KEEPING OUT OF THE WORLD

I am constantly reminded of the filth and evil in this world with e-mails entitled:  “Date Married Women this week – sexually explicit.”  Awesome, just what kind of crap we need in our home.  Who are these people? – dumb!  I get so frustrated with the constant bombardment of messages of whores willing to sell and expose themselves!
 
I have learned that our sensitivity to things is a very important indicator of how much we are a part of this world.  Desensitization not only makes us more vulnerable to letting in wickedness and filth into our lives – it deadens the capacity to feel and acknowledge God’s love and hand in all things.

Are we disgusted and horrified by immodesty/nudity, offended by crude language?  Do we turn off the TV or walk out of a bad situation or do we just stay try to block it out, and hope that it doesn’t affect us?

Satan is constantly trying to desensitize us and get us into a state of past feeling so that we can be his servants.  We must be sensitive to filth and spiritual things so that so that the Spirit can guide us in our lives.

“. . . the Spirit’s invitation to experience God appeals to something deeper than easily produced emotions.  It appeals to a capacity of soul that in many modern Christians has dried up through disuse, a capacity that carries us toward a higher dimension than mere emotions can reach.” (“Shattered Dreams” by Larry Crabb, page 109)

From experience I’ve learned that it is difficult to be sensitive in a world of filth because I am constantly offended and aware of it.  At the same time I believe that it helps me make better choices and become a better person by staying close to the Spirit and trying to keep out of this world as much as I can.

I have also learned that it is important to take time each day to embrace spiritual things through scriptures, prayer, temple worship, church worship, attending general conference, etc.  Do what you can to tune the world out and be able to hear the whisperings of the Spirit.

Soften v. Harden your hearts is paralleled with sensitive v. desensitized.  A softened heart helps lead to purified heart.

I have notice that these days I look away during intimate parts in shows and movies – even making out/kissing.  I may have started doing it when Tyler was deployed – not wanting to think about it or miss that closeness to him.  Now I look away because I feel that intimacy is something sacred and personal – I don’t like invading the character’s privacy to that and I don’t like filling my head with a million others making out.  I want to believe that it is something special between just Tyler and me.

I believe that crude language and a gross sense of humor shows a lack of education.  Through violence desensitization, we become senseless to others pain.  Not only are we unsympathetic, but some people get so past feeling that they hurt, torture, and kill others.

Elder M. Russell Ballard stated: “If we do not make good choices, the media can devastate our families and pull our children away from the narrow gospel path. In the virtual reality and the perceived reality of large and small screens, family-destructive viewpoints and behavior are regularly portrayed as pleasurable, as stylish, as exciting, and as normal. Often media’s most devastating attacks on family are not direct or frontal or openly immoral. Intelligent evil is too cunning for that, knowing that most people still profess belief in family and in traditional values. Rather the attacks are subtle and amoral—issues of right and wrong don’t even come up. Immorality and sexual innuendo are everywhere, causing some to believe that because everyone is doing it, it must be all right. This pernicious evil is not out in the street somewhere; it is coming right into our homes, right into the heart of our families.

“To be strong and happy, families need to be nourished by the truths depicted in the thirteenth article of faith—by a belief ‘in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men.’ [A of F 1:13] Gratefully, there are many like-minded men and women of all cultures and faiths who also seek that which is ‘virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy. . .’ The time has come when members of the Church need to speak out and join with the many other concerned people in opposition to the offensive, destructive, and mean-spirited media influence that is sweeping over the earth.” (www.combatingpornography.org)

I have learned a few things in my life that have helped me eliminate a lot of this filth and still enjoy entertainment:

CLEARPLAY
A dvd player that edits movies and shows that are listed on their website.  www.clearplay.com.
I bought the dvd player for about $100 and can either have a monthly membership for about $7 a month, or once every few months get the membership to download the newest movies for about $9.
We are able to adjust the settings to what we decide – it can be as extreme as editing the word “crap.”  In the past swear words, violence, etc. have ruined movies for me – now I can rarely watch a movie without clearplay.  I rarely go to the movie theatre and when I do, I am sure to look up the preview websites.

PREVIEW WEBSITES
www.screenit.com
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/

I use the search engine: “screenit.com [and the name of the movie]” to look up a movie.  There is a monthly membership you can purchase, but I have found that they provide most of the information that you need without paying.  I have also used these other websites.

These websites are limited and are not perfect.  I looked up the movie “Eclipse” before going to see it in the theatre.  There are different levels of different categories like “sex/nudity.”  Strong and Extreme are the worst possible levels within these categories.

Eclipse was rated “strong” for sex/nudity even though it had neither.  I don’t consider guys without shirts on nudity.  But it does give you a general idea of what is in the movie and lists the different swearing, violence, sexual situations, etc. that are in the movie.

DVR
I love my DVR.  Not only has it allowed me to enjoy shows in my own time and still revolve my life around my two babies, I can also watch the shows faster by fast forwarding the commercials.  I am disgusted what commercials are allowed in our desensitized world – I’d rather not even watch them.