Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Mormonism and Music

In Mormonism, the LDS Church repeatedly tells members to be careful of music that they listen to.  In some talks, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talk about how music affects us.  They tell us the power of music, for example how your foot can tap to the beat without you realizing it.  One good example is a true story about a teenager listening to a heavy metal song, the lyrics talk about someone shoplifting and getting away with it.  Guess what happened down the road.  You guessed right, he was caught by security shoplifting (and listening to the song).  This is one out of many stories about someone doing something wrong with the aid of music.  I am not saying that people commit crimes because music caused them too, it is because music influenced them, gave them an idea.  It is no different than someone playing mature video games like Call of Duty enough that they get the idea that shooting people is a game, and there have been cases of people shooting or hitting others (with weapons) because they were influenced by playing on violent video games.  Same thing also goes towards driving under the influence of alcohol.  What I am trying to say, is that it is still your fault for hurting someone, or commiting a crime (or both).  Not the music, video games, or alcohol.  I have heard many cases in which the defence attorneys complained against the judge that it wasn't their clients fault that they committed theft, vandalism, or even murder, because of the said influences.   Yes, it is their clients fault.  There are many examples that can relate to how music can affect your actions.  If you don't listen to clean music, it can have a similar negative effect on you as drugs. 
The Church repeatedly asks both young and old, but mostly towards the youth to listen to clean, uplifting music.  It can bring the spirit into your lives, it can influence positively, and it can even help you cope with problems positively. 





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