The Sabbath: What is Holy?

My intent in writing this is to be as Alma, who said "use boldness; but not overbearance."  I hope to uplift rather than offend.

For those reading this that believe in the importance of Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, what does this mean when it comes to our use of media?  Do you watch TV/movies?  Why or why not? These hypothetical questions I pose not to condone any one behavior, but I think it's important to understand the doctrine that SHOULD guide our actions.

Doctrine and Covenanats 59:9 - "And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day"

Is our use of media helping use to become  more unspotted from the world than we are the rest of the week?

Preach My Gospel - "When a community or nation grows careless in its Sabbath activities, its religious life decays and all aspects of life are negatively affected. The blessings associated with keeping the Sabbath day holy are lost. We should refrain from shopping on the Sabbath and participating in other commercial and sporting activities that now commonly desecrate the Sabbath.

We often gather together with family on Sunday... but are we really spending time together?  And... is this time bringing us closer to Christ?  Or are we too busy checking our social media, "posting" and "tweeting" about our wonderful family activities... when in reality we weren't really "there" to begin with... we were too busy on our phones or watching the "big game" on TV?  Do we take the time to ponder even outside of church, or does the Spirit often lose the competition to our TV, phones, and other technology?

The Sabbath does not end because we are on vacation, the Super Bowl is on, or our friends invite us to the movies.

Whether we use media on the Sabbath or not, we should be sure to remember our promise to...

Do I "LIKE" the scriptures?

So in my latest scripture studies and Facebook gallivanting, I have come to notice an interesting observation about the media... people seem to "Like" babies more than they "Like" the scriptures.  I can understand why 40+ people can "Like" a picture of my daughter, I mean she is pretty darn cute...

But, I am more surprised that an inspirational scripture does not hold the same weight with maybe 12 "Likes" on average on my profile.  Now, this isn't a popularity contest of seeking out "Likes" but it got me thinking on what media grabs people's attention.  I'm sure there's more science to it, or maybe I'm thinking about it too much, but it gets me thinking, "How often do I see a long 'scriptural post' and I skip over it because maybe I'm too lazy to read it?"

I hope to not only #sharegoodness by posting cute pictures of my daughter, Charlotte, but to #sharegoodness by sharing quotes, scriptures, videos, that seek to build the Kingdom of God.

Do we "Like" the scriptures?  I hope so... and I hope we can be like King Benjamin in our efforts.

He may have used actual words rather than "posts" or "tweets" about the good word, but he knows the fruits of our efforts can bring the Spirit and yield amazing results with God's children:

"we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts . . . "

Is it Kosher? Well "dill" with it

Well it's about time I throw it down on some of the media that's out there that isn't... well... kosher...

and I always think of pickles when I hear the word kosher... so here's some pickles for all you pickle fans... and if you aren't a pickle fan... well just "dill" with it...

Anyway, I recently heard a song in one of my classes here at BYU... it was pretty messed up... not the whole sex, drugs, and alcohol type lyrics we usually hear today... this was from the 70's.

"It's Sad to Belong" - England Dan & John Ford Coley

I almost put a link to the song... but I felt some people may end up punching their TV and/or computer screens... we wouldn't want that to happen.

The sad part about this song isn't that it is called "It's Sad to Belong"... that 's a dead give away... the sad part is that the world thinks like this... relationships filled with selfishness and the whole "what's in it for me" mentality.  The lyrics say, "It's sad to belong to someone else when the right one comes along" meaning that people are "stuck" in their relationships wishing they could get out and be with someone else.  So what are you suggesting Mr. England Dan and John Ford Coley?... Go out and cheat on your spouse?  Ya... that's pretty messed up.  Media may not be "kosher"... and I don't think we should just "dill" with it.

Pure Media

I have come to realize that my blogs thus far have all been on POSITIVE media exposure...
Well... this one will pull out all the stops and bring in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The core of who I am and what I believe.

I was reading an article in "The Ensign" magazine by a guy who I cannot even begin to pronounce his name... but I loved this quote he share regarding Sacrament Meeting:

"Sacrament meeting means everything to me. For me it is the hour of infinite salvation. It has become a sacred time in which I remember and commit in prayer and in spirit to honor my covenants and to follow the perfect example of my Savior."

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2015/01/an-hour-to-watch-with-him?cid=HPTH011515626&lang=eng

This is the type of pure media that really helps me to think and feel in a more positive way.  I have been thinking a lot this week on how to make my experience in Sacrament meeting more meaningful...
Easier said than done when you have a 16-month old who is hungry and ready for a nap.  12 - 3 church used to be the best... you could sleep in, and you were more alert in church.  This is NOT the case when your baby's nap time is usually at 11:30.  Needless to say, I want the hour of Sacrament meeting to be "the hour of infinite salvation."  I'm grateful for this article that reminded me of that.  The Lord will enable us to overcome our imperfections.  He can heal us and change us.

Validation

If you haven't seen this video, you are missing out.  Often we see different media floating around through facebook... which in a sense is like inception or mediaception... it is media within the media.  We sometimes will waste our time with countless cat memes, sports videos, or even random blogs with catchy titles and phrases such as "what they do next will shock you" or "why my marriage was not the best thing for me."



Well, I'm not going to jazz up my title or give you a clever meme; instead, watch this video.  It is longer, about 16 min., so it wouldn't surprise me in the least if you don't watch it.  As for me, I saw this today in one of my classes and thought, "What a powerful message... we get out of the world what we put into it..."



Let us be like this cool guy and spread some "Validation."

To Bring About Good

Charlotte from Chad Johnson on Vimeo.

So I made this video back in September for my daughter's 1st birthday.  She is pretty darn cute!  Gets it from my wife.

Video and other media can really be a powerful way of remembering those important moments in life.

I mean... where would we be without the video of man landing on the moon... or 9/11... or Mormon Messages?
I don't know exactly, but I know without this video of my daughter I wouldn't be able to put all of those memories into one place.  Media should bring about good... make us laugh... make us smile... make us think...

My daughter does that for me.  And this video reminds me of what is truly important in life.  Or really, WHO is important.