Captain Moroni and the Media

While reading from the Book of Mormon this week, I was impressed by what motivated Captain Moroni and his men in their battles against the Lamanites.  


"They were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church." (Alma 43:45)


The Book of Mormon was written for our day, and I believe this part is especially applicable because we are fighting the same battle as Captain Moroni.  We don't use swords or slings, but Latter-Day Saint prophets today have called us to protect homes, liberties, families, and religious rights in the political arena, on the home front, and especially with regards to the media.  

In this light, I thought our discussion in class about media in the family was very interesting.  Dr. Coyne talked about the situation she found herself in when immodestly dressed dancers came on screen while she was watching Dancing With the Stars with her children.  She could have turned the tv off, but instead she took time to talk to her children about what was going on.  

This reminded me of a situation that Capitan Moroni faced when the war to protect families and religion became desperate.  He threatened his enemy saying, 

"I will come against you with my armies; yea, even I will arm my women and my children" (Alma 54:12)


and then he followed through with the threat,  

"And Moroni had prepared his men with weapons of war; and he went to the city Gid, while the Lamanites were in a deep sleep and drunken, and cast in weapons of war unto the prisoners, insomuch that they were all armed;  Yea, even to their women, and all those of their children, as many as were able to use a weapon of war"  (Alma 55:16-17)

What sticks out to me is the fact that he armed the men, women, and children.  

I don't thing Captain Moroni really wanted to give children weapons, but he realized it was necessary in their situation.  Similarly, in our modern battles, we may not want to expose our children to the weapons used against families today, but it might be necessary.  As adults we might instinctively want to shield children from all of the bad things in the media and in the world, but realistically, we won't be able to protect them from everything.  Perhaps we, like Captain Moroni, can arm children by teaching them about the dangerous aspects of the media and then let them participate in defending families, liberties, and religion.