Becoming Like My Scripture Hero - Character Planning Sheet Template Page 26
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39Wednesday
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Following is part of a talk by Elder David A. Bednar. Carefully read this. Mark it up, write your own notes in the columns. When you are
finished, take some time and thoughtfully answer the questions at the end.
As I have looked forward to and prepared for this opportunity to learn
delighted. To those of us who know and understand the plan of salvation, any
with you, I have come to better understand the strong feelings of Jacob, the
defiling of the body is rebellion and a denial of our true identity as sons and
brother of Nephi. He said, ―I this day am weighed down with much … desire
daughters of God (see
Mosiah
2:36–37;
D&C
64:34–35).
and anxiety for the welfare of your souls‖
(Jacob
2:3). The message I want to
Now, brothers and sisters, I cannot tell you all the ways whereby you
share with you today has over time distilled upon my ―soul as the dews from
may misuse your bodies, ―for there are divers ways and means, even so
(D&C
many that I cannot number them‖
(Mosiah
heaven‖
121:45). I invite your earnest attention to a serious subject that
4:29). You know what is right and
has both immediate and eternal implications. I pray for the Holy Ghost to be
what is wrong, and you have the individual responsibility to learn for yourself
with and teach each of us during our time together….
―by study and also by faith‖
(D&C
88:118) the things you should and should
Our Divine Destiny
not do and the doctrinal reasons you should and should not do those things...
…The Prophet Joseph Smith taught with clarity the importance of our
Sadly, some young men and young women in the Church today ignore
―things as they really are‖ and neglect eternal relationships for digital
physical bodies:
―We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure
distractions, diversions, and detours that have no lasting value. My heart
before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness
aches when a young couple—sealed together in the house of the Lord for
consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his
time and for all eternity by the power of the holy priesthood—experiences
marital difficulties because of the addicting effect of excessive video gaming
punishment. He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of man, and
when cast out by the Savior he asked to go into the herd of swine, showing
or online socializing. A young man or woman may waste countless hours,
that he would prefer a swine‘s body to having none. All beings who have
postpone or forfeit vocational or academic achievement, and ultimately
bodies have power over those who have not. …
sacrifice cherished human relationships because of mind- and spirit-numbing
video and online games. As the Lord declared, ―Wherefore, I give unto them
―The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment
we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes
power.‖2
a commandment … : Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou
bury thy talent that it may not be known‖
(D&C
Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity
60:13).
You may now be asking yourself, ―But, Brother Bednar, you began
of experience that simply could not be obtained in our premortal estate.
President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
today by talking about the importance of a physical body in our eternal
has taught, ―Our spirit and our body are combined in such a way that our
progression. Are you suggesting that video gaming and various types of
computer-mediated communication can play a role in minimizing the
body becomes an instrument of our mind and the foundation of our
character.‖3
importance of our physical bodies?‖ That is precisely what I am declaring…
Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to
recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the
I raise an apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling,
principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through
suffocating, suppressing, and constraining impact of some kinds of
cyberspace interactions and experiences upon our souls. The concerns I
our physical bodies. In the classroom of mortality, we experience tenderness,
love, kindness, happiness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, and even the
raise are not new; they apply equally to other types of media, such as
challenges of physical limitations in ways that prepare us for eternity. Simply
television, movies, and music. But in a cyber world, these challenges are
stated, there are lessons we must learn and experiences we must have, as
more pervasive and intense. I plead with you to beware of the sense-dulling
the scriptures describe, ―according to the flesh‖
(1 Nephi
and spiritually destructive influence of cyberspace technologies that are used
19:6;
Alma 7:12–
13)….
to produce high fidelity and that promote degrading and evil purposes.
Satan does not have a body, and his eternal progress has been halted.
If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then
Just as water flowing in a riverbed is stopped by a dam, so the adversary‘s
one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to
eternal progress is thwarted because he does not have a physical body.
disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In
Because of his rebellion, Lucifer has denied himself all of the mortal
essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal,
blessings and experiences made possible through a tabernacle of flesh and
unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects
of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. Please be careful of
bones. He cannot learn the lessons that only an embodied spirit can learn.
He cannot marry or enjoy the blessings of procreation and family life. He
becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, earbuds, twittering,
cannot abide the reality of a literal and universal resurrection of all mankind.
online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the
One of the potent scriptural meanings of the word damned is illustrated in his
Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and
inability to continue developing and becoming like our Heavenly Father.
miss the richness of person-to-person communication. Beware of digital
Because a physical body is so central to the Father‘s plan of happiness
displays and data in many forms of computer-mediated interaction that can
and our spiritual development, we should not be surprised that Lucifer seeks
displace the full range of physical capacity and experience….
to frustrate our progression by tempting us to use our bodies improperly. One
Consider again the example I mentioned earlier of a young couple
of the ultimate ironies of eternity is that the adversary, who is miserable
recently married in the house of the Lord. An immature or misguided spouse
precisely because he has no physical body, invites and entices us to share in
may devote an inordinate amount of time to playing video games, chatting
online, or in other ways allowing the digital to dominate things as they really
his misery through the improper use of our bodies. The very tool he does not
have and cannot use is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to
are. Initially the investment of time may seem relatively harmless, rationalized
physical and spiritual destruction.
as a few minutes of needed relief from the demands of a hectic daily
The Adversary’s Attacks
schedule. But important opportunities are missed for developing and
improving interpersonal skills, for laughing and crying together, and for
The adversary attempts to influence us both to misuse our physical
bodies and to minimize the importance of our bodies. These two methods of
creating a rich and enduring bond of emotional intimacy. Progressively,
seemingly innocent entertainment can become a form of pernicious
attack are important for us to recognize and to repel.
When any of Heavenly Father‘s children misuse their physical
enslavement.
tabernacles by violating the law of chastity, by using drugs and addictive
To feel the warmth of a tender hug from an eternal companion or to
substances, by disfiguring or defacing themselves, or by worshipping the
see the sincerity in the eyes of another person as testimony is shared—all of
these things experienced as they really are through the instrument of our
false idol of body image, whether their own or that of others, Satan is
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