Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,

As to be hated needs but to be seen;

Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,

We first endure, then pity, then embrace.

These words by the English poet Alexander Pope, who lived from 1688 to 1744, have often been quoted on this page, but never with more need than in today's world of rampant profanity.

Unfortunately, language that was once shunned and almost forbidden has become regular speech in today's contemporary and popular entertainment. Words that once were never used in public places or social settings bombard us on every hand.

Consider this telling comment from a December 1999 report issued by the Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. The report is entitled "The Rude and the Crude: Profanity in Popular Entertainment."

"Crude language has become an integral part of popular entertainment, although standards differ in various settings and outlets. Our study of movies, television and music videos shown in 1998 and 1999 found over 4,000 scenes in which profane or coarse language was used, including nearly 1,000 instances of characters using four-letter words. On broadcast and basic cable TV shows profane language is used about once every six minutes; in top-grossing films and music videos once every three minutes; and on premium cable shows once every two minutes. Premium cable also leads in the use of four-letter words which show up once every four minutes, compared to every nine minutes in feature films."

What a sad commentary about the status of the entertainment industry which reaches out to so many people, especially the youth.

Particularly galling is the constant use of the names of Deity. These sacred names are spoken so irreverently and so freely that their use betrays the speaker as totally ignorant of a commandment that has come down through the ages:

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7.)

Surely someday there will come an accounting for every idle or vain use of these sacred names.

A great lesson was taught by the late President Spencer W. Kimball, who recounted this experience:

"In the hospital one day I was wheeled out of the operating room by an attendant who stumbled, and there issued from his angry lips vicious cursing with a combination of the names of the Savior. Even half-conscious, I recoiled and implored: 'Please! That is my Lord whose names you revile.' There was a deathly silence, then a subdued voice whispered: 'I am sorry.'" (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 198.)

Each of us needs to respond to the rude and crude in the spirit suggested by this scriptural injunction:

Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy. (Doctrine and Covenants 121:43.)

President Gordon B. Hinckley has given us this wise counsel:

"Be clean in language. There is so much of filthy, sleazy talk these days. . . . It tells others that your vocabulary is so extremely limited that you cannot express yourselves without reaching down in the gutter for words. Dirty talk is unbecoming any man who holds the priesthood, be he young or old." (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 497.)

There is no need for profanity in any person's vocabulary. Language is a powerful tool and when we learn to use it properly, especially under the direction of the Spirit, it can be forceful and commanding. Consider this statement about the power of the language that the Prophet Enoch used:

And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him. (Moses 7:13.)

May we strive to speak the language God has given us, pure and undefiled, not that which comes from the evil world about us.