Today I read Mormon 4, where the Nephites begin their inevitable destruction. As I was reading this chapter today the verse that stood out to me the most was verse 11 particularly the part about the people delighting in the shedding of blood.
It got me to wonder, what does it mean to delight in the shedding of blood? I can understand it when the scriptures say it was a continual scene of violence but what does it mean that people delighted in the shedding of blood? I think it means that the people were no longer affected by seeing someone die. And what's worse, if they were an enemy I think they would probably have cheered about it.
One of the reasons I wondered about it, is I think about our culture. Now, many of us have never seen someone actually die right in front of us, but we have all seen movies where the bad guy dies at the end and I am sure like me, you all have cheered about the fact that someone so bad got it in the end. However, think about other movies and shows you have seen. Think about shows that imitate reality, shows like CSI and Law and Order, where you are shown a crime, one that could happen in real life. Does it bother you at all to see such horrible things placed before your eyes? Or do you enjoy it as entertainment? I promise you that our Father in Heaven sorrows over such shows.
Do we find delight in the shedding of blood for our entertainment? While it is true that unlike ancient Rome we do not watch men kill each other for sport, and we do not sacrifice men and women to idols for our false religion, do we maybe not find too much enjoyment in seeing people killed for our entertainment in TV and movies? If we are no longer moved by the carnage we see on TV and the movies , then we are starting to lose the Spirit of the Lord and need to check ourselves.
No I do not think we are as bad as the Nephites or Romans in delighting in bloodshed, but I think we are on our way there. It sickens me the amount of shows there are about murder and killings and that they are such popular shows. There are shows about serial killers and shows about drug usage. We rationalize that the shows are ok because we are watching police officers stop serial killers and stopping the people committing these horrid crimes, but the problem is no one is affected anymore by the crimes they are witnessing happen on the TV or in these movies. If you hear people talk about them at all it is only in passing as they tell you the exciting parts of the shows, etc.
As most of you should already be aware, the road to hell is a slippery one. It does not happen overnight most of the time and it happens in stages. People do not grow up delighting in bloodshed, even if it is all around them, Mormon is proof of that. They are at first repulsed by it, then they tolerate it, then they ignore it, then they become intrigued by it, then they accept it and finally take delight in it. The same process is true for all sins, pornography, drugs, alcohol usage, you name it. If you do not stay in the repulsed stage, you are in danger. It saddens me that such shows and movies are so popular and that people take delight in them because it is part of the slippery slope to destruction.
We must each of us stand as beacons of goodness and light to show the way to those around us that we can be better, that we can do what is right. As we do this we can slow if not alter this course we have set ourselves on. Stand tall and be believers of the word, not hearers only. As we stand for what is right, people will notice. Do not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, do not be ashamed to not watch those shows and to tell others why you don't watch them. You too can be an example for good in this world. Heaven knows we need all the help we can get. Until tomorrow.
I totally agree with Fred. I recently watched a movie and after watching it i started to feel the same energy as the victim in the movie and it was then that i realized the impact of movies and shows in our real lives. I think that one of the main reasons of crime and brutal murders and bloodsheds today are movies. The more we watch them the more we get addicted to it and before we realize it we become like some of the bad guys in the movies. When the bad guy in the movie dies at the end and people chear (like Fred said), they are not just enjoying the entertainment but subconciously recording that in their mind and when someone does someting bad then they think that we must take revenge and kill the bad person or do what they have to them. What they have forgotten is that we must learn to forgive and by doing this not only are we following God but changing the bad person into good. We often give our powers away to the bad person and this makes them believe that they can hurt you whenever they want. This is not true, we only let something bad happen to us if we let it happen subconciously, you give your powers away and wait for it to happen. Break that pattern, do not let anyone or anything get to you without your permission.
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