Have you Heard?

Posted by Justine | July 10, 2009 | 17 Comments

You may or may not have seen the recent CES Fireside given by Elder Bednar, but the church has made a concerted point of bringing it to our attention.

The General Relief Society Presidency has asked R.S. Presidencies to teach this address in their meetings, and I’ve seen other press rambling around about it’s message.

I read this address before I watched video stream of it. It’s words have haunted me. Elder Bednar addresses what I consider to be a looming dark cloud for our children. The beauty of Elder Bednar’s address, however, wasn’t just his apostolic warning of getting addicted to video games, it was his eloquent and well researched position that we are too often minimizing the importance of our bodies by using them in such mindless and useless ways.

He states:

Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity of experience that simply could not be obtained in our premortal estate. President Boyd K. Packer has taught, “Our spirit and our body are combined in such a way that our body becomes an instrument of our mind and the foundation of our character.”2 Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through our physical bodies. In the classroom of mortality, we experience tenderness, love, kindness, happiness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, and even the challenges of physical limitations in ways that prepare us for eternity. Simply stated, there are lessons we must learn and experiences we must have, as the scriptures describe, “according to the flesh” (see 1 Nephi 19:6; Alma 7:12–13).

Our bodies are so important in the plan and the process we are going through that seeking to escape our reality by video gaming, alternate realities (Second Life, for example), and excessive internet social networking are essentially throwing away the gift that we fought so hard to achieve.

Elder Bednar shares several examples of families torn apart by these advancing technologies – a man that destroyed his real marriage in favor of one in an alternate online reality, another couple torn apart by video gaming – and his message was clear: Live in reality.

See the world as it really is. Remember we have made covenants. The anonymity of online life can shroud our sense of duty and responsibility and cloud our vision of the world as it really is.

Here are his two questions, to pose to ourselves as we interact in the digital world:

1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?
2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?

I’m asking myself those questions. Am I living in the world? Or am I trying to escape it?

Category: Daily Special

Comments

17 Responses to “Have you Heard?”

Faith.Not.Fear
July 10th, 2009 @ 1:23 pm

In the mouths of two or three witnesses — here is a quote from President Uchtdorf’s talk from Priesthood Session just 3 months ago:

“We as faithful Latter-day Saints have the Holy Ghost as a “constant companion” to teach us the things of eternal value. …Our weakness is in failing to align our actions with our conscience.

Pause for a moment and check where your own heart and thoughts are. Are you focused on the things that matter most? How you spend your quiet time may provide a valuable clue. Where do your thoughts go when the pressure of deadlines is gone? Are your thoughts and heart focused on those short-lived fleeting things that matter only in the moment, or on things that matter most?

What grudges do you bear? What excuses do you cling to that keep you from being the kind of husband, father, son, and priesthood holder you know you should be? What are the things that distract you from your duties or hinder you from magnifying your calling more diligently?

Sometimes the things that distract us are not bad, in and of themselves; often they even make us feel good.

It is possible to take even good things to excess. One example can be seen in a father or grandfather who spends hours upon hours searching for his ancestors or creating a blog while neglecting or avoiding quality or meaningful time with his own children and grandchildren. Another example could be a gardener who spends his days pulling weeds from the soil while ignoring the spiritual weeds that threaten to choke his soul.

Even some programs of the Church can become a distraction if we take them to extremes and allow them to dominate our time and our attention at the expense of things that matter most. We need balance in life.

When we truly love our Heavenly Father and His children, we demonstrate that love through our actions. We forgive one another and seek to do good, for “our old [self] is crucified with [Christ].”1 We “visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,” and we keep ourselves “unspotted from the vices of the world.”2″

I keep re-reading it — it really hit home! I guess I need to be done writing, eh?!
Faith.Not.Fear
July 10th, 2009 @ 1:57 pm

P.S. Thank you for sharing this today — as I looked around me, I realized we’ve gotten caught up in the unimportant, forgetting to love and serve. How quietly and easily it happens! Thanks!!!
Jennifer B.
July 10th, 2009 @ 2:19 pm

Good questions to ask. Thanks for sharing this address. It is definitely thought-provoking.
Whitney
July 10th, 2009 @ 4:57 pm

Our lesson on Sunday in RS was from this talk. I had heard about it and printed it up a few weeks ago but never got around to reading it. So much of what was said hit home, not just for me but especially for my kids. Theirs is a generation who has grown up with digital distractions. I have always had a beef with video games as mind-wasting and time-wasting. Now this talk maybe better explains why I have felt that. There is no social interaction. It is you and a console. My step-son is attached to his Nintendo DS while at his mom’s house. He is an only child there and I wonder how much of his life there is real and how much is wrapped up in video games and television. I appreciate your thoughts. This talk has helped me consider how I can better spend my time and how my children can better spend their time.
DavidH
July 10th, 2009 @ 5:13 pm

Our stake president has been preaching the talk since it was given. He says, quite seriously, that he ranks Elder Bednar’s talk as of the same significance as the 1978 revelation ending the prior practice of restricting priesthood and temple blessings based on race/lineage.
Merry Michelle
July 10th, 2009 @ 8:59 pm

Wow. Finally this issue is being addressed–YES!!
traci
July 11th, 2009 @ 5:02 am

This talk is very well done and I am grateful I read it. It is not over wrought – he explains that not all of cyberspace is bad, it is how we use it and to what lenghs. This is true of everything and it is good to see it emphasized in specifics.

I nor my husband have ever been gamers, but i think being the over 50 and 60 crowd has something to do with that. i watch my nephew which lives in that isolated world so much he has given up college education and companionship.

i work not to be on the computer, when i should/could be doing other things. and i liked the reference is is just as much a problem, if i would work in the garden, when my husband is home, if it ignored him for an extended point of time.

balance – it is the one topic we discuss most here.

Quote from Luther – Moderation in everything, even moderation.
traci
July 11th, 2009 @ 7:34 am

On the other hand, I have gone to school online. And I would have not been able to if it had not been online, because of my handicap. I self study many subjects, do many of my devotions and keep contact with many of my family.

yes balance is the issue!
Kay
July 11th, 2009 @ 8:21 am

Balance is an issue for everyone in the family. I allow myself a set, limited time each day for checking emails, Segullah etc. I also try to do it when noone else is around and needing me. I was worried that my husband was becoming consumed by a certain game on the computer, playing it each night instead of being with me. Now he rarely has the time with other things taking priority so I don’t mind the occasional game.

The children are another thing!!! I worry constantly about them and that they spend too much time on their consoles. T.V. is limited, the wii is limited, the Ds is limited, but still I worry about it. Seriously kids, go outside and play, climb a tree or something. When they go to friends some of them never go into the garden but just play on games and watch dvds. They go to friends for social interaction and sometimes it just doesn’t happen.
jenny
July 11th, 2009 @ 8:44 am

I am glad this will be a RS topic. There are so many, many traps on-line, it is truly mind blowing.

Here’s my current dilema I’ve been wrestling with for the last three weeks.

I live all the way across the country from the rest of my large family. They are very close and frequently get together as a family for many big and small occassions. It’s fantastic. My family is clearly missing out. My husband works here; this is where we live–that’s life and it’s okay. It’s been hard on me to maintain relationships with my family, if I don’t initiate conversations with them– they don’t happen. After a time, that just gets emotionally exhausting. I thought I could start a blog to facilitate our family being “remembered” as part of the clan, i.e, children’s successes, family happenings, even at times, some deep thoughts…
My blog is private so I am not searching for any virtual friends (although I do like visiting here and hearing what all of you have to say…), it was meant to encourage some kind of interaction with family members. We are not estranged. I thought it seemed like an okay plan. Here’s what happened: the dismal pre-blog communication has now dropped completely off the map. NOTHING. I’ve been at it (the blog) for nearly a year and a half. It appears that I have an entire family of lurkers.
In the last few weeks I’ve suddenly realized that I’ve been encouraging, even making it easy for my family to have this non-relationship with me. They can get on, see what we’re up to… It’s quick, it’s clean, it’s painless. Maybe they feel like because they know what’s going on in our lives, it constitutes a relationship.
I hate to see my blog die. It is a great record for our family, as well as cathartic for me to be able write so many of my thoughts and feelings… But lately I feel that this virtual “outlet” is just making things worse.

Still thinking about what to do…
Sometimes it’s just really hard to take the good with the bad.
Justine
July 11th, 2009 @ 2:48 pm

I’m glad to see how many people have already seen this address. Jenny, I feel for your situation, and wish I had sage words of wisdom.

Maybe stopping the blog could help re-establish relationships. I understand the discordant family relationships so so much. Sometimes what I really really want just doesn’t jive with reality.
Hunter
July 11th, 2009 @ 10:30 pm

The chatter I hear about Elder Bednar’s talk is that it’s viewed as sort of a warning against too much technology. And, yes, I think it’s all the rage right now. (Our High Council is currently using it on their circuit in our stake.) It’s unfortunate that we aren’t talking as much about another certiain apostle’s sermon (Elder Ballard) that focused on the GOOD effects of technology. Alas, this effect is probably understandable in part as a reflection of human nature that gravitates towards the negative.
Hunter
July 11th, 2009 @ 10:47 pm

jenny – I think you might be underestimating the good effect your blog is having on your extended family. You indicated that if you don’t initiate the telephone conversations with your family, they don’t happen. Assuming they are reading your blog, that already seems to me to be an improvements.

Think of it like this: reading your family blog is similar to discovering and reading an old journal (with photos!) from a long lost ancestor. By reading your blog and seeing your pictures, the reader is getting to know you better (even if they’re not making other efforts to get to know you or stay in touch). I have to believe that knowing about your comings and goings, and some of the miscellaneous details of your family’s life will endear your extended family to you. It’s bound to happen, with or without the phone calls.
m&m
July 12th, 2009 @ 12:36 am

This was a fabulous talk. I love, too, how he brought it all around to a doctrinal basis.
m&m
July 12th, 2009 @ 12:38 am

But I also agree that it is about balance. One of the things that becomes difficult for me is that much of my online interaction really IS about real-life. And so the line becomes blurry for me.

I think it’s when anything takes me away consistently and in an unhealthy way from my family relationships that I need to take a hard look at what I’m doing. But I guess my point is that it’s not often as stark as some of the examples, and I think he knows that. Elder Bednar gave us guideposts and then invited us to seek the Spirit’s guidance in figuring out how to apply it.
jenny
July 12th, 2009 @ 4:27 pm

["Think of it like this: reading your family blog is similar to discovering and reading an old journal (with photos!) from a long lost ancestor. By reading your blog and seeing your pictures, the reader is getting to know you better (even if they’re not making other efforts to get to know you or stay in touch). I have to believe that knowing about your comings and goings, and some of the miscellaneous details of your family’s life will endear your extended family to you. It’s bound to happen, with or without the phone calls."]

Thank you, Hunter.
That was my sincerest hope,
I really appreciate your thoughts.
Hunter
July 13th, 2009 @ 11:06 pm

Shoo-ah! [wink]