My whole life, I have joked that I was raised by the television. That is not actually true. I was raised by loving parents who were very present and aware of what I was up to generally. What is true, however, is that I am the youngest child in my family by nearly nine years. My closest sibling left the house when I was ten. That meant that I essentially had my parents, my house, and (as it seemed) the entire world all to myself. Naturally, therefore, my parents took a little different approach to parenting me compared to my older siblings. They had learned a thing or two by the time I came around. In many ways, their philosophy aligned with the prophet Joseph Smith’s when, asked how he was “enabled to govern so many people” and “preserve such perfect order,” responded that “[he teaches] them correct principles, and they govern themselves.”1 What that essentially meant for me was an unusually generous amount of unsupervised leisure time, and a lot of that time was spent in front of the television. That is where this story begins. But before I continue, let me tell you why I’m here.
I was invited here today by Kenny Curfew, who is the Elders quorum president in the Harvest Park ward. Kenny and I have worked together in the publishing department of the Church for a little while now, and in that time, he must have picked up on a few details of my background. See, prior to my settling down and focusing on career and family, I made my way as a gigging musician. When I was a child, my sweet parents, for reasons they still don’t understand, encouraged me to learn the drums (looking back, it was probably to pull me away from the television!). With their support, I took to percussion quickly and passionately. The way I remember it, when I wasn’t at school or in front of the TV, I was on the drums, and how they or anyone on the block tolerated such an insufferable racket is still beyond me. (Ironically in my old age, I’m the first one to tell kids to knock it off when it gets too loud). Not long after I started drumming, I picked up the bass guitar and excelled at that as well. Since before I even had a driver license, I was playing music for money. Whenever the phone rang, whatever the instrument, I was there (even if my dad had to drive me). Be it a jazz combo for weddings and galas, calypso and salsa bands for Quinces and your island-themed party, classic-rock cover bands for block parties or retirements, pop-rock bands for making records and hitting the road, even symphony orchestras. I did it all. Except for a brief hiatus to serve a full-time mission, I was a professional musician for the better part of 15 years.
Now don’t get too excited. You likely have never heard of any of my performance credits, and I never played with anyone of celebrity save a rare and privileged time or two, but what matters for our purposes here tonight is that having spent the better part of those years in a world probably foreign to many of you, I learned a thing or two for myself about the real world that I believe, and perhaps Brother Curfew believes as well, are important and valuable for all of us to consider. I want to make one thing clear. My purpose tonight is not to undermine or disparage music, performing arts, media, television, or the entertainment business in general as inherently incompatible with the lifestyle of a covenant-keeping Latter-day Saint. I’m not that pious. There are many who serve faithfully, love God, and have lots of fun playing music and creating art and media that can enrich our culture and buoy our spirits — examples of which stand without mention. Nor is my purpose to tell everyone seedy stories of the realities of a traveling rockstar (of which there are many). Rather, tonight I will make a case. What will really come into focus tonight are the powerful influences that surround us and our ability to make choices big and small that greatly impact our lives. Now more than ever before, we are faced constantly —all day, even— with what I will call forks in the covenant path (the majority of them subtle and easy to miss) with one way leading us down a path inherently incompatible with our covenant-keeping ideal, and another way that enables us to, as Nephi wrote, “continually [hold] fast to the iron rod”2 and the peace and security that our faith and devotion to God and the Savior bring. My unique experiences with music and media that will give context for my remarks tonight are one type among many others that make up our collective lived experience as fellow travelers on the covenant path. So call me a ‘washed up’ rockstar, a reluctant comedian, or whatever you want, but I would rather be known as a seeker of goodness, and now I’ll pick up where I left off and tell you why.
In part, I share about my experience with television as a youth and my career in the music business to qualify myself as a student of our culture. And what I have learned in my studies has informed the reality of how Heavenly Father steers us on our paths and how the Adversary attempts to stop Him. It goes without saying that the deluge of accessible entertainment —in the form of movies, series (I even hesitate to say television anymore with the rise of subscription streaming and the death of cable), music, social media reels (I specify reels because new feed algorithms, as you have probably noticed, actually work to bury posts from your friends and groups in the most popular reels of content and targeted ads curated to your tastes and interests), the 24-hour news cycle where the ‘Breaking News’ banner is a permanent fixture on your screen regardless of the topic or how long it has been discussed already, and of course, the endless advertising that accompanies everything— all have an enormous influence in our lives as they shape our worldviews, create senses of community (helpful and unhelpful), and construct meaning in our world. Children and many of our youth these days actually don’t know anything different. That it is delivered to us digitally and easily castable from our phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, watches, and virtual reality headsets in every room of our homes and workplaces underscores its embeddedness. As one of my favorite performing artists, Peter Gabriel, once said, “Sometimes, you think about our composition ––what we’re made up of–– and it used to be said that we are what we eat. And then people maybe a little more fashion conscious would say, no, you are what you wear. Or you are what you read. But we would say, in this millennium, you are what you watch.”3
Please note that I am not qualifying the morality of media just yet. To me that would be counterproductive. I am just speaking to its significance in our lives. We are already well aware of the power and influence of what we have, for good or bad. For example, in the Gospel Topics section of ChurchofJesusChrist.org about media, we read that
“Advancements in technology have brought us opportunities to share the gospel and access gospel-related content in ways earlier generations couldn’t imagine. For example, the Church uses the internet and social media to further the Lord’s work across the world. The Church’s website, ChurchofJesusChrist.org, provides scriptures, leaders’ teachings, news, videos, and other media for all who are interested. Church leaders have social media accounts in which they share spiritual messages and interact with members and those of other faiths.”4
In contrast, we have likewise heard numerous admonitions and warnings from the pulpit for decades about media and its influence, most recently from President Henry B. Eyring when he taught us in April that “Satan’s efforts to sow hatred and contention all around us seem to be increasing. We see evidence of it happening among nations and cities, in neighborhoods, in electronic media, and all across the world.”5 So, in order to not sound trite or redundant, I invite all of us to remember what we already know, and realize, as Neil Postman suggested, that “no medium is excessively dangerous if its users understand what its dangers are.”6
In my experience as a child of the times, whether watching movies and television, immersing myself in social media feeds, surfing the web endlessly, or playing music in dingy dives, clubs, and other venues in dark corners and urban undergrounds across the country, I learned that how all these influences work for our good is entirely up to us. I am firmly committed to this idea. When Brother Curfew invited me to share some thoughts about what, in spite of the places I have been and the things I have seen, has helped me in my striving to stay faithful and “hold fast to the iron rod” to keep with the analogy, the answer is actually an easy one, because it is always on the forefront of my mind.
The answer is stated simply in the Thirteenth Article of Faith. It reads,
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.7
To remind us of the significance of this declaration, remember what the Articles of Faith are. Again in Gospel Topics, we read that
“The Articles of Faith outline thirteen basic points of belief of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Prophet Joseph Smith first wrote them…in response to [a] request to know what members of the Church believe. They were subsequently published in Church periodicals…[and] are now regarded as scripture and included in the Pearl of Great Price.”8
I would like to place special emphasis on the last part, where the prophet Joseph declared, echoing Paul of old, that “if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”9 I will refer to things “virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy” going forward collectively as “goodness.” When I mentioned earlier about my desire to be known as a seeker of goodness, this is what I meant. On the list of all the designations attributed to me in my life, I would hope that a seeker of goodness be near the top. But what does that mean exactly in the context of all the things I have talked about so far?
Fortunately, President James E. Faust, who always had a special way of communicating that I picked up on as a child, beat me to it in a General Conference address many years ago. I will reference his teachings as I expound on what seeking“after these things” can mean for all of us. President Faust, also quoting other prophets, taught us that
“Members of the Church are to seek after loveliness. We do not seek a veneer painted on by a worldly brush but the pure, innate beauty that God has planted in our souls. We should seek after those things that endow higher thoughts and finer impulses. Man, as President John Taylor once said, “is destined, if he improves his opportunities, to higher and greater blessings and glory than are associated with this earth in its present state: … he may stand pure, virtuous, intelligent, and honourable, as a son of God, and seek for, and be guided and governed by his Father’s counsels.” Indeed we may say with President Brigham Young that we hope “to be gentle and kind, modest and truthful, to be full of faith and integrity, … [for] goodness sheds a halo of loveliness around every person who possesses it, making their countenances beam with light, and their society desirable because of its excellency.”10
There is so much hope and peace in the words of the prophets. Now, it is certainly not my place to dictate, list, or otherwise determine what kinds of things, especially in the context of music and media, constitute virtue, loveliness, good report, or praise. But I do feel confident when I invite all of us to think about how we feel when we engage in certain activities and behaviors, find ourselves in certain places or situations, watch certain types of media, devote our attention to others online, or are otherwise confronted with choices that resemble those ‘forks in the covenant path’ I referenced earlier. Lists don’t matter. Again, we know what is out there. We must remember what it feels like to experience things our Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost deem “virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy.” As we do so, our thoughts and hearts, and subsequently our behaviors, attitudes, actions, and sensitivities will impel us down the path of righteousness, peace, and joy. The path of confidence. The path that Jesus walked.
In the scripture that the prophet Joseph referenced while penning the Thirteenth Article of Faith, Paul’s words are that we might “think on these things.”11 For reasons I do not know, but for which I am grateful for additional meaning, the prophet chose to replace think on with seek after. It is incomparably important to appreciate the impact our thoughts have on our actions. If we aren’t what we watch, perhaps we are what we think. But Joseph Smith’s additional meaning as canonized in the Thirteenth Article of Faith today suggests that we as covenant-keeping Latter-day Saints need take it a step further and proactively seek out that which is good. In other words, it isn’t enough just to think it. It isn’t enough to just deal with things as they happen to us. The influences of the world that so powerfully take the form of entertainment media we deliberately invite into our homes must be mastered by us, and that requires far more than just thinking. As Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has so insistently taught throughout his Apostolic ministry, since everyone in this world is “[endowed] with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon.”12 Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reminded us recently that
“In addition to encouraging a loving atmosphere in the home, President Nelson has focused on limiting media use that disrupts our primary purposes. One adjustment that will benefit almost any family is to make the internet, social media, and television a servant instead of a distraction or, even worse, a master. The war for the souls of all, but particularly children, is often in the home. As parents we need to make sure that media content is wholesome, age appropriate, and consistent with the loving atmosphere we are trying to create.”13
The scriptures and the teachings of modern prophets are filled with additional admonitions and examples of what it means to seek, take charge, and fill our lives with hope and goodness. In his first message in a general assembly as the newly sustained president of the Church, Russell M. Nelson said:
“Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost. My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation.”14
My message tonight, if it hasn’t been made clear yet, is that we have the power and we have the choice to seek after goodness. And my personal testimony is that by doing so, especially as it applies to the way we invite the world into our homes in the form of entertainment media, is one of the best and most immediate ways we can follow President Nelson’s counsel and maintain the guiding, directing, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives to receive revelation. That is my promise. The far more important, prophetic promise though, is the revelation. When I try to #HearHim through President Nelson’s teachings, the Spirit teaches me that if I want God to lead me along in my life and give me the direction and revelation I need to pilot my family in these turbulent times, I can extend my hand by filling my life with goodness. Notice the cyclical nature of seeking goodness, having the Spirit to be with you, and receiving promised revelation that will enlighten and inspire your mind to seek more goodness, have the Spirit to be with you, receive promised revelation, so on and so forth. At that point you are no longer surviving spiritually, but thriving.
President Faust, in the same address I referenced earlier about seeking goodness and other aspects of the Thirteenth Article of Faith, said:
“In the history of this Church, we have ‘“’endured many things.’”’ As we look forward to the future, we ‘hope to be able to endure all things.’ I am confident that we will do so, even though no one knows fully what may lie ahead. How will we endure all things? The answer is amazingly simple: We shall do so by faith, by unity, and by following the prophets of God. It has been so in the past; it will be so in the future.”15
I now ask, do you follow the prophet? These days that can mean many different things. Do you believe him? Do you feel his sense of urgency in your lives? Do you add your figurative ‘like’ to inspired messages? Sometimes I even ask people if they follow the prophet in a digital sense. Do you ‘follow’ President Nelson’s social channels? That’s not required by any means, but consider how miraculous it is to have the mouthpiece of the Lord on Twitter and Instagram!
Tonight, I’m in a unique position to testify of these truths because, for lack of a better term, I have “seen it all.” On the one hand, in my professional life as a production manager for ChurchofJesusChrist.org and most recently in producing the Liahona, For the Strength of Youth, and Friend magazines, I have seen the Lord’s hand as we actively seek His will in filling the world with goodness. It blesses my life daily and those of so many others. On the other hand, I have seen the subtle, yet devastating influence of evil take down close friends and bandmates in my past life, even family members, and the easiest diagnosis I can make is that they simply stopped seeking that goodness. Abandoning your covenants is no insignificant choice, but it can literally start with your TV remote or the smartphone in your hand. And if that seems dramatic, think again.
But the future is so bright. Just last week, the Church published new content in the Youth section of Gospel Library called Take Charge of Technology. You can find it in your app right now. “The new tool for youth” explains Brother Brad R. Wilcox of the Young Men General Presidency “consists of a series of short lessons and animated videos that can guide discussions with youth whether one-on-one or in groups. In these lessons and videos, youth learn to approach technology with a ‘purpose.’”16 These principles and ideas and even the scholarly research behind them is not just for youth. It’s for everyone. Children, youth, and adults alike —whole families, even— can benefit from efforts to help us navigate these complexities from both the Church and other reputable organizations seeking to make a difference. But I can tell you personally that these matters are of foremost priority to the senior councils of the Church. The stakes are high, and there is so much we can do.
In conclusion, my invitation for all of us, myself especially, is that we take charge. From declaring my standards to a bandmate who toyed artistically with offensive and unbecoming song lyrics, to feeling pressured to skip Sunday meetings while on the road playing shows, or when the only monetary pay for a night of playing music was a hundred dollar bar tab —and on a more universal and practical note— from choosing what series to watch, which concert to attend, who to follow online, or what activities to pursue on the sabbath day, we can choose to seek goodness. That each of us do so is my sincere prayer. Really. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
References
- Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2011): 281-91.
- 1 Nephi 8:30
- Peter Gabriel said this before performing ‘The Barry Williams Show’ during a concert in Milan, Italy in 2003 on the Growing Up tour.
- Gospel Topics, “Media.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/media?lang=eng
- Eyring, Henry B. “Finding Personal Peace,” Liahona, May, 2023, 30.
- Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Penguin Books, 2006), 161.
- Articles of Faith 1:13
- Gospel Topics, “Articles of Faith.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/articles-of-faith?lang=eng
- Articles of Faith 1:13, emphasis mine.
- Faust, James E. “We Seek After These Things,” Ensign, May, 1998, 45-46.
- Philippians 4:8, emphasis mine.
- Bednar, David A. “And Nothing Shall Offend Them,” Ensign, November, 2006, 90.
- Cook, Quentin L. “Great Love for Our Father’s Children,” Ensign, May, 2019, 79.
- Nelson, Russell M. “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign, May, 2018, 96.
- Faust, James E. “We Seek After These Things,” Ensign, May, 1998, 46.
- Wilcox, Brad R. “Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: New resource helps youth to ‘Take Charge of Technology,’” Church News, July 2, 2023.
Dillon Boss 