Sexting and the like

Yes, there is a term for provocative images/texts. I was reading in Parents Mag on an article about kids and parents and what is discussed regarding morality. The results: Parents are really falling behind and are underestimating the kids. In a poll by Readers Digest, 52% of parents do not know what that term means.

And there is more. Vermont had a big vote on whether it should be legalized. (read more)

Lawmakers there are considering a bill that would make it legal for teenagers 18 and under to exchange explicit photos and videos of themselves – an act that's come to be known by teens as "sexting."

Under the current law, teenagers could be prosecuted as sex offenders if they get caught sending graphic sexual images of themselves, even if it was consensual.

A state House committee will hear more testimony on it later this week.

In a recent study, 18 percent of female students nationwide say they've tried sexting.

New York City student Stefanie Garcia is only in high school, and says sexting happens all the time

Enter now myself, a parent. Not to a teen but to a toddler. I am a beehive teacher though and todays lesson was on Self Mastery and virtue. We read Elder Hollands talk "Personal Purity". I was not sure how or what to say to my little group of beehives so I let Elder Holland do it.

Wow. That is how I felt after. If only the millions of other people understood how precious our bodies and our agency are. And how devastating the consequences can be. I was chatting after the lesson with a friend of mine who talked more about this particular talk. Some may be better recognize it as "Of Souls, Symbols and Sacraments" by Elder Holland. One of my most favorite parts is this:

"...on why we should be clean, on why moral discipline is such a significant

matter in God's eyes. I know that may sound presumptuous,

but a philosopher once said, tell me sufficiently why a thing should be done,

and I will move heaven and earth to do it.

Hoping you will feel the same way as he and fully

recognizing my limitations, I wish to try to give at least a partial answer to

"Why be morally clean?"

I would like to think that I will be a mom who answers all the questions right, who can read minds and know what needs to be said and done before the child even knows what they need to hear or feel. I am sure every parent has felt the same desire as me. I have been reading in The Book Of Mormon about Lehi and the differences between Nephi and Laman in particular. Same family, different results. And it boils down to the why. I would like to think that, just as Nephi had the desire to learn "why" and was able to experience an incredible vision from God, if Laman had only had the same desire to know "why", things would have been different.

And that is what I think about this sexting epidemic and all of this other filth that is masked to look desirable and good. We need to take a stand with our families and help them understand the "why" to being morally clean; both in action and in thought. My rebuttal to those who think that it is ok to sleep around or to have a child outside of wedlock? God has given us the opportunity to give and to take life. When someone commits or attempts to take a life, it is followed by heavy punishment such as life in prison etc. Yet we, as a society, think NOTHING on the matter that children are being brought into the world in conditions that are not ordained by God.

And, I would hope I am not the only one who thinks like this.