Live the commandments

      - Attend Church meetings

      - Be worthy to enter temple

      Three ways in which members can protect themselves and their families from the onslaught of the teachings of the world were discussed Sunday afternoon by Elder David B. Haight of the Council of the Twelve:

      - Commit to live the commandments of God;

      - Attend Church meetings to learn and strengthen testimonies and partake of the sacrament to renew covenants;

      - Prepare to worthily enter the temple where "we may find a refuge from the world and a place of renewal of our capacity to cope with the evils of the world."

      "Thoughtful, concerned people . . . are concerned with the growing pressures and influence of a disturbing cultural movement downgrading social and religious values and standards of morality," Elder Haight explained. "Each succeeding generation has weakened or lessened previous Christ-centered ideals and values.

      "Previous periods of moral decline brought forth divine attention. In times past, as at present, prophets of God have delivered a voice of warning. . . . I am impressed today to raise a voice of warning for mankind to prepare - by repentance - for the great day of the Lord," Elder Haight declared.

      While much is going on in the world, he said, "We sit idly by as an insidious stream of profanity, vulgarity, demeaning behavior, a mocking of righteous ideals and principles invades our homes and lives through most types of media, teaching our children negative values and moral corruption. We then become upset when our children perform differently than we would wish, and social behavior continues to deteriorate.

      "Unchangeable, God-centered principles and ideals adopted by our Founding Fathers not only form the basis of freedom, but are the rivets that hold it together," he said. "There should be no question about our standards, our beliefs - about who we are!"

      Members today can find inspiration in the lives of early Church converts, Elder Haight remarked. "Their pathway was straight, uncluttered, unbending: they were to live the commandments of God and endure to the end. Today, we know how we should live. We know right from wrong.

      "We are to teach and train our children in the ways of the Lord. Children should not be left to their own devices in learning character and family values, or listening to and watching unsupervised music, television, or movies as a means of gaining knowledge and understanding as to how to live their lives!"

      The divine statements of instruction taught in the Book of Mormon and Bible, if obeyed, will strengthen mothers and fathers and sons and daughters who all have equal duty to study the scriptures and gain strength and understanding of eternal things, he concluded.