Babylon that we have little strength or energy at the end of the day to attempt a higher spiritual altitude. At the end of our day we just want to relax and/or be entertained. Consequently, we keep hovering around the same spiritual altitude we feel most familiar and comfortable with, and because of this, Babylon has a very strong tendency to pull us away from a MUCH higher spiritual altitude(into a carnal security)–especially that of seeking to behold the face of God. Today, there are even members of the Lord’s true and living church who think this blessing isn’t possible–at least not in their personal lives. So, consequently, we allow ourselves the luxury of relaxing and getting somewhat lost in the good and fun gifts of Babylon, and we often fail to strive for the MUCH GREATER spiritual gifts and blessings, i.e. dreams, visions, and even beholding the face of the Lord.
The choice is ours! Do we just want to be known as the “good people of the Earth” or do we want to be considered “VALIANT” IN OUR TESTIMONIES OF JESUS?
These are my thoughts!
LikeLike
I must be the most wicked of the un-blog. Being in an unequally yoked marriage makes this an incredible struggle for me. There are times I fully participate in Babylon to avoid contention and strife. It is a balance of what choice will dispel the influence of the spirit longer. There are so many things I want to leave behind, but can’t without growing apart from my spouse. So far all counsel has directed to cleave to my spouse. I guess I’ll have to trust that and dream of the day we can flee Babylon together.
For those that for some reason can’t flee yet, I’ld like to share a story. I felt prompted to start playing video games with my teenage son. Strange yes, but I reasoned I needed to enter his world so I could help him see the “real” world. I started to really enjoy it. I justified that I was learning basic combat skills, that might help my family one day. I got a little lost in the mists. Suddenly I realized that I could choose to learn to fight or I could choose to learn and teach my son to be truly “bullet proof”. Seeking Zion was the only real protection and why I started playing with him in the first place.
So for those of us currently stuck in Babylon, keep trudging towards Zion. We may be moving more slowly and we will probably be late to the party, but I have a feeling it will be worth it.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.
LikeLike
I think it is fantastic you played video games with your son. Sounds like the Zion “party” is already at your house. You’re not late at all in my opinion. And probably ahead of most. I would keep playing with him. Job one in building Zion is learning to love with a perfect love in our own homes. Spending enjoyable time together, even if it is trivial, lays a great foundation for trust. It opens opportunities to discuss the weightier matters.
I have a neighbor who served as a mission president years ago. While serving, he attended an important meeting with a bunch of other mission presidents where they were asked what the single most important thing they had done in their mission areas was. Every other president listed off tracking programs, training, etc. My neighbor told the questioning general authority that he had hung a tire swing from a tree in his front yard for his kids. He loved to push them. The general authority was so pleased with his answer that he flew out to his mission home to visit the swing (and the kids and the doting father, of course!).
As we learn these amazing principles of Zion, we should never lose sight of the fact that the whole point is love. We’ll get to Zion by loving each other and by being loved by Christ. This to me is far more important than where to draw the line on Babylonian media. Besides, no matter how strictly I draw the line, I am still in the world. The stuff still creeps in. Rather than feeling guilty and scurrying to block every bad influence, I am trying, trying, trying to let Christ’s love shine through me and outshine anything bad. (Easier said than done some days!)
One other thought: I truly believe that those who feel the most behind and the most broken in life are often so much further along the path than they realize. I often think they are leaving the rest in the dust!
LikeLike
In matters concerning babylon, i think there is an immense difference between the things we think are in our way and the things that REALLY are in our way. It is often the nature of human beings to assume the right to step in to their own lives , enforce thier own will and make thier own decisions about what to remove and what not to. In my opinion, this is often the first wrong step, i have been guilty of taking the first wrong step on several occasions.
I agree with what cheyenne has written, that in allusion to the allegory of the olive tree that you cannot rid yourself of everything all at once. In the book of Mosiah, it is said that You should not run faster than you have the strength to do so. I also agree that it is by the Saviors divine grace, will and power that he will show each one of us the way to not only recognize what really is in the way, but give us the power to eradicate that out of our lives that simply does not belong.
In my own life the Savior has opened many doors, and because of those doors and because of his power alone i have overcome some of the dark mechanisms of babylon, and of which i can bear personal testimony that iam beyond TV, Beyond Video Game play addiction, beyond many of those things. But it was not because i thought that the TV itself or any of those things were necessarily evil, or that i had to overcome it by my own strength. It was simply by realizing that i simply wanted nothing to do with those things because he opened gateways to things that were better, that caused me to simply drop unecessary desires out of my heart.
I believe it really is that simple, that as we continually lean upon the Savior and follow his direct commands to each of us that we cannot go wrong. He will direct what is wrong and right in our lives, he will show us what to throw away, he will tell us when to sacrifice, he will tell us when not to sacrifice and he will even tell us when to simply wait upon him to deliver. But one thing iam sure of is that most of that, we dont have to worry about. The main concern is coming to him and counseling with him every day, remembering him and if you forget then remember him again, and as he sees fit he will change each one of us according to his will and according to when it is in our best interest and for our best spiritual outcome.
I do not think he expects one decision to be made all at once, I think he simply expects us to remember his love that he has for us and remember the power that he has to redeem us, and to be willing for that power to work in our behalf by sacrificing our will when he directs. The other day while reading i thought much along these lines and was thinking about all of these things i had to give up, and upon reading two very spiritual books the Savior gently used the spirit to enlighten upon my mind two main lies that satan has been telling me, after teaching me the lies, i did not know of these lies but could admit honestly to them when uncovered.
I then wondered in myself how these two lies might be eradicated and i asked him from within myself, i then heard a very simple and comforting voice in my mind and heart tell me. All you need to do is focus upon me, come to me and i will unstruct you on how to remove these lies and pay attention to only these two for now and then we will move on to the next ones. I know that this was from him, and i know that all i have to do is remain faithful to coming to him, depending upon the spirit to teach me how to listen, and then when the command and the teaching comes, follow it and walk through the door that he The Savior will open for me, i have no doubts in this, even as i live and even as my faith in him is strong, my praise be to him forever and eternally , amen.
LikeLike
I don’t think that this is a concern that we should worry about; I feel what we should concentrate on is coming unto Christ and supplicating the Father in the name of Christ for everything that we stand in need of, taking all of our concerns, desires, weaknesses, hopes and dreams, fears, and sins to Christ.
The prophet Ezra Taft Benson said ” When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives.” (Ensign, May, 1988)
To me, this statement speaks volumes about the power of God and the grace of Christ; notice how natural he makes things seem when we put God first, the prophet says that things “fall” into their proper place or “fall” out of our lives all together. To me this seems like God changes our nature and our desires to match His as we come to Him. We don’t stop doing things or get rid of things by our own grudging willpower, we just simply don’t desire the things we did before, and because we don’t, they fall out of our lives.
I feel it is dangerous to try to rid things out of our lives without waiting upon the Lord. As we seriously councel with the Lord, he will give us of His goodness and grace, and the bad will clear out of our lives as the good within us grows. A scripture that illustrates this perfectly is, Jacob 5:65-66. This scripture states:”And as they(the branches) begin to grow ye shall clear away the branches which bring forth bitter fruit, according to the strength of the good and the size thereof; and ye shall not clear away the bad all at once, lest the roots thereof be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my vineyard….wherefore ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow, that the root and the top may be equal in strength, until the good shall overcome the bad, and the bad be hewn down and cast into the fire….and thus I will sweep away the bad out of my vineyard.”
One other scripture that I love that seems appropriate is Hebrews 13:20-21, it states: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, WORKING IN YOU that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
I feel that we shouldn’t be slothful because of the easiness of the way, but that we should be diligent in coming unto Christ, and seek Him always. I also feel however, that as we come unto Him that we should wait upon Him and His grace to appear; if we always remember Christ and let our thoughts and feelings be directed towards Him, His Spirit will be with us and He won’t let us fall.
Sorry this is so long, Brother C.
LikeLike
One way my wife and I have ‘controled’ babylone to some extend is by buying a HDD recorder. we pre-record ‘clean’ programs and even cartoons for our kids and watch them in their free time. For years now we have only watched the news (withoug commercials), some clean cartoons, and no movie at all. we buy clean dvd of movies we know to be family oriented, such as the ones produced by Walt Disney. Maybe one day we’ll have sufficient faith and strength to cut off everything:).
LikeLike
My Life has been a spiritual tug of war with “Me” on one side and “Me” on the other. Like many of you I tried to cut out the various media with no luck. It wasn’t until the Lord led me to true repentence that I have been learning and growing to follow the spirit. I asked the Lord once about this very question and what he said to me was ” You can come to me as fast or as slow as you are willing to let go.”
The Key is now he is leading me and making it easy for me to let go. Like Father Lehi when he was led into, through, and out of the wilderness. He is leading us as we are willing to follow out of babylon and into the wilderness. This is where he lowers us to the depths of humility and we continue to shed babylon.
The day he took the disire for babylonian media out of me it felt so great. I decided to go buy an Ipod nano and then put all the church media I could find on it, hymns, general conference, old and new devotionals, and ces firesides just to mention some. Now I have always a conduit for the spirit in my ear as I work. I used to study at home but at work my mind was far from the lord just because I was so busy but now I rejoice even at work.
The Lord has given me so much Love in my heart for everyone. I love you all.
Until next time,
Brother G
LikeLike
I didn’t understand the effects that television and music had on me until I went without for awhile. When I was a kid I didn’t understand why it was important to have good friends, live the word of wisdom, and most of the other basic commandments until I was obedient to those laws. When I think about how much I have learned from being obedient to the basic commandments, it boggles my mind to think about how much there is to learn by being obedient to the spirits promptings in my everyday life. I cant tell you how many time I have heard the spirit to turn off the television, or radio. But until I actually did, I never understood how that junk effected the way I am as a person. I never understood how little I would think about the important things because T.V and radio are so distracting. The scriptures cant contain everything that we should or shouldnt do. But I know that he has provided a way for us to know. I feel that everytime we sacrifice something that we think we love for the Lord, he replaces it with knowledge, joy, love, and many other gifts of the spirit. But we wont understand until the trial of our faith.
LikeLike
I’ve found that less Babylon is always better, as far as I am concerned. I am quite happy to leave it behind.
However, for me, it gets tricky when you bring children into the picture.
We don’t have TV, we don’t listen to secular music, we don’t celebrate Halloween, and we homeschool our kids. And I really think that a lot of people in our ward think that we are “ruining” our kids because they are so sheltered that they’ll never “fit in” with society.
So I struggle sometimes. How much exposure do our kids need to Babylon in order to be able to navigate the world successfully?
LikeLike
I know I’m entering this conversation separated by time and space, but I’m on the same page as you, Pondering. My wife and I wonder how we are to deal with our homeschooled children as they get older and want to see what the world has to offer. It seems to me that if we can wrap them in the Spirit when they are young, they will remember that, and will come back to that spiritual state after they have seen the world’s offerings. Also, I hope and pray that the “strangeness” of our children will be like the strangeness of John the Baptist, who the people all regarded as a prophet. Regardless, I think The Lord makes up the difference for spiritual misfits, and provides opportunities and advantages for them that allow them to function well in the Babylon around them. I think we need to continue to feed our children the sweet goodness of the spirit, and shelter them, as much as possible, from the degrading influence of Babylon, until they have the spiritual tools to stand for Christ in all things and places.
LikeLike
I hope to share my experience with a desire to help.
Not so long ago I had many, many songs on a computer program and the device to also download those songs to have them wherever I went. The music that I had was a great source of pride for me and (I didn’t know it at the time) but it was drenched in Babylonian ideals.
My husband had just bought a set of cd’s with church hymns and had felt that the other music didn’t need to be on our computer with the sacred hymns of God, so he erase them all. When I found out I was terribly upset, so much so that I yelled, “No!” and other things. My husband seemed to be caught off guard by my behavior, and quite frankly so was I, that he agreed to put my music back on if he could. My behavior was so apphauling that I decided to go to the Lord in prayer and it was revealed to me why I wanted to keep the music and how it was affecting me spiritually. While the Lord reasoned with me he also enabled me to let go.
My husband, bless his heart, was happy to hear that I was willing to give it all up. We have been greatly blessed too, we have been able to replace all that music with things that are uplifting like CES Firesides, General Conference talks, as well as beautiful music that invites the spirit.
I have found from my own experience that the closer I draw to Christ the further I am from Babylon. I know the Savior evites and entices us to come forth out of spiritual Babylon to come to Zion. I feel that for me, I can’t have one foot in both. I know that as we desire to come to Christ he will enable us to let go of all the things that keep us from Him, in His own time and in His own way and he also gives us the strength to never look back.
LikeLike
I appreciate hearing everyone’s perspective on this. Personally, I feel that if I am seeking the Lord’s face in this life, and trying to purify myself to become like Him and be worthy of His presence, I have to cast out all Babylon from around me. I don’t crave or desire any worldy media. It isn’t much of a tempation for me. But, it is still hard to live in the world and be amongst family and friends and not be exposed to it. Are we not to be out serving and bearing witness to others? Though I want to live apart from the evils of the world and spend all my time in nature, with family, and studying the Lord’s word, I feel I am called to do more and interact with those out in the world, to be a light to them.
LikeLike
What portion of Babylon is permitted in Heaven–Celestial?
LikeLike
As in all things, follow the Spirit. When I feel a loss of Spirit, I avoid that stuff, whatever it is. If I am in a situation where I don’t have as much control over what is going on, and leaving is not a good option, I focus on BEING with people and loving and serving, then I can ignore the crud. It usually get others away from the yuck too!
LikeLike
I have struggled with this my whole life, swinging from one end of the extreme to the other, zero TV to no limits, and back again. I at one point in time went so far, cutting out the world, I lost all desire to be involved in business, affecting my ability to provide for my family. But I do need food and shelter, and since I’m not a sheep herder, I do have to be involved in Babylon to some degree.
My answer came when I dedicated my life “fully” to Christ and made listening to the spirit a way of life, it feels easy and natural to maneuver through this life, being in the world and at times needing to take a part in it, but not “of it”.
Now I don’t need to make demands of myself, not to partake, because I have no interest beyond what’s required. In other words no more battle within, I can even enjoy a show or two, but the spirit gets restless and I feel uneasy if it goes too far or in the way of my spiritual growth or serving the Lord.
LikeLike
When you ask the typical LDS what Babylon means they say, “the world.” Which makes you think of the verse, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” For God so loved Babylon? That is not right. The meaning of Babylon is “council of the gods – land” and refers to a government created on earth counterfeiting the councils in heaven.
But it looks like this question is more about how to keep spiritual in an unspiritual world. It can be done – we see the examples all through the scriptures of righteous men and women – and let’s not kid ourselves that they had it easier than we do.
As far as my understanding goes, Zion begins INSIDE us, then our environment becomes a reflection of that state. If we can control our mind and thoughts, we make a heaven wherever we are and are no longer dependent on our environment to make us spiritual or unspiritual. I learned that, among other places, from Holocaust memoirs.
I’ve heard people say, “The spirit left the room.” What does that mean? Is the Spirit an airborne particle that comes in and lands on you and then leaves again? The battlefield is our minds. WE are in complete control there and we will be completely accountable.
LikeLike
I once asked a good friend, who is a current patriarch what his tolerance level was for media. He said that he does not watch TV at all or even go to the movies; in fact, he said he doesn’t even like to pick up the newspaper for fear of losing the Spirit that is so vital to his calling. That is a lesson for all of us! He knows the gospel better than anyone I know because he is always feasting at the Lord’s banquet table. Studying the words of the Lord is his entertainment and his joy.
I once heard a talk entitled “Holy habits and Righteous routines” given by a Stake President back East. The title has stuck with me for years because of the Spiritual directive that it implies. The scripture in Matt 5 says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”, not Be ye therefore perfect unless “Dancing with the Stars” is on or if the “Super bowl” is on. Have you ever heard of the church of Football? We can waste hours on Sunday watching a 4 hour game, but complain when we have to go to 3 hours of church on Sunday or spend 2 hours at the temple. I know that what I have said will not be popular at large, but if the Savior stopped in to visit you on a Sunday evening what kingdom would you be displaying for review?
Lastly, Elder Packer in a BYU Devotional Address given in Jan. 2007, called “Finding Ourselves in Lehi’s Dream”, said “Largely because of television, instead of looking over into that spacious building, we are, in effect, living inside of it. That is your fate in this generation. You are living in that great and spacious building.” What does that say about us as parents? Do we have a responsibility to teach our children skills that incorporate holy habits and righteous routines … good old fashioned work and play? Yes we do, but I have found that it is impossible if TV and video games monopolizes our discretionary time. It is amazing when you turn off the television, just how much fun kids can find in the simple things of life. After the example of 2 great friends and 3 gentle promptings, 2 years ago, we finally pulled the plug and it has made a huge difference in the Spirit of our home and attitudes in general. We still allow some media, but we control the programming and try to teach our children that it is not worth it to compromise. We can find true joy in living waters. 2 Nephi 9:51 and D&C 93:1
To Heaven or Bust!!!
LikeLike
We eliminated the TV four years ago. For conference and news information we have the Internet, which is far easier to monitor. There were a few months of adjustment, especially for the teenagers. Now there is such a peace in our home. It is not missed and there are wholesome DVDs and videos to watch if we so chose. Without the back ground distraction noise it is so much easier to hear the spirit and to just BE as a family. Our entertainment is each other, we talk so much more, and the children’s creativity greatly increased. We make our own fun. There is peace and time for meditation. It helps that we live in a small community. We may be considered isolated from much of today’s influences, we like it this way.
We love music, we love to sing and have fun together. As far as the radio in the car goes, If it is offensive, we turn the channel.
Personally, the longer I am distanced from the the influences of Babylon, the stronger my resolve comes. Desensitization is reversible. I am far more sensitive to offensive influences. My personal study time has greatly increased. Without television, I read. Love it!
LikeLike
I have a really hard time with this one too. I’d like to cut out the media a lot more than I have, but I struggle because that is one of the primary ways my closest family member wants to spend time with me–by watching tv and movies. Even “wholesome” movies I’m not that interested in with one exception–I really love documentaries which tell the inspirational stories of real people or teach about nature, but other than that I’d like to give everything else up. I’m trying to learn how to do that without making my closest family member, who loves movies and television and wants to watch them with me, feel alienated. Has anyone had experience trying to cut out media when close family members haven’t wanted to?
LikeLike
Wow! We stopped our cable subscription 3 years ago. We occasionally do Netflix, and of course choose appropriate things to watch. However, this past weekend, we went to visit a friend who does have a TV. The only channel they could get was ABC and we sat down with them to watch. What a huge surprise we had. The commercials were “r” rated if not “x” in my opinion, there were way too many of them and the show we were watching, while interesting, could not outweigh our interest to “sit” through all the ads and brainwashing.
My opinion, since you asked, is that TV and the like, including the internet, are grossly overrated and seductively addictive. Not only that, it desensitizes you to holier things…My husband and I went !CRAZY! during the first 6 months to a year without the TV, but now we are incredibly productive. I have picked up canning as a hobby and have completed my food storage, I study the scriptures more and my life is infinitely more peaceful. I can sense the Spirit much faster and I feel His presence more consistently, and I know when I have offended Him. I would like to think that I am closer to Heavenly Father because of this choice.
It is my belief that until you wean yourself off of these things that you don’t even notice your toleration of “things of the world”. All my friends think I am so weird because I don’t know names of shows, follow dancing with the stars, I don’t do Facebook or any social network, but I have done this primarily because we are to be ready for when the Bridegroom comes, not for the announcement of who is the next winner of this or that. While I feel it is crucial to be physically prepared, (no debt, food storage, money in the bank,) I believe that it is infinitely more important to be spiritually prepared and we can’t do that by allowing all those things “out there” to distract us. I don’t live a hermit’s life as I imply here; I simply try to provide for myself an atmosphere where I am ready to hear the voice of the Lord when He calls, not to mention that I want to be found doing what he would have me do if He were to drop in suddenly…
LikeLike
It’s such a relief to know that others struggle with the same issues I do. Over 3 months ago, I decided to eliminate TV, news media, and secular music from my life 100% and have been without them ever since. It has been a wonderful experience – I am able to hear the whisperings of the Spirit more clearly and have grown closer to my Savior and Heavenly Father. Recently however, I have been wondering if this is this right thing to do, or if I needed to bring back some of these things in order to balance my life. The conclusion I have come to is that I should, but only on a limited and regimented basis. Here’s what I’ve decided:
– TV tends to be addictive, so I have decided to invest in Roku which streams programs from the internet to my TV, and commit to watching no more than 2-3 hours each week.
– Wholesome secular music is good, but rather than tune in to the radio, I will purchase specific pieces of music, including music I can to dance and sing along to or just to enjoy listening to from time to time. I do however listen to classical or sacred music all the time.
– News media is a difficult one for me as I am not very good at processing negative news which is mostly what is aired/published in headlines. I am still trying to figure out how I can keep abreast of important information without listening to the news or reading the newspaper.
LikeLike
The less Babylon the better… Stand in Holy Places.
I can directly correlate significant surges of temptation, or conversely significant lowering of defenses with increased embibing in Babylon.
Even the “benign” things, like listening to KSL radio talk shows, or watching sports excessivley, remind me of what Paul was complaining about– I paraphrase : “…always yapping, but never getting to a knowledge of the truth”
“Watch and pray always, that ye fall not into temptation”
All of it is a distraction. Keeping our minds occupied on things contrary to or even neutral to good (if you’re lukewarm , I will spew you out).
Impossible to refill your lamp, when you’ve got your dipper fully engulfed in the mud or even stored away on the shelf.
Obviously, one needs time to recreate–I recommend activities with the family or out enjoying creation.
Haven’t had any TV in the house for the last 5 years and have enjoyed every last minute. For the occasional “necessity” watching BYU footbal get pummeled, we can go internet, or something similar.
Having the subscriptions for TV/cable is ridiculous–might as well get out the face cards and play some Poker with Brigham Young.
In my family we have just about every church and seminary video for those times when the kids feel they must vegetate. There are lots of action and excitement in those videos, however, the only aliens in them are angels.
Using NO Babylon as a goal, we end up with PLENTY of Babylon.
LikeLike
The more I study the less I watch. In fact, TV is a rarity for me. Music however, is not so easy. It’s hard for me to let that go.
LikeLike
The more I immerse myself in the gospel and scripture study and temple work, the more I find that the things that use to interest me don’t anymore. Matter of fact, they some time cause my spirit pain when I come in contact with them. Because of were I live we do not have television reception nor cell phone reception and what a blessing it has turned out to be. I have more time to spend doing the things that I feel really count in this world. Unfortunately we have to live in Babylon, but we don’t have be apart of it.
LikeLike