WEBVTT 00:00:06.779 --> 00:00:10.499 Paisley: Hello again, everybody. PAISLEY imperfect here and we 00:00:10.529 --> 00:00:13.499 are going to dive right into it today because I think today is 00:00:13.499 --> 00:00:16.019 going to be a little bit long. It's a good thing. Our last one 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:18.539 was really short. I think this one's going to be kind of long. 00:00:19.560 --> 00:00:23.370 We're going to talk about elder Bednar, elder Bednar has an 00:00:23.370 --> 00:00:26.550 article it was in the June 2010 Liahona, called things as they 00:00:26.550 --> 00:00:30.930 really are. I thought it was a talk because I thought I 00:00:30.930 --> 00:00:35.280 remembered hearing him, Oh, it was a fireside address on May 3 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:42.420 2009. And then it was published in the Liahona in June of 2010. 00:00:43.230 --> 00:00:46.620 So it's called things as they really are. And it's a bit 00:00:46.620 --> 00:00:53.010 intense, I'm not gonna lie, he talks about... He starts off by 00:00:53.010 --> 00:00:55.920 saying that he's going to review several key elements of our 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:59.130 Heavenly Father's plan of happiness as the doctrinal 00:00:59.130 --> 00:01:01.710 Foundation. And this is kind of what drew me to this, right, 00:01:01.710 --> 00:01:03.420 because we were talking the other day about learning the 00:01:03.420 --> 00:01:07.260 doctrine as the doctrinal foundation for knowing and 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:09.540 understanding things as they really are. 00:01:10.770 --> 00:01:13.680 And then he says that he's going to talk about methods of attack 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:17.280 used by the adversary to distract us from or inhibit our 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.710 capacity to discern things as they really are. 00:01:20.730 --> 00:01:25.290 And then lastly, talk about the responsibilities that rests upon 00:01:25.290 --> 00:01:26.460 the rising generation. 00:01:27.960 --> 00:01:33.030 Okay, so let's dive right into that first part. The key 00:01:33.030 --> 00:01:35.250 elements of our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness is 00:01:35.250 --> 00:01:39.270 the doctrinal foundation. So he's mainly talking about one 00:01:39.270 --> 00:01:43.470 key element and that one key element is our physical body. He 00:01:43.470 --> 00:01:47.850 says, so this is this is the piece of doctrine that the rest 00:01:47.850 --> 00:01:50.220 of it is pretty much focused around. He says, our physical 00:01:50.220 --> 00:01:54.720 bodies make possible a breadth, a depth and an intensity of 00:01:54.720 --> 00:01:58.500 experience that simply could not be obtained in our pre mortal 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:03.420 state. A truth that really is and always will be, is that the 00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:09.060 body and the spirit constitute a reality and identity. They are 00:02:09.420 --> 00:02:13.680 our reality and identity. He says, When body and spirit are 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:18.630 inseparably connected, we can receive a fullness of joy. When 00:02:18.630 --> 00:02:23.190 they are separated, we cannot receive a fullness of joy. So 00:02:23.220 --> 00:02:29.940 that reminded me of a few months ago, I was in my own personal 00:02:29.940 --> 00:02:35.160 scripture study, I was reviewing Alma chapter 11. And in verses 00:02:35.160 --> 00:02:40.830 43 and 44, I saw something different. I saw something in 00:02:40.830 --> 00:02:44.760 there that I hadn't, I hadn't thought about in a particular 00:02:44.760 --> 00:02:49.830 way. I was actually listening to this chapter. I wasn't, I wasn't 00:02:49.830 --> 00:02:52.320 reading it. I was listening to it. I think I was coloring a 00:02:52.320 --> 00:02:54.060 picture or something at the same time. 00:02:54.630 --> 00:03:00.330 And when I heard verse 43, I was like, Wait, did he really just 00:03:00.330 --> 00:03:03.930 say that? And then I listen to it a little bit longer. And then 00:03:03.930 --> 00:03:07.920 He says it again in verse 44. And I was like, Hold on, I need 00:03:07.920 --> 00:03:11.040 to go back and listen to that. So here's verse 43. Now 00:03:11.040 --> 00:03:13.830 remember, we're talking about the body and the spirit. Okay. 00:03:14.310 --> 00:03:18.930 So this is Amulek, teaching with Alma. And he says in verse 43, 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:24.150 the spirit and the body shall be reunited, again, reunited, 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:30.300 again, in its perfect form, both limb and joint shall be restored 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:35.130 to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time. 00:03:36.260 --> 00:03:38.840 That's only the first part of the verse, the second part. So 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:41.600 this first part of the verse talks about the resurrection, 00:03:41.870 --> 00:03:46.910 the coming together of our physical bodies and our spirits. 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:50.450 And the second part talks about the judgment. So if you're not 00:03:50.450 --> 00:03:52.490 familiar with the plan of happiness, or the plan of 00:03:52.490 --> 00:03:55.430 salvation, or the plan of redemption, whatever name you 00:03:55.430 --> 00:03:57.560 prefer, if you're not familiar with that, I'll cover that in 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:00.050 another episode, I'm sure because I love talking about 00:04:00.050 --> 00:04:04.280 that. But right now, we're just talking about the one piece and 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:06.860 that's the resurrection, because we're talking about the 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:10.370 importance of our physical body. Right? So verse 43, again, the 00:04:10.370 --> 00:04:14.570 very beginning, the spirit in the body shall be reunited, re 00:04:14.630 --> 00:04:18.830 united again, in its perfect form, both limb and joint shall 00:04:18.830 --> 00:04:23.930 be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time. 00:04:24.770 --> 00:04:27.590 So it made me think like when I first heard that I was kind of 00:04:27.590 --> 00:04:36.080 like, Wait, what are you telling me that just my body and spirit 00:04:36.080 --> 00:04:41.420 being together, is its perfect form. Just the combination of 00:04:41.420 --> 00:04:43.250 the two together is its perfect form. 00:04:45.380 --> 00:04:48.200 If that's the case, I got a lot of exercising to do. I got a lot 00:04:48.200 --> 00:04:51.770 of work to do. So then in verse 44, it's kind of structured the 00:04:51.770 --> 00:04:54.650 same. The first part talks about the resurrection. The second 00:04:54.650 --> 00:04:57.800 part of the verse talks about the judgment. And I'm not going 00:04:57.800 --> 00:04:59.960 to get into the judgment today, but this 00:04:59.990 --> 00:05:04.100 The first part of verse 44 says, Now, this restoration shall come 00:05:04.100 --> 00:05:08.060 to all, both old and young, bonden, free male and female, 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:10.940 both the wicked and the righteous. And even there shall 00:05:10.940 --> 00:05:16.070 not be so much as a hair of their heads be lost, great. But 00:05:16.220 --> 00:05:23.330 everything shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:24.260 or in the body. 00:05:26.450 --> 00:05:33.950 What? So restored, reunited, we know that we didn't have these 00:05:33.950 --> 00:05:38.120 bodies before we came to this, to we didn't have these bodies 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:43.010 before this mortal experience, right? So if they're going to be 00:05:43.010 --> 00:05:46.490 reunited, that's the resurrection. But they're going 00:05:46.490 --> 00:05:49.850 to be reunited again, in its perfect form. 00:05:51.260 --> 00:05:58.760 So our, again is the suggestion then that and to be clear, I am 00:05:58.760 --> 00:06:01.820 not authorized and I don't have the authority. I don't have the 00:06:01.820 --> 00:06:07.040 keys to receive revelation for the entire church for the way 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:09.440 that the scripture should be interpreted. I'm sharing it with 00:06:09.440 --> 00:06:12.590 you because it hit me different. It hit me differently this time 00:06:12.590 --> 00:06:13.970 than it ever had before. 00:06:16.130 --> 00:06:22.190 Will is the combination? And as we go on, I'm sharing this 00:06:22.190 --> 00:06:24.890 because I think it's important as we continue talking about 00:06:24.890 --> 00:06:27.200 what elder Bednar is talking about with our our physical 00:06:27.200 --> 00:06:32.480 body. Because elder Bednar says, quote, because the physical body 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:35.840 is so central to the Father's plan of happiness, and our 00:06:35.840 --> 00:06:39.320 spiritual development, we should not be surprised that Lucifer 00:06:39.320 --> 00:06:42.290 seeks to frustrate our progression, by tempting us to 00:06:42.290 --> 00:06:47.570 use our bodies improperly. The very tool he does not have and 00:06:47.570 --> 00:06:52.190 cannot use is thus the primary target of his attempts to lower 00:06:52.220 --> 00:06:55.760 us to physical and spiritual destruction. 00:06:57.530 --> 00:07:02.240 Our eternity, our eternal progression, our spiritual 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:09.080 progression depends upon our use of our physical body, our 00:07:09.080 --> 00:07:14.120 physical body is central to the plan of happiness to the plan of 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:15.050 salvation. 00:07:16.370 --> 00:07:22.970 Okay, so now that we know how important our body is, He gives 00:07:22.970 --> 00:07:28.940 us to just two main ways in which the adversary tries to 00:07:29.540 --> 00:07:39.740 attack this central piece of the plan. He the two ways that he 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:44.300 says is, the adversary tries to get us to misuse our physical 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:50.090 body, or to minimize its importance. And those are the 00:07:50.090 --> 00:07:52.220 only two that he talks about. But he goes into a little bit 00:07:52.220 --> 00:07:56.300 more detail, he goes into a lot more detail. And I totally 00:07:56.300 --> 00:08:00.140 recommend going back and reading this, it is it is intense. And I 00:08:00.140 --> 00:08:03.500 almost split this up into three different episodes, because we 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:05.330 could talk about this for a really long time. 00:08:07.130 --> 00:08:10.430 So again, the two ways that he talks about the adversary 00:08:10.430 --> 00:08:17.090 attacking us. attacking this central piece of the plan is to 00:08:17.090 --> 00:08:21.590 misuse our physical body, or to minimize its importance. So 00:08:21.590 --> 00:08:26.420 let's talk about the misuse part first. And also, I just, I'm 00:08:26.420 --> 00:08:29.210 gonna throw this out there. I still have this quote on this 00:08:29.210 --> 00:08:32.540 sticky note on my wall that says, Satan delights in your 00:08:32.540 --> 00:08:38.120 misery. And I'm going to add that he delights in your misery, 00:08:38.150 --> 00:08:41.360 especially if it has to do with your physical body, because it's 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:43.940 the one thing you have that he will never get. 00:08:45.980 --> 00:08:51.200 Okay, misusing our physical body. He just lists a few. And 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:57.110 he says, the four that he uses to misuse our physical body 00:08:57.110 --> 00:09:01.220 would be to violate the law of chastity, to use drugs or other 00:09:01.220 --> 00:09:05.060 addictive substances to disfigure or dissipate or 00:09:05.060 --> 00:09:09.170 deface, sorry, disfigure or deface our bodies and the 00:09:09.170 --> 00:09:14.030 worshipping of the false idol of body image, our own or that of 00:09:14.030 --> 00:09:14.660 others. 00:09:15.980 --> 00:09:20.150 Interesting, right, this was in 2009 again, and then published 00:09:20.150 --> 00:09:24.350 again in 2010. I would love to see him do a follow up to this. 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:29.210 Elder Bednarz intense I love it. 00:09:32.030 --> 00:09:36.500 Sweet elder Holland. Elder Holland is not losing his 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:41.750 intensity but his his focus is changing. And elder Bednar is 00:09:41.750 --> 00:09:46.610 stepping right in there and and being the one that's really 00:09:46.850 --> 00:09:50.510 hitting us in the face with the hard stuff, right? I love it. 00:09:50.810 --> 00:09:54.320 Okay. He says no brothers and sisters, I cannot tell you all 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:59.540 the ways whereby you may misuse your bodies. He quotes Mossiah 00:09:59.540 --> 00:10:03.260 4:29 for there are diverse ways and means even so many that I 00:10:03.260 --> 00:10:07.100 cannot number them. But then he says, You know what is right and 00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:11.030 what is wrong. And you have the individual responsibility to 00:10:11.030 --> 00:10:15.680 learn for yourself by study and also by faith, the things that 00:10:15.680 --> 00:10:19.250 you should and should not do, and the doctrinal reasons that 00:10:19.250 --> 00:10:20.990 you should or should not do those things. 00:10:22.610 --> 00:10:27.890 And then he says, I testify that as you desire to So learn, as 00:10:27.890 --> 00:10:30.170 you watch yourselves and your thoughts and your words and your 00:10:30.170 --> 00:10:32.060 deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and 00:10:32.060 --> 00:10:34.400 continue in the faith of what you have heard concerning the 00:10:34.400 --> 00:10:37.610 coming of our Lord, even into the end of your lives, that 00:10:37.610 --> 00:10:41.270 comes from Hosea chapter four as well, you will be spiritually 00:10:41.270 --> 00:10:44.990 enlightened and protected. So as we continue to start learning 00:10:44.990 --> 00:10:48.650 more about the ways that Satan can attack us and get us to 00:10:48.650 --> 00:10:51.440 misuse our bodies, we will be spiritually enlightened and 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:54.590 protected. And he says, and according to your faithfulness 00:10:54.590 --> 00:10:58.370 and diligence, you will have the power to discern the deception 00:10:58.370 --> 00:11:02.600 and repel the attacks of the adversary, as he tempts you to 00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:06.410 misuse your physical body when he threw the word discern in 00:11:06.410 --> 00:11:08.060 there, remember that? 00:11:09.290 --> 00:11:12.590 President Nelson used that in that talk that we've kind of in 00:11:12.590 --> 00:11:15.890 basing all of this stuff on right a plea to my sisters, he 00:11:15.890 --> 00:11:19.640 talks about how the church needs women with the power of 00:11:19.640 --> 00:11:26.030 discernment, to be able to discern the popular trend that 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:29.720 discern what is good and what is bad within the popular trends 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:30.410 within the world. 00:11:31.430 --> 00:11:36.050 So an elder Bednar is promising us that we will have the power 00:11:36.050 --> 00:11:40.340 to discern the deception and repel the attacks. If we 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:43.250 continue to do those, all of those things, right. As we 00:11:43.250 --> 00:11:46.280 learn, we watch ourselves our thoughts, words, deeds, and as 00:11:46.280 --> 00:11:48.650 we follow the commandments of God and continue in the faith. 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:54.660 Okay. He says to those of us who know and understand the plan of 00:11:54.660 --> 00:11:58.590 salvation, any defiling of the body is rebellion and a denial 00:11:58.590 --> 00:12:02.550 of our true identity as sons and daughters of God. So treat your 00:12:02.550 --> 00:12:05.250 body like a temple. And he talks about that a little bit in there 00:12:05.250 --> 00:12:07.200 to treat your body like a temple. 00:12:08.520 --> 00:12:11.730 Would you draw on the walls of the temple? 00:12:13.020 --> 00:12:23.280 Would you? How do we say this? Would you put Windows on the 00:12:23.280 --> 00:12:26.130 outside for everybody to see everything that's going on in 00:12:26.130 --> 00:12:26.430 there? 00:12:30.690 --> 00:12:34.200 Okay, the second one, I'm just gonna eat you on that first. So 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:38.400 the first one was, he's trying to get us to misuse our bodies. 00:12:39.420 --> 00:12:42.300 The second one is to minimize the importance of our physical 00:12:42.300 --> 00:12:44.760 bodies. And this one gets interesting and he talks about 00:12:44.790 --> 00:12:50.040 this one being more subtle, and way more diabolical. misusing 00:12:50.040 --> 00:12:53.130 our bodies is a little bit more obvious, right? Like, you're not 00:12:53.130 --> 00:12:56.190 going to go out and violate the law of chastity. You're not like 00:12:56.220 --> 00:13:00.930 those are actual things to do using drugs, disfiguring are 00:13:00.930 --> 00:13:04.290 defacing our bodies. Those are more obvious things. 00:13:05.490 --> 00:13:11.970 The minimizing the importance of our bodies is more subtle. And 00:13:11.970 --> 00:13:15.000 he gives three examples. Again, he cannot give all of the 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:18.510 examples, you're going to have to pray and listen to the spirit 00:13:18.510 --> 00:13:21.180 and figure it out for yourself. But he does give three good 00:13:21.180 --> 00:13:27.720 ones. The first one he he's he uses or mentions is going to 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:31.410 unusual and dangerous extremes searching for an ever greater 00:13:31.410 --> 00:13:33.990 and more exhilarating adrenaline rush. 00:13:35.130 --> 00:13:38.820 The second one he talks about excessive video gaming and 00:13:38.820 --> 00:13:42.600 online socializing, and what that can cause and he lists 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:45.060 three different things. And we'll we'll go into more detail 00:13:45.060 --> 00:13:48.780 on all on all three of these here in just a second. But the 00:13:48.780 --> 00:13:51.840 three different bullet points underneath the excessive video 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:53.700 gaming and online socializing. 00:13:54.870 --> 00:13:59.010 They cause us to neglect or sacrifice eternal relationships 00:13:59.010 --> 00:14:01.710 for digital distractions, diversion and detours that have 00:14:01.710 --> 00:14:05.670 no lasting value. Think about your endless scrolling. Is there 00:14:05.670 --> 00:14:09.000 any lasting value in that? Are you really looking at pictures 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:11.820 of your family or pictures of your kids? Or are you looking at 00:14:12.270 --> 00:14:13.680 influencer content? 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:20.670 We waste countless hours he quotes D&C 60:13 idling away our 00:14:20.670 --> 00:14:24.810 time. And then it can cause us to postpone or forfeit 00:14:24.810 --> 00:14:27.330 vocational or academic achievement. We'd rather be 00:14:27.330 --> 00:14:31.020 sitting in front of a computer playing a game or endlessly 00:14:31.020 --> 00:14:35.730 scrolling through social media instead of studying for our test 00:14:35.730 --> 00:14:39.570 or taking a final or re Enrolling or enrolling in the 00:14:39.570 --> 00:14:44.520 first place. And then the third one is anonymity. And I thought 00:14:44.520 --> 00:14:46.920 that one was interesting. I'm kind of glad that he mentioned 00:14:46.920 --> 00:14:50.520 that because when you think about your online experience, 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:55.620 there's a certain level of anonymity especially with people 00:14:55.620 --> 00:14:56.460 that you don't know. 00:14:57.690 --> 00:15:00.780 Okay, so let's go to he doesn't spend In a lot of time on the 00:15:00.780 --> 00:15:04.080 first one going to unusual and dangerous extreme searching for 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:07.170 an ever greater and more exhilarating adrenaline rush. 00:15:08.280 --> 00:15:12.780 He, I'm just going to sum it up with this one quote from that 00:15:12.780 --> 00:15:17.070 section, he says putting at risk, the very instrument God 00:15:17.070 --> 00:15:19.800 has given us to receive the learning experiences of 00:15:19.800 --> 00:15:24.000 mortality, merely to pursue a thrill or some suppose it fun to 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:27.750 bolster ego or to gain acceptance truly minimizes the 00:15:27.750 --> 00:15:31.650 importance of our physical bodies. It we push it to the 00:15:31.650 --> 00:15:36.600 extreme for what is it because we don't think that it's 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:37.200 important. 00:15:38.640 --> 00:15:42.270 And he, like he mentioned, exercise is a good thing, and 00:15:42.270 --> 00:15:44.610 everybody should exercise and we should eat right, there's a word 00:15:44.610 --> 00:15:48.450 of wisdom for that, right? Like, we should use our bodies 00:15:48.450 --> 00:15:54.780 appropriately, and we should use them for what God has intended 00:15:54.780 --> 00:15:59.460 for us to use them for. That doesn't necessarily mean going 00:15:59.460 --> 00:16:00.180 to the extreme. 00:16:01.770 --> 00:16:04.200 Okay, the second one is the one he spends a lot of time on. And 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:08.040 in 2010, it makes, it makes sense, the excessive video 00:16:08.040 --> 00:16:12.090 gaming and online socializing, and he shares like two or three 00:16:12.090 --> 00:16:17.010 different stories in that article of things like one of 00:16:17.010 --> 00:16:19.320 them, he found in the Wall Street Journal, one of them was 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:25.380 another that he had heard about, of these people. For fitting 00:16:25.380 --> 00:16:29.970 real relationships for virtual ones, go look them up, I'm not 00:16:29.970 --> 00:16:30.780 going to share them here. 00:16:31.650 --> 00:16:34.560 He says that technology can be used to replicate or augment 00:16:34.560 --> 00:16:38.130 reality and create a virtual one. And he gives positive 00:16:38.130 --> 00:16:44.100 examples to like a surgeon or a pilot using simulation software 00:16:44.550 --> 00:16:49.110 to gain experience and become better at their profession. And 00:16:49.140 --> 00:16:54.030 he also talks about architects and engineers being able to use 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:58.110 technology to create better models of the buildings that 00:16:58.110 --> 00:17:02.940 they're designing, so that they can help prevent damage or 00:17:02.940 --> 00:17:05.400 collapse in case of an earthquake or other natural 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:06.120 disasters. 00:17:07.560 --> 00:17:11.430 Then he says this, and I was gonna try and summarize or 00:17:11.430 --> 00:17:15.150 paraphrase, and I just I can't, because he uses the word 00:17:15.150 --> 00:17:17.880 fidelity. And I want to make sure that this that the 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:20.940 definition of this comes across, he says in each of these 00:17:20.940 --> 00:17:24.330 examples, talking about the surgeon, the pilot, the 00:17:24.330 --> 00:17:28.050 architects and the engineers, in each of these examples, a high 00:17:28.050 --> 00:17:32.550 degree of fidelity in the simulation or model contributes 00:17:32.550 --> 00:17:36.270 to the effectiveness of the experience. The term fidelity 00:17:36.270 --> 00:17:42.240 denotes the similarity between similarity between reality and a 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:46.170 representation of reality, such as simulation can be 00:17:46.170 --> 00:17:51.450 constructive, if the fidelity is high, and the purposes are good. 00:17:52.020 --> 00:17:55.200 So there's your two, there's our two measuring sticks, high 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:01.710 fidelity, meaning that the similarity between the augmented 00:18:01.710 --> 00:18:07.770 reality and actual reality is similar. That's high fidelity, 00:18:08.250 --> 00:18:11.790 that's measuring stick number one, measuring stick number two, 00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:16.260 the purposes are good. For example, providing experience 00:18:16.260 --> 00:18:18.780 that saves lives or improves the quality of life. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:26.670 And then he shows to two pictures of a sealing room in 00:18:26.670 --> 00:18:28.320 the Newport Beach, California temple. 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:34.830 But the two images are very, very similar. When you look at 00:18:34.830 --> 00:18:37.620 them, it's kind of like, it's like one of those puzzles, 00:18:37.620 --> 00:18:39.390 right, where you got to find the differences between the 00:18:39.390 --> 00:18:41.760 pictures, there are definitely differences, like the chandelier 00:18:41.760 --> 00:18:45.690 is different. But the two pictures that he's showing, one 00:18:45.690 --> 00:18:48.450 is the computer generated version of what that sealing 00:18:48.450 --> 00:18:51.660 room was going to look like. And the other was the actual 00:18:51.660 --> 00:18:54.780 photograph of what that sealing room did look like when it was 00:18:54.780 --> 00:19:01.410 done. Very, very similar. And he says in in this example, high 00:19:01.410 --> 00:19:04.410 fidelity is employed to accomplish the most important 00:19:04.410 --> 00:19:07.680 purpose, the design and construction of a sacred and 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:08.490 beautiful temple. 00:19:10.590 --> 00:19:14.940 So we have our augmented reality, virtual reality, we 00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:19.320 have actual reality, very similar and good purpose. 00:19:19.350 --> 00:19:23.550 There's our two measuring sticks. Very similar, good 00:19:23.550 --> 00:19:28.320 purpose. However, a simulation or model can lead to spiritual 00:19:28.320 --> 00:19:33.060 impairment and danger if the fidelity fidelity is high, but 00:19:33.060 --> 00:19:34.380 the purposes are bad. 00:19:35.670 --> 00:19:40.230 So it's very similar to real life. But the purpose is not 00:19:40.230 --> 00:19:44.820 good. That's where things get dangerous. And then he gives an 00:19:44.820 --> 00:19:50.040 apostolic voice of warning. And it always kind of, like raises 00:19:50.040 --> 00:19:54.120 the hairs on my neck when I when I hear that he says I raise an 00:19:54.150 --> 00:19:57.480 apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling, 00:19:57.600 --> 00:19:59.970 suffocating suppressing and 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.200 constraining impact of some kinds of cyberspace interactions 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:08.430 and experiences upon our souls. The concerns I raise are not 00:20:08.430 --> 00:20:11.490 new. They apply equally to other types of media such as 00:20:11.490 --> 00:20:16.170 television, movies, and music. But in a cyber world, these 00:20:16.170 --> 00:20:20.340 challenges are more pervasive and intense. I plead with you to 00:20:20.340 --> 00:20:24.750 be aware of the sense doling and spiritually destructive 00:20:24.780 --> 00:20:27.990 influence of cyberspace technologies that are used to 00:20:27.990 --> 00:20:32.730 produce high fidelity and promote degrading and evil 00:20:32.730 --> 00:20:36.360 purposes, high fidelity, bad purpose. 00:20:38.430 --> 00:20:42.330 So that was bullet point number two. So we've talked about going 00:20:42.330 --> 00:20:45.840 to unusual and dangerous extremes with our bodies, and 00:20:45.840 --> 00:20:49.290 how that minimizes our body's importance. We've talked about 00:20:49.320 --> 00:20:52.170 excessive video gaming and online socializing. And the 00:20:52.170 --> 00:20:54.960 third one was anonymity. And he doesn't spend a lot of time went 00:20:54.990 --> 00:20:58.590 on that one either. But he does caution us to remember a couple 00:20:58.590 --> 00:21:02.910 of things. So, first, so anonymity. Everybody knows what 00:21:02.910 --> 00:21:06.450 anonymity is, right? It's your ability to remain anonymous. 00:21:07.590 --> 00:21:12.750 Remember, that apostasy. This is him, quote. Remember, that 00:21:12.750 --> 00:21:16.950 apostasy is not anonymous, simply because it occurs in a 00:21:16.950 --> 00:21:20.610 blog, or through a fabricated identity in a chat room or 00:21:20.610 --> 00:21:25.470 virtual world. immoral thoughts, words and deeds always are 00:21:25.470 --> 00:21:30.210 immoral, even in cyberspace. Just because you typed it to a 00:21:30.210 --> 00:21:32.190 fake person doesn't make it okay. 00:21:34.230 --> 00:21:37.230 Then he says, The Lord knows who we really, really are. This is 00:21:37.230 --> 00:21:40.620 the other remember this. The Lord knows who we really are, 00:21:41.190 --> 00:21:45.240 what we really think, what we really do, and who we really are 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:50.490 becoming, he has warned us that the rebellious shall be pierced 00:21:50.490 --> 00:21:54.120 with much sorrow, for their iniquities shall be spoken upon 00:21:54.120 --> 00:21:56.970 the housetops. And their secret acts shall be revealed. 00:21:58.280 --> 00:22:01.580 So you might think that you're anonymously hurting somebody's 00:22:01.580 --> 00:22:06.860 feelings, nothing is anonymous, before Heavenly Father, and it 00:22:06.860 --> 00:22:08.180 will all come back to you. 00:22:10.730 --> 00:22:14.900 Okay, I also want to make sure that I share this quote, because 00:22:15.170 --> 00:22:22.490 neither he technology in and of itself is not a bad thing. I 00:22:22.490 --> 00:22:27.140 hope that people are getting something good. From this rate, 00:22:27.320 --> 00:22:31.010 technology is not necessarily a bad thing. This is what he says 00:22:31.040 --> 00:22:35.240 neither technology nor rapid change in or of itself is good 00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:40.310 or evil. The real challenge is to understand both within the 00:22:40.310 --> 00:22:42.830 context of the eternal plan of happiness. 00:22:45.590 --> 00:22:53.690 So technology, and rapid change, these are not bad things. We've 00:22:53.690 --> 00:22:56.690 seen a lot of change in the church lately, a lot of change, 00:22:56.900 --> 00:23:01.340 not to the doctrine, mind you to policies and procedures, we've 00:23:01.340 --> 00:23:05.690 seen a lot of change. Neither technology nor rapid change is a 00:23:05.690 --> 00:23:11.120 bad thing. A good bad, a good or bad thing. The real challenge is 00:23:11.120 --> 00:23:13.970 to understand both within the context of the plan of 00:23:13.970 --> 00:23:20.570 happiness, how will change impact the plan of happiness for 00:23:20.570 --> 00:23:23.690 you as an individual? Because that's who we're entitled to 00:23:23.690 --> 00:23:28.610 receive revelation for right ourselves individually? How is 00:23:28.610 --> 00:23:32.180 your technology? Or how is your how is the rapid change within 00:23:32.180 --> 00:23:36.620 your life affecting the planet happiness for you? He says 00:23:36.620 --> 00:23:40.730 Lucifer will encourage you to misuse and to minimize the 00:23:40.730 --> 00:23:43.940 importance of your physical body. He will attempt to 00:23:43.940 --> 00:23:47.570 substitute the monotony of virtual repetition for the 00:23:47.600 --> 00:23:51.710 infinite variety of God's creations and convince us that 00:23:51.710 --> 00:23:55.250 we are merely mortal things to be acted upon, instead of 00:23:55.250 --> 00:23:58.580 eternal souls blessed with moral agency to act for ourselves. 00:23:59.540 --> 00:24:02.960 When you're sitting there in a chat room, or are there chat 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:06.500 rooms anymore? I might be dating myself when you're playing a 00:24:06.500 --> 00:24:08.420 game online, are you? 00:24:10.520 --> 00:24:13.460 That is not necessarily a bad thing, either. But how is it 00:24:13.460 --> 00:24:17.210 affecting how is it affecting you? And he actually gives two 00:24:17.210 --> 00:24:20.090 questions to look at in this talk. I'm going to scroll to 00:24:20.090 --> 00:24:23.420 these I wasn't planning on sharing this. But he gives two 00:24:23.420 --> 00:24:26.720 questions for how we can determine. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:29.720 Alright, where did they go? They're there. 00:24:31.250 --> 00:24:36.920 I invite you. He says, For your happiness, and protection. I 00:24:36.920 --> 00:24:39.200 invite you to study more diligently the doctrine of the 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:42.350 plan of salvation and to prayerfully ponder the truths we 00:24:42.350 --> 00:24:45.680 have reviewed. I offer two questions for consideration in 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:48.620 your personal pondering and prayerful study. So when you're 00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:57.590 doing your online stuff, when you're thinking about minimizing 00:24:58.550 --> 00:25:02.150 the minimization of of your, of the importance of your physical 00:25:02.150 --> 00:25:05.090 body. Think about these two questions, does the use of 00:25:05.090 --> 00:25:09.380 various technologies and media invite or impede the constant 00:25:09.380 --> 00:25:13.070 companionship of the Holy Ghost in my life? And number two does 00:25:13.070 --> 00:25:17.720 the time that I spend using various technologies and media 00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:22.940 in large or restrict my capacity to live to love and to serve in 00:25:22.940 --> 00:25:23.810 meaningful ways. 00:25:26.330 --> 00:25:30.710 I remember social media challenges or social media. When 00:25:31.280 --> 00:25:35.030 was it President Nelson, President Monson? Elder Hall, I 00:25:35.030 --> 00:25:37.910 don't remember. I feel like it's happened a few different times 00:25:38.180 --> 00:25:43.760 when we've been challenged to go on like a social media fast. And 00:25:43.760 --> 00:25:47.480 I remember thinking at the time like, but it doesn't affect me 00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:52.070 like that. And so I started to pay attention to how it did 00:25:52.070 --> 00:25:52.700 affect me. 00:25:53.750 --> 00:25:58.400 And I started, instead of fasting, I started cleaning up 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:02.120 my account, I stopped following people who were consistently 00:26:02.120 --> 00:26:08.450 negative. I stopped following people whose posts made me not 00:26:08.450 --> 00:26:13.460 feel great inside. And it wasn't it wasn't, I wasn't following. I 00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:16.520 wasn't unfollowing people who were just having a hard time. To 00:26:16.520 --> 00:26:19.040 be clear. I was unfollowing people who were being 00:26:19.040 --> 00:26:25.640 consistently destructive. Not towards me directly, but just in 00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:31.520 general. And I started following people who were more positive. I 00:26:31.520 --> 00:26:35.990 started following the apostles as they started to get their 00:26:35.990 --> 00:26:38.900 accounts. This is a long time ago, as they started to get 00:26:38.900 --> 00:26:42.050 their own social media accounts, I started following them. I 00:26:42.050 --> 00:26:46.010 started following uplifting accounts, that so that when I 00:26:46.010 --> 00:26:50.540 logged in, and when I scrolled, as I do, I'm not perfect at this 00:26:50.540 --> 00:26:54.170 either, right? As I, as I scrolled, I would find uplifting 00:26:54.170 --> 00:26:56.720 content, something that would make me feel better about 00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:01.580 myself, or give me some motivation to better myself and 00:27:01.580 --> 00:27:06.530 started getting rid of all of that other just clutter and 00:27:06.530 --> 00:27:07.220 noise. 00:27:08.990 --> 00:27:13.940 Okay, so then he talks about the responsibility. So we've talked 00:27:13.940 --> 00:27:18.890 about the three things at the very beginning, right, we're 00:27:18.890 --> 00:27:22.400 going to talk about the pieces of the plan of happiness, which 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:25.190 we did. We're talking about, specifically, our bodies this 00:27:25.190 --> 00:27:28.490 time around, we're talking about how the adversary attacks our 00:27:28.490 --> 00:27:31.790 bodies in two different ways. And now, we're going to just 00:27:31.790 --> 00:27:34.790 quickly look at the section where he talks about the 00:27:34.790 --> 00:27:38.810 responsibilities of the rising generation. And this was in 00:27:38.810 --> 00:27:46.310 2010. And 2010, I was a oh my goodness, 14 years ago, early 00:27:46.340 --> 00:27:48.620 30s. I was in my early 30s. 00:27:51.770 --> 00:27:56.720 I'm, I don't, I'm older now. And I still feel like I'm part of 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:59.030 the rising generation. And maybe it's just because I've heard it 00:27:59.060 --> 00:28:02.330 my entire life that you are the rising generation, whatever your 00:28:02.330 --> 00:28:07.130 the. So maybe this applied to me, maybe it doesn't. But I I 00:28:07.130 --> 00:28:11.060 still like to think it does. So he talks about or he reiterates 00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:15.290 that we have been saved specifically for this day. And 00:28:15.290 --> 00:28:17.600 he shares that information to give us the courage that we need 00:28:17.600 --> 00:28:20.840 to face these challenges these two attacks on our bodies. 00:28:23.130 --> 00:28:26.280 But the one responsibility that he consistently mentions is that 00:28:26.280 --> 00:28:29.760 of obedience. Have you ever thought of obedience as a 00:28:29.760 --> 00:28:35.490 responsibility? It is your responsibility to be obedient to 00:28:35.550 --> 00:28:37.050 our Heavenly Father's commandments. 00:28:38.760 --> 00:28:42.390 I mean, it doesn't sound wrong. So chew on that for a bit while 00:28:42.390 --> 00:28:45.960 I share this quote. He says obedience opens the door to the 00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:49.290 constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual 00:28:49.290 --> 00:28:53.190 gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost, 00:28:53.430 --> 00:28:57.030 enable us to avoid deception, and to see to feel to know to 00:28:57.030 --> 00:29:01.440 understand and to remember things as they really are. You 00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:04.410 and I have been endowed with a greater capacity for obedience 00:29:04.410 --> 00:29:09.930 precisely for these reasons. So we have been endowed with a 00:29:09.930 --> 00:29:14.070 greater capacity for obedience, so that we can feel the 00:29:14.070 --> 00:29:17.070 influence of the Holy Ghost and we can see feel no understand 00:29:17.070 --> 00:29:19.980 and remember things as they really are. 00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:26.826 Alright, so I'm just gonna give a few more gifts from elder 00:29:26.900 --> 00:29:31.007 Bednar as I closed this very long episode. Thank you for 00:29:31.080 --> 00:29:35.554 sticking through this with me. Once again, these are meant to 00:29:35.627 --> 00:29:40.027 inspire and provide us with the courage that we need to face 00:29:40.100 --> 00:29:44.354 what's coming. He says, and these are, I pulled these from 00:29:44.427 --> 00:29:48.828 different spots in this article. But he gives lots of, to me 00:29:48.901 --> 00:29:52.715 motive motivating and encouraging words. He says, As 00:29:52.788 --> 00:29:57.188 we heed this inspired counsel. We can and will be blessed to 00:29:57.261 --> 00:30:01.808 recognize and repel the attacks of the adversary today, and in 00:30:01.882 --> 00:30:05.915 the days that lie ahead, we can and will fulfill our 14 00:30:05.989 --> 00:30:10.609 responsibilities and contribute to the work of the Lord and all 00:30:10.682 --> 00:30:14.862 the world. We can do it. We were blessed with the gift of 00:30:14.936 --> 00:30:18.896 obedience so that we can be obedient and see all these 00:30:18.969 --> 00:30:22.050 different things discern right from wrong. 00:30:23.190 --> 00:30:26.760 He says you will receive answers. Specifically, he's 00:30:26.760 --> 00:30:29.100 talking about those two questions. As you're asking 00:30:29.100 --> 00:30:33.450 yourself those two questions. He says, you will receive answers 00:30:33.450 --> 00:30:37.290 inspiration and instruction from the Holy Ghost suited to your 00:30:37.290 --> 00:30:42.210 individual circumstances and needs. I repeat and affirm the 00:30:42.210 --> 00:30:46.290 teaching of the Prophet Joseph, in quotes Joseph Smith, all 00:30:46.290 --> 00:30:50.610 beings who have bodies have power over those who have not, 00:30:51.270 --> 00:30:55.650 the devil has no power over us only as we permit him. 00:30:57.060 --> 00:31:00.454 Joseph Smith taught that a long, long time ago, and it still 00:31:00.511 --> 00:31:03.510 holds true. The devil only has the power we give him. 00:31:04.680 --> 00:31:09.060 These eternal truths. last quote from elder Bednar, for today, 00:31:09.130 --> 00:31:13.158 these eternal truths about the importance of our physical 00:31:13.228 --> 00:31:17.750 bodies will fortify you against the deception and the attacks of 00:31:17.820 --> 00:31:18.810 the adversary. 00:31:23.370 --> 00:31:27.488 It's a bit intense elder Bednarz and that intense, but he's 00:31:27.558 --> 00:31:31.676 right. We have been given a greater capacity for obedience, 00:31:31.746 --> 00:31:36.143 we just have to exercise it, we just have to decide that that's 00:31:36.213 --> 00:31:40.611 what we're going to do. Argument is a strong word, I got into a 00:31:40.681 --> 00:31:44.590 philosophical discussion with someone one time about the 00:31:44.659 --> 00:31:48.987 scripture that says Choose you this day whom you will serve as 00:31:49.057 --> 00:31:52.966 for me and my house, I will serve the Lord. I've doesn't 00:31:53.036 --> 00:31:57.433 everybody have like a plate or a cross stitch or something with 00:31:57.503 --> 00:31:58.830 that on their wall? 00:32:01.770 --> 00:32:05.888 The I was, I was coming at it from the perspective of choose 00:32:05.957 --> 00:32:10.213 today to follow Jesus Christ. Choose today. And then just make 00:32:10.282 --> 00:32:14.332 it I already decided, make it one of those things, right? I 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:18.382 already decided that's what I'm going to do. Why is this a 00:32:18.450 --> 00:32:22.638 question that's coming up in my brain. But this friend that I 00:32:22.707 --> 00:32:27.031 was having this discussion with, was like, No, that's something 00:32:27.100 --> 00:32:31.493 that you're supposed to do every day. You're supposed to wake up 00:32:31.562 --> 00:32:35.818 every day. Choose today to serve the Lord, choose you this day 00:32:35.887 --> 00:32:37.260 whom you will serve. 00:32:38.310 --> 00:32:41.220 Choose today to serve the Lord and make that choice every day. 00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:46.440 The longer the more this was years ago, this conversation and 00:32:46.440 --> 00:32:51.540 is still in my brain. Because I think both are true. Choose 00:32:51.540 --> 00:32:56.100 today to serve Jesus Christ. Choose today to serve the Lord 00:32:56.880 --> 00:33:01.050 and live as though you've already made that choice. But 00:33:01.050 --> 00:33:04.950 then every morning, remind yourself and on the days that 00:33:04.950 --> 00:33:08.340 are harder, the times when we're going through way more difficult 00:33:08.340 --> 00:33:12.060 things that might have to be a daily choice, to choose that day 00:33:12.060 --> 00:33:16.050 to serve the Lord. Because it might not be what you want to do 00:33:16.050 --> 00:33:16.680 that day. 00:33:18.810 --> 00:33:22.759 Make your choice. Have the choice be made. And then follow 00:33:22.827 --> 00:33:26.844 the counsel of elder Bednar. Be obedient and just watch the 00:33:26.912 --> 00:33:30.793 blessings come in. And I'm looking forward to the gift of 00:33:30.862 --> 00:33:35.151 discernment. It's something I've always wanted. And I just want 00:33:35.219 --> 00:33:39.577 to go try and figure out how to get it because I want to be able 00:33:39.645 --> 00:33:43.731 to tell the difference between what is good and what is not. 00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:47.952 And be able to follow the good trends and be able to push the 00:33:48.020 --> 00:33:51.970 bad trends aside, right. Use our measuring sticks. What is 00:33:52.038 --> 00:33:56.259 reality? Is it good? How close to reality is this? Is it good? 00:33:56.328 --> 00:34:00.617 Anyway, I hope you got something from this today. I know that I 00:34:00.685 --> 00:34:04.703 did. I really appreciate you sticking around. I know it's a 00:34:04.771 --> 00:34:09.061 long one. Thank you so much for your time and enjoy the rest of 00:34:09.129 --> 00:34:09.810 your week.