In recent years, technology has sparked a revolution that has had a profound effect on society, especially upon our youth. This technology can be used for good or evil. It seems that every time Heavenly Father blesses us, Satan counters with a plan to destroy us. Think back to when the church instigated the Family Home evening plan to bless and strengthen families on Monday nights. What plan did Satan instigate near that same time to try and keep the LDS people busy elsewhere on Monday Night? Monday Night football!!! Never before had football been held on Monday night! Bro. Pickup mentioned to Laron and me several days ago, that Satan's counterfeit plan to the New and Everlasting covenant of Marriage is pornography.

What is the most dominant influence in our lives or in our children's lives. Is it the Church? The family? TV? Or technology? The Church uses new technology with FamilySearch data bases, record keeping used to communicate with wards, and the Church website has links to various resources and materials, and archives of all magazines back to thirty years, including all of the current manuals. Much missionary work is done through Mormon.Org. The use of modern technology for good, is vast. So we know that we can benefit tremendously through this great blessing. Elder Russell M. Ballard has encouraged youth to use blogs and other forms of "new media" to contribute to national conversations about the Church.

So, along with the good uses, Satan, with his counterfeit plan, is using it for evil, and is especially targeting our youth, through cell phones, ipods, video games and all the social networking sites that are available. Even if persons aren't engaging in evil activities, these tools seem to become addictive. One college professor noticed many students cannot go a few minutes between classes without talking or texting on their cell phones. He says, "It seems to me that there's almost a discomfort with not being stimulated-- a kind of 'I can't stand the silence'" Many of our youth participated in the recent Stake sponsored Martin's Cove Trek, and one of the brethren told me that some of the youth had a very difficult time suffering from withdrawal symptoms because they didn't have their technological toys. A sixteen-year old girl, not of our faith said, "I'm totally addicted to instant messaging and my cell phone, because they're how I keep up with my friends. When I get home from school, I go online immediately and stay on, sometimes until 3 A.M. Her phone bill is anywhere from $100 to $500. "By now, I owe my parents more than $2,000 in excess charges. But I'm so used to having my cell phone with me all the time, that I can't live normally without it." Another young girl became so addicted that when she wasn't on the Internet, she was thinking about it. She couldn't concentrate on anything else, and got behind on her school work, wasn't able to listen at church, and ignored her real friends and family. Her family finally found out what was going on and limited her use to the Internet. It was very difficult, and she was very angry with her parents, who found it extremely hard to deal with her anger and disapproval, but stuck to their guns. Now she is grateful and hopes to never feel so addicted again.

During a recent study conducted on family life, Elinor Ochs, found that when a working parent came home, the spouse and kids were so often absorbed in what they were doing online, that they did not even greet one another. They just kept on monitoring their electronic gadgets. She said, "We saw how difficult it is for parents to penetrate the child's universe, and that during the study, parents were observed actually backing away from interacting with their children because they were so absorbed in whatever they were doing. Needless to say, mealtime discussions and other family interaction was neglected. More and more young people are isolating themselves from others by playing video games, wearing headphones, and interacting through cell phones, email, text messaging instead of interacting in person. Social skills are neglected, and when they must deal with the real world, they will be found to be unprepared.

One of the skills being lost because of technological addiction, is the skill of reading. In the US, reading skills are excellent until about the age of thirteen. After that, the skill level goes down. The drop off in reading is one of our most serious social and economic problems. A huge percent of young people who do not read on their age level, are unemployed. The first generation of Americans raised with technology read less well. Technology alone will not save the world. A study by the National Endowment for the Arts, says parents must control the time their children read. The presence of books in a home accounts for much of the success of our children. The development of the brain of a child who reads for long intervals of time, is far superior to the brain development of a child who only reads the short sentences of programs on the internet. Today, the average teenager reads for seven to ten minutes per day, but watches TV for two to three hours, profoundly affecting their mental development. There is great concern that young children under the ages of two or three, are being babysat by TV, which significantly stunts the development of their brains.

Many parents and educators are concerned about the amount of time spent visiting what are called online social networks. These are internet sites that allow members to create a Web page, and enhance it with pictures, videos and diaries, called blogs. In this way, members are able to keep in touch with friends, but also to make statements about their identity, in a way that reaches others. One problem, however, is that some individuals create Web sites that allow them to be what they want to be, rather than who they really are. Such deception is very common. They can do anything on the net. They can become a whole different person, because nobody knows them. They can make up things so that they become more interesting. They can put pictures of themselves wearing clothing they would never wear in real life, or do and say things they would never do or say in person. They feel they can get away with anything because they are hidden. No one knows who they really are.

Because of this anonymity, the Internet becomes a hunting ground for child predators, of whom thousands are known to be online. Also, some youth engage in "cyberbullying" and engage in relentless, vicious teasing, harassing or threatening. We are all aware of the recent suicide of a young girl suffering from depression, who took her life because the mother of an acquaintance pretended to be a young man, and told the girl lies. Rumors, gossip and slander can become very nasty, when cell phones with built-in cameras are used to take rude and embarrassing photographs and videos, perhaps in dressing rooms or showers and sent over the Internet

Bro. Jenks told me that at Minico, cell phones are not allowed, but that he knows many students take them anyhow. A ring tone, called "The Mosquito" because of its very high pitch can be used in school because the tone cannot be heard by adults. I heard a funny story where young people were congregating around a store, intimidating older people, who didn't feel comfortable walking through the rowdy, mocking crowd, and so the store was losing business. The store managers, finally developed a way of broadcasting the Mosquito ring tone, which sound in turn so annoyed the young people, that they left, but the older shoppers, unable to hear it, began to shop at the store again.

On a Web site game, called. "There.Com", an individual can virtually create unreal lives, where for certain amounts of money, can buy pretend homes, cars, clothes, and create non-real friends. They can lose all interest in ANYTHING that is in real life. They can become so obsessed, that they will devote almost all their time living in this make-believe world.

Heavenly Father created a beautiful world for us, but often people addicted to technology never hear the sound of birds, or wind, or silence. They don't notice sunsets, flowers or other beauties of nature. They are so "dummied down" that they don't read good literature; they live second-hand experiences through too much TV. They become physically unfit, and don't see, hear, feel or think for themselves. They desire only to be entertained and amused. They are being amused to death...spiritual death.

What can parents do" On the handout, starting on page two, there are specific things parents can do.

During the time when Communism was being taught in the schools, LDS members were asked how they influenced their children so that these evils didn't affect them. One brother's reply was that they taught their children the gospel so well, that the communists' doctrine would "roll off them like water off a duck's back."

The technology is here. We can't escape it without barricading ourselves in our homes, but we can teach our children the doctrines of the gospel so well that they will be able to use technology to their advantage. Teach them so well, that they will govern themselves, and would no more participate in the evils available, than they would take a drink of alcohol, or a cigarette or a drug, if they are offered to them.