What Do You Think Of This Video?

[Calm]

It is not the Church exactly, but rather Deseretbook. They might be using those guys, might not as there are lots of options for filming in the area.

[rodheadlee]

Right on Cinepro! This in a nut shell. I hope that kid doesn't have nightmares, not that you said that, but right on.

Spoken truly from someone who has never been in the grasp of Satan on the other side of the line. I have been and I have spent the better part of 25 years getting back to the other side. It was an excellent lesson. I hope you don't have to make the same trip.

[Tacenda]

Spoken truly from someone who has never been in the grasp of Satan on the other side of the line. I have been and I have spent the better part of 25 years getting back to the other side. It was an excellent lesson. I hope you don't have to make the same trip.

I don't give the devil any power.  I have the power with the help of my Saviour.  Sure, empower that kid with the scriptures etc.  But don't make that kid feel so powerless because he didn't read the scriptures that week or month or year.  My dad never read the scriptures, and was among the most Christ like people I've known.  There is a moral compass and a strength in belief of a stronger power, the Lord's power.  Some people actually have a neurosis problem with thinking that Satan can do way more than he really does.        

[teddyaware]

I don't give the devil any power.  I have the power with the help of my Saviour.  Sure, empower that kid with the scriptures etc.  But don't make that kid feel so powerless because he didn't read the scriptures that week or month or year.  My dad never read the scriptures, and was among the most Christ like people I've known.  There is a moral compass and a strength in belief of a stronger power, the Lord's power.  Some people actually have a neurosis problem with thinking that Satan can do way more than he really does.

If Elder Bednar's demonstration is over the line, then the scriptures are over the line as well and are not fit for consumption by children who have not at least reached the teen years. There should be a statement on the front cover of the Standard Works saying "rated R." The Book of Mormon unequivocally declares the devil is a real being and that his fervent goal is the captivity and enslavement of the human race. And the sad fact is that he has already been persuasive and successful enough in his efforts that he has already drawn away millions upon millions of our pre-existent brothers and sisters into his pitiless realm from whence they cannot return.

 

If we cannot speak forthrightly to LDS children about the unpleasant realities concerning the adversary without causing them potential psychological and emotional harm, then we should make sure they are not exposed at all to such things. Children should not be allowed to attend sacrament meetings and General Conference lest they be exposed to the damaging information.

 

I say these things for no other reason than if you are correct, this course of action is the only sensible, logical and compassionate thing to do. There is no way to sugar coat the distasteful truth about the adversary, as he is the diametric and polar opposite of the God of goodness and love; and if his program of destruction cannot be spoken of without the potential for irreparable harm, talk of him should be strictly limited.

 

And lest someone think I'm being facetious, over the years I've had people tell me they think the Bible is a terrible book that's not fit for reading by decent people, saying exposure the horrors it contains could do more harm than good. 

Edited January 27, 2014 by teddyaware

[Tacenda]

Teddyaware, put it squarely on your own shoulders for what you do wrong, not the devil. Take responsibility for committing sin, not give it up to Satan. Take the power back. Do not give it to him to have over you. What a burden to be beholden to the worry of it.

[why me]

As LDS, we are often taught to focus on our "feelings" or gut reactions to determine whether something is "good" or not. I suspect there is a lot of cognitive dissonance going on with LDS whose brains are telling them that the video is "good" because it's an apostle speaking, but their gut is telling them that it's bad.

 

I think that you over simplify the feelings part. It is not feelings but experiences that matter. The lds have spiritual experiences and not spiritual feelings. When an investigator prays about the book of mormon they can receive a spiritual experience that the book is true. They are not receiving a spiritual feeling. But I do think that the lds use the words interchangeably. But it is a spiritual experience and not a spiritual feeling that is being implied.

Edited January 27, 2014 by why me

[why me]

I don't give the devil any power.  I have the power with the help of my Saviour.  Sure, empower that kid with the scriptures etc.  But don't make that kid feel so powerless because he didn't read the scriptures that week or month or year.  My dad never read the scriptures, and was among the most Christ like people I've known.  There is a moral compass and a strength in belief of a stronger power, the Lord's power.  Some people actually have a neurosis problem with thinking that Satan can do way more than he really does.        

And yet, the power of the devil cannot be underestimated. People choose evil for various of reasons. It is in the choice. We just need to read the papers to see the evil that is now taking place at a local level. The power of the savior is wonderful but satan also has the power to lead people astray.

[why me]

I think the presentation needs to be taken in the greater context it was meant to be in. Have you read the book and watched the other videos? I don't think anyone should assume something was not said until they do that.

Not only that, but this demonstration was only one part of the presentation. There was a beginning and an end. I am sure that the boy was in the audience for the whole time and listened to what was said after the demonstration that he was involved in. What we have is a video but we do not have the entire presentation nor the boy's reaction throughout the presentation. Nor do we know if the presenter had a conversation with the boy after the presentation.

 

Usually, the critics are using this example of the boy as an example of the GA's insensitivity. However, they seem to forget that there was also a beginning and an end to the presentation.

[teddyaware]

Teddyaware, put it squarely on your own shoulders for what you do wrong, not the devil. Take responsibility for committing sin, not give it up to Satan. Take the power back. Do not give it to him to have over you. What a burden to be beholden to the worry of it.

Ultimately each son of God, as a free agent, is responsible for the outcome of his own mortal life.. But what you are saying here might go too far in minimizing the messages and solemn warnings of the scriptures and the prophets concerning the adversary. Why do the scriptures spend so much time warning about the adversary if being mindful of him and his wiles is only of tertiary importance?

The adversary's most important battle tactic is to get the people to believe he doesn't exist. But before he can succeed in that endeavor he must often start the process that ends in the denial of his existence by gradually moving the believer away from a concern about him by minimizing his role and power. He might start by whispering in the ear of a believer by saying, "yes I do exist but I am not as terrible nor as powerful as the superstitious fanatics say I am."

 

From that point he might whisper again and say "yes I exist but I really play little to no real role in the challenges facing the saints in their mortal lives."

 

Then he might further whisper and say, "Ill let you in on a secret: there is a devil 'of sorts,' but he's not really a person, he's more like an abstract idea that God finds useful, one He shrouds in myth and mystery so as to frighten spiritually immature folks into being good." 

 

Finally, after he's gotten the vulnerable into just the right state of mind, he whispers one last time and says, "there is no hell... and I am no devil, for there is none (2 Nephi 28)" "—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance. (2 Nephi 28)."

 

It is well and good to teach the people that they don't have to be frightened of the adversary if they would love God with deep sincerity and exercise enough faith in Him, but it is another thing to minimize the role of the devil in the eternal war between good and evil. There have been far too many spiritual deaths and spiritual casualties in that war for it to be wise to ignore or minimize the true nature of the deadly enemy. 

Edited January 27, 2014 by teddyaware

[Tacenda]

Well I'm kinda in the clear then, my mom would sometimes tell me that he works hardest on those that are the most stalwart, anytime a leader/member would go off the rails.