This is a guest post by David Ferguson.

For those of you who haven’t heard, FCC may modify its swearing and nudity policy. In short, the new policy will allow (a) isolated s-words and f-words in TV shows, and (b) short presentations of female frontal nudity. We’re not talking total debauchery here, but it isn’t something to blink at either.

You can find more about the proposed changes at this link. Fortunately, the FCC has opened the floor up to comments. The link shares instructions on how to file a comment. I encourage it.

I ended up having a Facebook conversation with a friend over this issue. He, a proud social liberal, thinks that the current censorship laws violate the first amendment right to free speech (although the Supreme Court upheld those laws). Like any other citizen, I put a high value on the first amendment, but we do our society a severe disservice by taking the first amendment to its extreme limits.

What many people seem to miss (generally liberals, but sometimes conservatives too) is that the first amendment has limitations. Society generally recognizes that nudity, swearing, and violence (which isn’t part of the FCC debate) aren’t things childrens should be exposed to, and the first amendment doesn’t give companies the right to expose children to this sort of content prematurely. That’s why the mpaa ratings exist. Whatever we think about them, there’s a reason for them, and it’s to protect our children. The point is, we expect the government to participate with parents when it comes to shielding children from adult material.

Critics, like my friend, point out that if parents don’t like what’s on the TV, they can turn it off. Generally speaking, it’s a valid argument, but it isn’t a good argument to validate lifting censorship laws. Parents should supervise their children’s TV usage, but changes in the censorship policy would force most parents to radically alter their TV usage, if, of course, they want to protect their children from exposure to swearing and nudity (which seems like a given). Radically might be a little strong, but maybe not. Most parents can’t supervise their children’s TV viewing habits all of the time. So the policy change would force them to make unusually demanding changes to their lifestyles. I’m not sure we want government policies that complicate childrearing, especially when it limits the normative habits of children and their parents.

In saying that, a pragmatic compromise may be the best option for this debate. A more reasonable, middle approach to the debate would be to relax censorship laws after midnight until, say, 4 AM.

“The Fountain,” made in 2006, is a movie with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weicz. It is a very artsy, controversial movie that shuttles between three different time periods over 1000 years. My wife didn’t like it but I really enjoyed it, and it has some very interesting religious themes having to do with eternal life and the nature of death.

It will be impossible to describe this movie without some SPOILERS, so for readers who are bothered by this read no further.

I cannot describe the movie better than the Wikipedia description, so let me go straight to that.

At its core, The Fountain is the story of a 21st century doctor, Tommy Creo (Hugh Jackman), losing his wife Izzi (Rachel Weisz) to cancer in 2005. As she is dying, Izzi begs Tommy to share what time they have left together, but he is focused on his quest to find a cure for her.
While he’s working in the lab, she writes a story about 16th century Queen Isabella losing her territory to the Inquisition while her betrothed, conquistador Tomás Verde plunges through the Central America forest in Mayan territory, searching for the Tree of Life for his Queen.
Since she does not have time herself, Izzi asks Tommy to finish the story for her. As they look out to the stars, she imagines that their souls will meet there when the star dies. And we see astronaut Tom, in 2500, travelling there for the event, in a spaceship made of an enclosed biosphere containing the Tree of Life.
The three story lines are told nonlinearly, each separated by five centuries. The three periods are interwoven with match cuts and recurring visual motifs; Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz play the main characters for all three narratives.[1] Even within a given narrative, the elements of that particular story are not told in chronological order.
Whether these stories are actual events, or symbolic, is not clarified; and, Director Darren Aronofsky emphasized that the storylines in their time periods and their respective convergences were open to interpretation.[2]
The director has said of The Fountain’s intricacy and underlying message, “[The film is] very much like a Rubik’s Cube, where you can solve it in several different ways, but ultimately there’s only one solution at the end.”[2]
In a 2012 interview, Aronofsky stated that “ultimately the film is about coming to terms with your own death”.[3]

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Conducting: President Uchtdorf

Hymn: “Come Ye Children of the Lord.”

Opening Prayer: Sister Carol M. Stevens

Hymn: “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Jesus said: “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him who believeth.”

Response: “Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.”

Even if you can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you until you believe.

The people wanted some small lifting of the burden carried by them. Jesus heals.

Aimed at young people of the Church.

1)When facing the challenge of faith, the father first affirms the positive — “Lord I believe.” Hold the ground you have already won in troubling times. When difficult moments come, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes.

2)When problems come and questions arise, don’t start with the things you don’t have or don’t know. That’s like stuffing the turkey through the beak. Be true to the faith you do have. Don’t start with doubt. Don’t let the questions stand in the way of faith working its miracle. You have a lot of evidence: you shall know them by their fruits. Don’t hyperventilate if when time to time issues arise. In this world, everyone is to walk by faith.

3)When doubt or difficult come, do not be afraid to ask for help. God will send help from both sides of the veil to strengthen our unbelief. Belief is a precious word and an even more precious act. Christ said, be not afraid, only believe. Belief is the first step toward conviction.

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Watching Music and the Spoken Word.

“Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel.”

Nice.

This post will update the Sunday morning session after each talk…if the kids allow me.

President Eyring is conducting.

Opening Hymn: “Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise”

Didn’t catch who gave the opening prayer, but he was definitely male.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Mentioned a painting in his office. Light from a door only illuminates a small area, the rest in darkness. This is a metaphor. We may be surrounded by darkness through tribulation, but God promises the hope of his light.

Mentioned a woman who was beaten and abused as a child. The woman learned to stop feeling. She had no hope of rescue. She hardened herself to the horror of her reality. She became resigned to the darkness. At age 18 she discovered the Church. The hope of the restored gospel penetrated her heart. For the first time light entered her life. She went to a school far from her abuser. Her abuser died. She was still troubled by the events of her youth. If she allowed the darkness to consume her, her tormenter would win. She sought counseling. She learned that darkness exists, but you shouldn’t dwell there. Light also exists. She held fast to the hope that with God’s help she could be healed. She chose to radiate light and devote her life to helping others. She became a school teacher, and her love has influenced the lives of hundreds of children. She has become a defender of the weak, the victimized and the discouraged.
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Yes, that is Sugarloaf, and yes that is a joke.

The exact location of the new Rio temple has not been announced yet. My speculation (as somebody who lived in Rio for four years) is that the only places with enough space are the Barra da Tijuca/Jacarepagua areas of the city. Until this announcement, by the way, Rio was by far the largest metropolitan area of South America without a temple. Church members have to travel about 300 miles to the Campinas temple.

More information on the Rio temple here.