These are some great excerpts from talks from the ensign on media and entertainment
Worthy Music, Worthy Thoughts by President Boyd. K. Packer of the Quorum of the twelve of the LDS church
Choose uplifting entertainment. Avoid anything that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Commit to keeping God’s standards.
With so many types of entertainment all around us, the choices can be overwhelming. Here are some guidelines to help us choose uplifting entertainment:
1. Before playing a video game or seeing a movie, research its rating and content.
2. Ask yourself if there is unsuitable material in the game or movie, regardless of the rating. Avoid anything that drives away the Spirit.
3.If the material is inappropriate, it’s perfectly OK to walk out, turn it off, or put it down.
4. Look for edifying games, movies, and music that are also mentally stimulating.
5. Discover the world away from television, cell phones, and computers, such as hiking, biking, learning a new skill, or learning about other cultures.
6. Enjoy activities that keep your mind active and your body physically fit.
What are God’s standards that can guide in choosing media? “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Articles of Faith 1:13).
Listen to music that helps you draw closer to Heavenly Father. Do not listen to music that encourages immorality, glorifies violence, or uses offensive language. When dancing, avoid full body contact or suggestive movements.
“Young people, you cannot afford to fill your minds with the unworthy music of our day. It is not harmless. It can welcome onto the stage of your mind unworthy thoughts and set a tempo to which they dance and to which you may act. You degrade yourself when you identify with those things that at times surround extremes in music—the shabbiness, the irreverence, the immorality, the addictions. Such music is not worthy of you.”
Visit www.lds.org/churchmusic to listen to hymns, download songs, or learn more about music.
- President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Worthy Music, Worthy Thoughts,” New Era, Apr. 2008, 9.
Reel life vs. Real life by Joseph Walker
First, it can be helpful to develop a healthy skepticism about anything we see or hear in the popular media—whether it purports to be realistic or not. We can recognize that no matter how accurately a story is retold, it’s still a story designed to capture viewers. “Yes, we want to be accurate,” a docudrama producer once told me, “but our first priority is to make a good movie. If that requires that we create a sort of heightened reality, so be it.” In other words, expecting absolute realism from entertainment media founded on fantasy is unrealistic.
Second, seek out entertainment that supports gospel teachings while it pleases aesthetically. And if you can’t find very many acceptable movies and TV programs, at least don’t lend your support to those that defy God’s standards. The First Presidency’s counsel to youth of the Church applies to all of us: “Don’t be afraid to walk out of a movie [or] turn off a television set … if what’s being presented does not meet your Heavenly Father’s standards.” (For the Strength of Youth, Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1990, p. 12.) Whether we intend it or not, every time we buy a ticket to an exploitative movie, we tell Hollywood that that’s what we want to see. Ditto for sleazy TV programs. The only way we’ll see more creative effort put into entertainment properties that espouse traditional values is if a few of them start making money, or if the objectionable materials stop making so much money.
As long as we’re talking about realism, let’s be realistic about this. I know that there aren’t a lot of exciting, high-quality offerings out there that are consistent with LDS standards. I also know how hard it is to resist a movie or a TV show that everyone is talking about. Each of us has to decide for ourselves how high we’re going to list “entertainment” among our priorities. But Hollywood doesn’t know if we close our eyes during certain scenes, or if we disapprove of the language that is used, or if we really, really wish that sexuality hadn’t been so graphically portrayed. All Hollywood knows or cares about is that we laid down our six bucks for the movie or tuned in to the program. As far as the folks producing this material are concerned, that’s the ultimate reality.
Third, we can and should voice our objections to inappropriate material, especially if we feel we have been exposed to it as a result of misleading advertising. Television stations and advertisers should be notified of your concerns (preferably in written form; telephone messages are too easily ignored or forgotten). Film producers need to hear the perspective of “real” people. And don’t hesitate to ask for your money back if you walk out of a movie. While it’s true your one voice may not make a difference, your voice joined with numerous others just might. So make sure your voice is heard.
Finally, we can think about the people and situations we see portrayed dramatically and reconcile them to gospel standards. Whether something is “realistic” isn’t nearly as important as whether it is right. Perhaps we could ask ourselves: if that couple is really so deeply in love, why don’t they make a commitment to each other through marriage? Aren’t there more literate and descriptive words that could be used in this situation than crude and vulgar profanity? Wouldn’t forgiveness be a better course of action than violent revenge?
The thirteenth Article of Faith encourages us to seek out that which is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.” Such things may not always represent “life as it is.” But they certainly represent life as it should be. As far as our Heavenly Father is concerned, that’s the goal to shoot for—aesthetically or otherwise.
And that’s the only reality that counts.
-Former newspaper television critic Joseph Walker works as a media specialist for the Church Public Affairs Department and serves as a counselor in the presidency of the Bountiful Utah Orchard Stake.
Taken from: http://lds.org/ensign/1993/06/reel-life-vs-real-life?lang=eng&query=entertainment
These excerpts are full of great advice and counsel. My favorite of the two is the one by Joseph Walker, I would encourage you to go to the above link and read the rest of his talk, (Reel life vs. Real Life) it is amazing. Both of these men give this advice to us because they know the hard choices we face in a world where entertainment and media are king. But they have given us the tools and provided a way for us to make A Good Choice. I suggest we make it. :)
