Why We Are Taught to Not Watch R-Rated Movies?

Would you eat a slice of bread from the top picture?

Would you eat the pizza that the delivery boy brings you if a rat had been on just one piece?

What about the little boy and his snake? Does this make you want to run out and play with a snake?

How often do we say that the movie is great except for one part? Is this a good way to approach Heavenly Father's commandments. We can look at something we shouldn't except for just one part?

Why are we taught to not watch R-Rated movies?

The For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet states:

"'Our Heavenly Father has counseled us as Latter-day Saints to seek after "anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy" (Articles of Faith 1:13). Whatever you read, listen to, or watch makes an impression on you. Public entertainment and the media can provide you with much positive experience. They can uplift and inspire you, teach you good and moral principles, and bring you closer to the beauty this world offers. But they can also make what is wrong and evil look normal, exciting, and acceptable.

Pornography is especially dangerous and addictive. Curious exploration of pornography can become a controlling habit leading to coarser material and to sexual transgression. If you continue to view pornography your spirit will become desensitized, and your conscience will erode. Much harm comes from reading or viewing pornography. It causes thoughts within you that weaken your self-discipline.

Don't attend or participate in any form of entertainment, including concerts, movies, and videocassettes, that is vulgar, immoral, inappropriate, suggestive, or pornographic in any way. Movie ratings not always accurately reflect offensive content. Don't be afraid to walk out of a movie, turn off a television set, or change a radio station if what’s being presented does not meet your Heavenly Father's standards. And do not read books or magazines or look at pictures that are pornographic or that present immorality as acceptable."

Bottom line: if you have any question about whether a particular movie, book, or other form of entertainment is appropriate, don't see it, don't read it, don't participate."

But have living prophets or past prophets really specifically talked about R-Rated movies as such?

President Gordon B. Hinckley taught:

"Be clean. I cannot emphasize that enough. Be clean. It is very, very important and you at your age are in such temptation all the time. It is thrown at you on television. It is thrown at you in books and magazines and videos. You do not have to rent them. Don't do it. Just don't do it. Don't look at them. If somebody proposes that you sit around all night watching some of that sleazy stuff, you say, (It¹s not for me. Stay away from it." (Denver Colorado, youth meeting, 14 Apr. 1996, Quote by Elder Joe J. Christensen, Ensign Nov. 1996, p. 40)

Elder James E. Faust taught:

"Parental hypocrisy can make children cynical and unbelieving of what they are taught at home. For instance, when parents attend movies they forbid their children to see, parental credibility is diminished. If children are expected to be honest, parents must be honest. If children are expected to be virtuous, parents must be virtuous. If you expect your children to be honorable, you must be honorable." (Ensign Nov. 1990, p. 33)

Remember, President Benson was speaking to the young men of the Church when he said:

"'Again I say, leave it alone. Turn it off, walk away from it, burn it, erase it, destroy it. I know it is hard counsel we give when we say movies that are R-rated, and many with PG-13 ratings, are produced by satanic influences. Our standards should not be dictated by the rating system. I repeat, because of what they really represent, these types of movies, music, tapes, etc. serve the purposes of the author of all darkness.' (H. Burke Peterson, "Touch Not the Evil Gift, nor the Unclean Thing," Ensign, Nov. 1993, 42)

President Benson also taught us the following:

"Consider carefully the words of the prophet Alma to his errant son, Corianton, 'Forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes.' (Alma 39:9.)

"'The lusts of your eyes.' In our day, what does that expression mean?

Answer: "Movies, television programs, and video recordings that are both suggestive and lewd.

Answer: "Magazines and books that are obscene and pornographic.

"We counsel you not to pollute your minds with such degrading matter, for the mind through which this filth passes is never the same afterwards. Don't see R-rated movies or vulgar videos or participate in any entertainment that is immoral, suggestive, or pornographic. Don't listen to music that is degrading" (Ensign, May 1986, p 43).

In my Teachings of the Living Prophets class, I often taught that “when the prophet speaks the debate is over.” If you want to end the internal debate, simply look to what the prophets have said.. They have spoken on the subject many times. One person making a wrong choice doesn't justify wrong choices of another. We are all held responsible for our own choices. Personal accountability is the key here.

To all rated R movie watchers your logic is flawed. I am sorry if you feel you can rationalize watching rated R movies, but by doing so you are breaking a commandment.

The prophet said not to watch rated R movies. (period) He did not say, don't watch rated R movies, unless they get a point across, or unless they show nudity in a tasteful way, or unless you can justify it buy pointing out a PG-13 movie that is worse.

To avoid such temptations, be like Captain Moroni of old; set up “fortifications” to strengthen your places of weakness. Instead of building walls of “timbers and dirt” to protect a vulnerable city, build “fortifications” in the form of personal ground rules to protect your priceless virtue.

Jamie, you are the only one who now dates as a single person. When you’re on a date, plan to be in groups and avoid being alone.

Justin, Jeremy, John, Jason: I know men, young and old, who have simply determined not to turn on the TV or surf the Internet anytime when they are alone. To you fathers, it is wise to keep computers and televisions in the family room or other high-traffic areas in your home—not in children’s bedrooms. I also counsel fathers to wisely choose not to turn on the hotel television (except CNN).

Remember, such “fortifications” are not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, they show strength. The Book of Mormon teaches that Captain Moroni was so strong that if all men would be like him, “the very powers of hell would [be] shaken forever.” Remember Moroni’s “strongholds” were the key to his success.

Creating your own “strongholds” will be the key to yours.

One key fortification you can build is to decide now, before you face a challenge, where to draw the line. Our prophet teaches that if we decide now not to watch inappropriate media but instead to walk away, “the challenge is behind us.”

An emeritus General Authority named Elder Sorensen recently taught about not watching R-Rated movie by sharing a story about his granddaughter:
" Recently my granddaughter Jennifer was invited to go with several of her school friends to a dinner and a movie. The girls all agreed on the movie they were going to see, and Jennifer was comfortable attending. However, the girl who left dinner to buy the movie tickets for the group returned with tickets to a different movie than was planned! She said, “It is a great show, and it’s R-rated.”
Jennifer, caught by surprise, couldn’t believe the situation had changed so quickly. But fortunately she had made up her mind before she ever found herself in this position that she would not watch R-rated movies. She was able to stand firm and say to her friends, “I can’t go see an R-rated movie. My parents would not approve.” To which the girls replied, “Oh, come on! Your parents will never know!” Confronted with this, Jennifer went on to say, “Well, actually it doesn’t matter whether my parents will know. I just don’t go to R-rated movies!”
Her friends were upset and tried to get her to relent. They told her she “was ruining everything.” When she would not give in, they threw the ticket and change in her face and deserted her for the R-rated movie. It wound up being a lonely night full of rejection from her friends. But it was a great moment for Jennifer and our family. She gained confidence, self-worth, and spiritual power. "

Knowingly petting a poisonous spiritual snake is doubly dangerous. Those who do remind me of the little boy who was overheard praying, “Heavenly Father, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am.”

Don’t be like that shortsighted boy. Those who plan to sin, thinking they can repent before they receive the sacred covenants and ordinances of the temple, risk losing their spiritual health. They find it is a painful process to come back to the right path.

For those who suffer from a poisonous snakebite, there is a painful cleansing process. Where the bite was inflicted, a cut with a sharp knife is required. Then, someone must cleanse the infected blood from the wound. Often a stay in the hospital is required. My plea to you is to avoid petting that rattlesnake. (Elder Sorensen)

To Elder Sorensen, past prophets and current prophets, I add my counsel: please follow the example of the prophet Joseph Smith. "I have learned this one valuable lesson, when the Lord speaks, do it!"

He has spoken through his mouthpiece the prophets. Let's heed their counsel.