Satan's vision of physical intimacy is cunning, counterfeiting, and contorting.
Lucifer offers
his
skewed view of physical intimacy through movies, magazines, and music—actually
through any
and
all publications and productions known to humankind—from stage plays to
Internet chat
rooms.
When our vision clears and our frame is enlarged, we see the adversary's
ploys for what
they
really are: elaborate and extensive maneuverings to capture our very souls.
Lucifer covets your
body
and your spirit and those of your loved ones, and he is relentless in his
sinister pursuit.
And now, if you wonder how really old the adversary's craftiness is, and
therefore how
really
good he is at his craft, just read Romans 1: 24–31 and 2 Timothy 3:1–6.
There, in black and
white,
is what is available for you to see in living color in your own home, with
the assistance of
your
television, VCR, and computer. Paul's accounting of what the people were
involved in—who
once
knew God, yet turned away—sounds just like one night's worth of prime-time
sitcoms (better
said,
"sick coms").
Here is Paul's report: "[And they were] filled with all unrighteousness,
fornication,
wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity
. . .
backbiters,
haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient
to
parents,
without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful"
(Romans 1:29–31).
And now, listen to Paul's description as he writes to Timothy describing
the last
days—our
days. As you listen, think about where you may have seen these things before:
"This
know
also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own
selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, without
natural
affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good,
traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God" (2 Timothy
3:1–4).
And then the most chilling message of all. It's not bad enough that those
horrible things
are
happening out there in the world. The worst part is that they come sneaking,
creeping into our
homes
and influencing us.
Listen to verse 6: "For of this sort are they which creep into houses,
and lead captive silly
women,
laden with sins, led away with divers lusts" (2 Timothy 3:6).
Could Paul possibly be talking about afternoon soap operas and talk shows—and
how
through
them, all these offenses creep into our homes? And could he be describing
those of us who
watch
them? Are we silly when we watch them? And is watching them leading us
away into divers
lusts?
Could Isaiah possibly be speaking to us, the Lord's women of the latter
days when he
says:
"Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters"
(Isaiah 32:9).
Have we been careless? Have we drifted far too much in the direction of
the world's
view,
which is so saturated with Lucifer's lies about physical intimacy?
It is indeed time to rise up and be careful! Careful about everything that
comes into our
hearts,
minds, and homes which pertains to physical intimacy. Could the words of
the Prophet
Joseph
Smith apply to how in times past we have carelessly thought about, and
talked about,
physical
intimacy? Joseph said: "How vain and trifling have been our spirits, our
conferences, our
councils,
our meetings, our private as well as public conversations—too low, too
mean, too vulgar,
too
condescending" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding
Smith [Salt
Lake
City: Deseret Book, 1938], 137). We must be very careful with our language
and our
conversations
about everything related to this sacred physical endowment.
On the other hand we need to be bold in exposing Lucifer and his lies.
We need to rise
up,
and with ever increasing clarity point out his counterfeits, his deceptions,
his trickery. I believe
that
all satanically influenced presentations about physical intimacy should
be stamped "More Lies!"
To protect our minds and hearts, our homes and families from the intrusions
of the devil's
devices,
perhaps we need big, bold warning signs on every book, magazine, videotape,
audiotape,
TV
sitcom, movie, play, and so forth, which is coproduced by the adversary
himself. Warning signs
that
would reveal his works for what they really are: angry protests against
God and persistent,
power-hungry
efforts to obliterate the truth.
When I think about all the individuals I have had the privilege to assist,
whose lives in one
way
or another were shattered and shackled because of the effects of moral
transgressions, I want
to
post a forewarning on each and every satanically coproduced product about
physical intimacy.
The
forewarning I would post is simple. It would read:
"If you choose to open this, you will be giving the adversary more power over you."
I have also thought of six other warnings that could be displayed on all
of Lucifer's
contaminated
and contaminating material. As you read, note which warnings might form
a
protective
barrier, encircling our families and shutting the adversary out.
Warning 1. To be stamped on the cover of his magazines: "Contents highly
addictive.
Extremely corrosive-to-the-soul materials enclosed. Be prepared to have
your mind
twisted,
your views of love ravaged, your spirit shrunk. Be aware that the Spirit
of the Lord will not
be
with you during or after viewing. Be prepared that after an initial rush,
you will experience
feelings
of depression, loneliness, despair, and guilt. Nevertheless, with repeated
exposures over
time,
you can numb those feelings and enter into an almost total amnesia about
who you really are
and
about truth itself."
Warning 2. For the beginning of Satan's coproduced movies: "The following
scenes
are brought to you in the hope that you will think of yourself as being
an animal. Actually the
dung
from an animal is more pure and would harm you less when taken into your
system. Extreme
caution
needed. This movie will make you believe that lust is really love and that
all love really
is—is
lust. This movie will have its greatest effect if observed when you are
feeling misunderstood,
alone,
blue, or just that you don't fit in. If you are not in any of these moods,
viewing the movie will
actually
assist in getting you there. If you are in one of these moods, your spirit
will be more
vulnerable,
and thus your ability to distinguish good from evil will be even more quickly
extinguished.
Warning 3. For the devil's Internet connections: "Share the following with
someone
whose
soul you would like to destroy. Complete success is ensured if you can
offer it in the spirit
of
friendship and under the guise of love. By thinking and talking together
about the content, all
sweet
pure feelings will be distorted into grand perversions. Pick a perversion,
any perversion.
That
may be one of the very last choices you will get to make.
In fact, if you are tired of making choices just view the following several
times—or keep
immersing
yourself in similar material—and your degree of freedom will be increasingly
limited with
each
successive viewing. The irony is that you will be provided with a personalized
illusion that
your
freedom is actually increasing. We've taken this way beyond the old smoke
and mirrors
tricks—and
the illusions that will influence your heart and mind will be stunning.
Virtual reality is
here
to replace virtuous living.
Warning 4. To announce the adversary's influence on prime-time viewing:
"How
many
lies can you find in the following sitcom? If you can't find any . . .
Gotcha! In the following,
we
are going to offer you ideas that you have never before entertained. But
with repetition and
humor
we will slowly dilute the initial recoiling of your spirit, and you will
begin to forget that there
was
ever a time when you didn't believe these lies to be true.
Warning 5. A lie-busting warning for rented videos: "Fantasy only allowed
here.
Only
erotic illusions contained. No empathic love depicted. No consequences
noted. No impact
on
your body, spirit, relationships with God, family and friends addressed.
Please note that
interactions
will appear much more splendid than they really are. This is not real life.
But it is a
really
great lie. We have left out the gory details that would only ruin the subtle
appeal this movie
will
have for you.
Warning 6. For videos purchased: "Congratulations! You bought the movie
this time
instead
of just renting it. In fact, you are buying this whole scheme—hook, line,
and sinker. Let's
just
have this be our little secret. No one needs to know. No one will ever
be able to tell. When
people
tell you that you are looking different, darker, or talking differently,
or that you are more
difficult
to get along with, just get angry at them and go buy another movie or magazine
with similar
contents.
Actually, you will soon be ready to advance to our total-destruction-of-the-senses
line.
You,
too, will soon be past feeling.
And the effect, if those six warnings are not heeded? Well, that brings
us to an
intermission
announcement, which is "We will soon be taking a commercial break. You,
on the
other
hand, who are now a bit more dull in your thinking, a little more under
the spell of
adversary-induced-amnesia—you
are now primed for a different kind of break. How about
breaking
your covenants? Breaking your husband's heart? Breaking apart your marriage?
Breaking
your
children's and parents' and siblings' and friends' hearts? All of these
breaks that you never
thought
possible are now just a little more within your reach."
One client told me that it was after watching a certain popular movie that
she first started
thinking
about having an affair with the man who was building her family's new house.
She had the
affair.
Her house was built. Her marriage was destroyed. Those involved now live
in three separate
houses:
the builder (it seems strange to call him that) with his wife in one home,
the woman with
some
of her children in another, and her former husband and the rest of the
children in yet another.
No
one lives in the house the affair destroyed. Now, this is a good woman.
She was not a woman
with
no sense of right or wrong or of gospel principles. She served as a Relief
Society president
before
this very difficult time in her life.
Lucifer hates good women and is poised and ready to intrude his lies into
good women's
lives.
He's swift. He's very effective. He knows if he can take down a good woman,
he can take
down
a whole family in one fell swoop. Talk about the economy of Lucifer. The
devil's domino
effect
in action!
Sisters, it's time to make certain that Satan does not have a grip on our
hearts, minds,
homes,
and families. If we find any evidence of his blatantly obvious or even
his covertly subtle
presence,
we need to cast him out. We need to do more than just loosen his grip;
we need to cast
him
out so that we can be taught by the Spirit the grand eternal truths about
physical intimacy and
teach
them to our families.
The Lord has not left us alone. He has provided His truth about intimacy
through His
scriptures
and His prophets. And as you prayerfully seek His guidance, you will come
to know
what
you can do right now to determine if the adversary's impure influence is
in your life—and to
know
how to remove it, if found. It may just be time for some very serious spring
cleaning. Only
when
our hearts and homes are cleansed from the adversary's filthy falsehoods
can the Lord's
words
about physical intimacy lodge deep in our hearts and bring the sweet peace
that truth always
brings.