“Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi 1:29 and Involved Parenting to Protect from Wicked Influences” by grego

Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi 1:29 and Involved Parenting to Protect from Wicked Influences

I have been very troubled by this verse for a long time, especially having children:

3 Nephi 1:29 And there was also a cause of much sorrow among the Lamanites; for behold, they had many children who did grow up and began to wax strong in years, that they became for themselves, and were led away by some who were Zoramites, by their lyings and their flattering words, to join those Gadianton robbers.

How did these parents who were powerful and wonderful, let their most precious things be taken away from them and Jesus, and join the most evil organization?

I could be all wrong here… but I wonder if it has to do with this:

When parents are uninformed, uninvolved, and ignorant of evil and wicked influences, they will not be there nor understand the causes, and their children will be led astray and led captive.

If you don’t know AND UNDERSTAND what your children are watching, listening to, and following, you are pretty defenseless to help them. (Coincidentally, last night at a Young Men activity a young man was wearing a pretty hardcore Satan-worship T-shirt. I don’t think anyone else caught it. Even sadder: his MOM had bought it for him, ha ha.) Is that why so many discussions about problems with teens turn into parents getting mad, yelling at, and trying to use authority to coerce children to obey them? A very far cry from what Lehi and Alma show us.

Let your kids watch Disney? Sponge Bob? CSI? Law & Order? Iron Man movies? Listen to pop music? Lots of good themes and things in them, right? AND lots of all kinds of gospel-unfriendly things going on in them and most all the others.

In addition, movies and shows like Walking Dead, first-person shooter video games, etc. are also very harmful. (Though if I had to choose, I’d prefer my children watch Terminator over CSI, for example.)

When children watch something, watch with them. When they listen to something, listen with them. Know what media they are involved with. If you don’t understand what you see or hear, ask them. Research. You would not believe the amount of powerful evil influences in seemingly innocent or “a little bad” on the surface media until you learn how to look and what to look for. Search “+[song} + lyrics” to find out what singers are singing. Search “+illuminati + hollywood”, “+illuminati + music”, etc. for videos, articles, and pictures (media, ha ha) that might be difficult to understand at first, but harder than that, to accept. When you watch the news, you think you’re getting reality. From numerous personal and historical cases, you’re not. Local news might give you 70% reality. What you will read about, it’s probably about 88% REAL.

Watch and learn, so you can protect your children. Use the Spirit to help you know what you need to know, and how.

Then, don’t be afraid to talk to your children about their media choices, even if you ban things first. They need to know that you know, and what you’re doing it for. Don’t stop there. Help them find suitable replacements that they enjoy! You and your child are core elements of a team.