The Lord counsels us to be aware of the evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days. . . . This warning could well apply to what lies in the hearts and minds of many men and women who now control the content of today's popular media.

As a stake president, I hear remarkable stories of young women and young men with the courage to get out of "slime-time" situations. They walk out of movies, leave parties, turn off music videos, change channels, and sometimes even friends.I also see the consequences of the evils and designs of the conspiring men and women of this generation in the lives of those who didn't set and live by high standards. I see broken homes, the root of which was pornography addiction. I see those who missed temple marriages, those who bear responsibility for babies out of wedlock, and those who weren't worthy of missionary service.

Certainly the media was not totally responsible for all the pain and grief of these people, but both experience and scholarly studies demonstrate how the media often sets norms and brings acceptance to what once was unacceptable.

You are part of the media generation. You are growing up in an era which looks to the media for news, information and entertainment. There is no doubt that your generation has the possibility of being the best informed of any that has lived. Coverage of the war to free Kuwait is an example of up-to-the-second information about an event.

Today's media can have a positive effect on you, if you choose carefully. Television programs, movies, videos, even rapp can provide some wonderful insights into life, reinforce your values, bring new understanding, and allow you to experience tenderness, joy, and spirituality. They can motivate, inform, educate, enrich and entertain.

Of course, the opposite can also be true. Vulgar videos, foul language, taking the Lord's name in vain, obscenity, deviant sexual behavior, and violence have become the cornerstones of much of today's media fare.

Just look at a few statistics:

- Youth spend about 23 hours a week watching TV. By age 70 they'll have spent seven years in front of the tube.

- American youth watch an average of 14,000 sexual references - not counting commercials - a year.

- Youth view 2,000 beer and wine commercials a year. They watch an hour of music vidoes on weekdays, two on weekends. About 75 percent of music videos have sexual themes, and 50 percent have violence.

- A study by the national Coalition on Television Violence points out that by the time an American is 18 years old, he or she will have witnessed 32,000 murders and 40,000 attempted murders on television.

- The percentage of R-rated movies has increased 61 percent since ratings began in 1968.

- Nearly 33 percent of all close relationships on TV involve conflict or violence.

- Male/female associations on TV tend to over-emphasize the physical aspect of relationships. Couples tend to spend a disproportionate amount of time expressing love physically rather than through acts of kindness, sacrifice and service.

- Sometimes called "Raunch'n'roll," teenagers listen to an estimated 10,500 hours of rock music between the seventh and twelfth grade.

- By the time a student leaves high school he or she will have spent 24,000 hours in front of the television, twice the amount of time that will have been spent in the classroom.

The list, of course, is much longer, but what is important is how your exposure to such events affects you. You might feel that your family life, education, standards and values make you "immune" to such influences. They don't. Dr. Fredric Wertham, a psychiatrist, notes, " . . . my work convinces me that no immunity exists. Harm is harm. . . . There may be defenses against a snowball, but there are not against an avalanche."

Too many teenagers and adults want to pass off exposure to sleazy media as having no effect. They are simply wrong. What is portrayed as the norm in the media often becomes accepted standard of expectation and behavior.

Pornography is another concern. This generation is surrounded by it - through television, movies, magazines, billboards, music videos - not to mention the pornography that is unavoidable on the street in many parts of the world.

Just as the Lord warned members of the Church about the dangers of alcohol and tobacco, the Lord has warned your generation about the dangers that are present in polluted media. President Spencer W. Kimball, in an address to the students at Weber State College, cautioned this way:

"Each person must keep himself (or herself) free from lusts, from adultery and homosexuality and from drugs. He must shun ugly, polluted thoughts and acts as he would an enemy. Pornographic and erotic stories and pictures are worse than polluted food. Shun them. The body has power to rid itself of sickening food. The person who entertains filthy stories or pornographic pictures and literature records them in his marvelous human computer, the brain, which can't forget such filth. Once recorded, it will always remain there subject to recall."

Only you can control what you view and what you listen to on the screen and the stereo. But you can control it. You may not avoid being confronted by the negative aspects of media, but you can control to what degree you allow it to impinge on your life.

I hope your parents are trying hard to help your family set television, music and other media standards that will protect family members. Listen to your conscience and give your parents your backing. Your support and strength will be a great blessing to your family.

In your own personal life, control the media. Don't let it control you. What it amounts to is slime-time versus sublime-time - you make the decision.

If the video is violent or lewd, turn it off!

If the movie is sleazy, walk out!

If the "sit-com" is portraying pornography, switch it!

If the book is raunchy, toss it!

If the picture or joke is bad, walk away!

If it is a "turn-on," turn it off!

Next, Mental and Physical Health.

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About the author

Bruce L. Olsen is managing director of the Public Affairs Department of the Church. His assignment includes the direction of worldwide community and media relations programs of the Church.

Prior to his appointment, he served as director of corporate communications for Geneva Steel in Orem, Utah. Previous to that he was employed at BYU for 20 years where he held several positions, including assistant dean and registrar, associate professor of communications and assistant to the president for university relations.

In conjunction with his assignments at BYU, he traveled widely, managing tours of BYU performing groups in the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union, Romania, Poland, Scandinavia, Finland, France, Israel, Great Britain, Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

A native of Orangeville, Utah, he is a graduate of the College of Eastern Utah. He holds both bachelor's and master's degrees from BYU, where he served as editor of the school's daily newspaper and as student body president.

He has served in many positions in the Church including president of the Massachusetts Boston Mission from 1982 to 1985 and as a member of the Young Men General Board. He is currently president of the Orem Utah Sunset Heights Stake.

He and his wife, the former Christine Payne, are parents of five children.

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Points to remember

-Use only good media that will uplift and inspire yourself and others.

-Avoid pornography in all forms.

-Do not see vulgar movies or videos.

-Leave or change any immoral or suggestive situation.