What is being taught?

In my religion class, we just finished studying in the Book of Mormon where the resurrected Christ visits and administers among the ancient inhabitants of America.  What must it have been like to feel the Spirit there, to sit at His feet and be taught by Him, and to partake of the sacred emblems He blessed?

In chapter 21 of 3 Nephi the Lord prophesies of the gathering of His covenant people to the truth in the last days, "that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.  For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and marvelous work among them" (3 Ne. 21:8,9)

He also prophesies that in the last days, He will purge the people of their wickedness, that He will "cut off the witchcrafts, the graven images, the groves, all lyings, deceivings, envyings, strifes, priestcrafts, and whoredoms" it will all be "done away." (3 Ne. 21: 16-19)

When I read this description of such wickedness, I couldn't help but think of the majority of media and movies and the steady diet of filth offered freely to us in our homes.  What becomes of us when we take partake of this?  After all... isn't it true that "we are what we eat?"

As we think of those who gathered to be taught around the feet of our Savior, how they ate of the bread and wine...  we would do well to ask ourselves what is being taught in our homes?  What do we gather around?  If our T.V. programs and sitcoms of today could take on a physical identity, whose feet do our children sit at and receive teaching from?  What are they being fed?  Just think about it.  If the Lord came to our home to do some purging, where would He start?  I imagine He'd start by unplugging the television!

President Hinckley spoke at an American Mothers convention in May of 1994 and said, 'I am more concerned about the moral deficit than I am about the budget deficit.  The strength of a nation lies in the homes of its people.’  He then decried the ‘filth, the rot, the violence and profanity’ spewing into the home via television.  ‘If we could follow a slogan that says, ‘Turn off the TV and open a good book,’ we would do something of substance in strengthening another generation,’ he insisted.  (Sheri L. Dew, Go Forward with Faith: Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley, 477)

"A moral deficit?" Can we see this?  That was back in 1994 and I submit that the junk on T.V. is far worse today that it was 21 years ago...  And yet so many mothers leave movies, popular shows, and sitcoms, to 'babysit' their children every day. With a ratio of three hours of worship on Sundays to well over twenty hours of 'the world’s teachings' the rest of the week, who do we think our kids are going to imitate??  Mothers, we cannot do this!  It is irresponsible!!  We've got to turn it around!  We need to step up in being "guardians of the hearth."

The family is under attack on all fronts. In 1995, why did the First Presidency choose to announce the proclamation on the family in a general Relief Society meeting? After President Hinckley read it, he provided an answer to that question. “You are the guardians of the hearth,” he told the sisters. “You are the bearers of the children. You are they who nurture them and establish within them the habits of their lives. No other work reaches so close to divinity as does the nurturing of the sons and daughters of God.”  -(Daughters of My Kingdom "Guardians of the Hearth")

"You... establish within them the habits of their lives." What habits are we establishing, mothers? Watching hours and hours of television a day?!

My children give me a hard time because I am so strict with media.  I let them have 20 min. each of screen time per day and on the weekends they get to watch a movie or two.  We don't have cable so we don't get T.V. programs but we have the internet.  And as deprived as my kids might sometimes feel, one day they'll thank me for laying down these restrictions, for trying to establish other habits, noble habits, like serving a neighbor, expanding their talents, reading the scriptures on their own, listening to conference talks in the middle of the week, being creative, and the list goes on.  I can see good fruit bearing from this already.

I believe mothers, especially Latter-Day-Saint mothers who have made sacred covenants, will see a tremendous difference for good in their families if they personally  love and apply the standards outlined in the  For the Strength of Youth pamphlet.  Do we know what is in this?  Have we studied it?   I testify and promise that when we adhere to these teachings, it will result in wonderful, specific blessings:  

1. We will have an increased measure of the Spirit in our homes and contention will decrease. Our tone of communication and choice of words will improve.
2. Our identity, the identity of others, and the identity of our children will be more clear and centered on truth. We will lose desire for popularity and gain a stronger inner confidence.
3. Our children will be more receptive to the Gospel, they will be more sensitive to the things of the spirit, and they will feel closer to the Savior.

Those who wrote this pamphlet are true messengers from our Father in Heaven.  They were inspired by God in each and every one of these standards.  Are we giving strict heed??

The Lord promises the righteous gatherers in the last days that "all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." (3 Ne. 22:13)  This is more than a message to the House of Israel... It is to the mothers of Zion, the teachers of the home.  “Great shall be the peace” not only of our children but WE, will have peace as well, knowing that we didn't take the "easy road" but we took "the road less traveled."

Why wait for the second coming of the Savior when we can invite Him in our homes today?  Let His feet be the ones our children gather around.  Let His Spirit be what feeds them.

-Alicia