Elder M. Russell Ballard
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Both church leaders and church members have a responsibility to speak out on moral issues and avoid media that is not uplifting. "What comes out of Hollywood, off the Internet and in much of today's music creates a web of decadence that can trap our children and endanger all of us. . . . I add my own voice of warning, specifically concerning today's media and the powerful negative effects it can have on families and family life."
There are many good choices in the media today. "Our biggest challenge is to choose wisely what we listen to and what we watch." If we make bad choices, the media will tear apart the family, the basic unit of society and of eternity. "The new morality preached from the media's pulpit is nothing more than the old immorality. . . . The time has come when members of the church need to speak out and join with the many other concerned people in opposition to the offensive, destructive and mean-spirited media influence that is sweeping over the Earth."
Satan concentrates on destroying the family, and thus mainstream media — television, movies, Internet, music — often portray women as objects of abuse. They ridicule fidelity to spouse and encourage violation of the law of chastity. Violence and sexual content are more explicit and more widespread. "Ours surely is a time when men 'call evil good, and good evil.' "
Guard against overuse and misuse of media in the home and let the media know you disapprove of inappropriate content.
