mormonsandscience

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) was an evolutionist who believed in the inheritance of acquired traits.  Inheritance of acquired traits is the notion that changes in an organism’s characteristics that are caused by life events or exposure to environmental stimuli may be passed onto offspring.  For instance, if a man takes up body building and develops muscle mass, he will pass muscle mass characteristics onto his offspring.  Or if a mother becomes a prolific reader, her children may become good readers.  

Here is what Lamarck said:
"All the acquisitions or losses wrought by nature on individuals, through the influence of the environment in which their race has long been placed, and hence through the influence of the predominant use or permanent disuse of any organ; all these are preserved by reproduction to the new individuals which arise, provided that the acquired modifications are common to both sexes, or at least to the individuals which produce the young."

Lamarck deserves credit for being among the first to provide a comprehensive theory of evolution.  He also deserves credit for stressing the important role that environment plays in giving rise to changes in organisms.  However, because he advanced the idea of inheritable acquired traits, and idea that has been rejected by the scientific community, he has been relegated to the bottom of the evolution contribution totem pole.  At the top of the pole is Darwin’s face, under it is Wallace’s face, and somewhere near the bottom is Lamarck’s face, positioned where people have been able to kick his teeth once and a while for proposing inheritable acquired traits.  Well, that may be changing.

Recent discoveries in genetics have uncovered an exciting field called epigenetics.  Epigenetics is the study of the mechanisms that drive gene expression without altering the basic structure of DNA.  Put simply, certain genes may be turned on and off, thus leading to changes in human phenotype (visible characteristics) without altering the genotype itself.  The effects of epigenetics may be far reaching.  It may lead to a better understanding of aging, life changes, and the causes and potential cures of diseases, to name a few.   

What I find interesting about epigenetics is that the mechanisms driving gene expression can be influenced by environmental stimuli.  What is even more intriguing is that epigenetic changes can be passed onto offspring.  That’s right, the sort of things you expose yourself too (good and bad) can influence your offspring.  I am not just talking about pregnant mothers here.  Environmental influences we were exposed to as young children may have epigenetic consequences for our offspring.

Epigenetics is not a vindication of Lamarck’s principle of inherited acquired traits; they are not the same thing.  But if I had to pick a scholar who came the closest to presaging epigenetic phenomena, it would have to be Lamarck.  Well done, Jean-Baptiste.

Epigenetics is a recent discovery, yet God has always known about it.  He knows everything about how the environment affects our epigenetics.  I am certain that He took epigenetic phenomena into consideration when he gave us the Word of Wisdom.  The Word of Wisdom was given to us as a form of godly admonition or divine advice about what we should take into our bodies.  He did not tell us why He gave us the Word of Wisdom, He just did.  Yet as science’s understanding of the importance of consumptive habits grows (e.g., balanced diet, moderation, avoiding harmful substances, type II diabetes, epigenetics), we are increasingly uncovering the godly wisdom in the Word of Wisdom.

So those of us who want to pass on favorable epigenetic characteristics to our children and grand children should heed the counsel of the Word of Wisdom.  It now appears that the things we were exposed to as children can influence our children’s epigenetics, and the things that we expose our young children to can influence our grandchildren’s epigenetics. 

When I consider the myriad of stars in the heavens, I can’t help but marvel at the power of God.  The starry sky is physical evidence that He created worlds without number.  When we view the night sky we are literally witnessing the power and majesty of God.  

What makes the cosmos even more fascinating is that God wants to share the cosmos with us.  He has already done so with Abraham.  The scriptures declare that Abraham has received his exaltation, ascended to a throne, and has become a god.  What sort of work is Abraham doing in the cosmos?  If I had to guess I would say that he is assisting Heavenly Father with the creation and organization of worlds.  

If we live righteously and qualify for the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ, we too will enjoy the same opportunities as Abraham.  We will become involved in the celestial effort to create and populate worlds without number.  When that day comes, alas we will finally know what is going on with those mysterious globular clusters!

A globular cluster (as shown in the above photo) is an ancient, tightly packed, cluster of stars.  Long before dinosaurs and ancient life roamed the earth, even before our sun was formed, large groups of stars coalesced and started orbiting our galaxy.  Most globular clusters exist in the halo of our galaxy, the bright bulging region extending out from the galactic center.  

Surprisingly there are relatively few globular clusters in our galaxy, only about 200 known to date; yet these clusters contain innumerable stars.  Each contains millions of stars so densely packed that the “night” sky would always be bright if our earth was placed within one.  Interestingly, however, they contain very few planetary systems because they have low metallic concentrations, and extreme gravitational forces from passing stars would rip planetary systems apart.  

So what in the world is going on in these clusters?  What purpose do they serve?  The scriptures tell us that every space in the cosmos contains a kingdom.  What kingdom(s) exists in these mysterious regions of our galaxy, then?  Are they mortal-telestial, immortal-telestial, terrestrial, or celestial kingdoms?  They hardly seem like ideal zones for mortal-telestial planets.  If they are inhabited regions, it would seem that only exalted beings could exist in them, likely on worlds that look to us like stars because they have been celestialized into “seas of glass”. 

Most scientists would agree that there are numerous mysteries about the natural world yet to be discovered.  Most would agree that the way to discover those mysteries is with rigorous scientific research.  And most would also agree that God has nothing to do with uncovering the mysteries of the natural world.  On this last point they are wrong.

The best scientist is someone who carries out rigorous research AND honors the Creator.  All too often God’s role is given short shrift in our increasingly secular society.  I am certain that humanity would have advanced far beyond its current level of understanding if science had more fully reverenced the Creator and petitioned His help.  

What diseases might have been cured or what laws of nature might have been uncovered?  If the scientific community had moved toward God rather than away from Him, we might have cured ravenous diseases like Cancer, HIV, and multiple sclerosis.  We might have solved our energy problems with the discovery of Cold Fusion.  And we might have unlocked the hidden secrets of the subatomic world and been on our way to uniting the forces of nature (e.g., electromagnetism, gravity, and strong & weak atomic forces) into one Grand Unified Theory (GUT), a discovery that would bring endless possibilities.

Instead we wander around in darkness with only frequent, small bursts of light to show the way.  We could turn on the flood lamps of discovery if the scientific community reverenced the Creator and sought His guidance, but this will not happen because science has made a conscious decision to preclude God.  Yes, science has rejected the greatest source of truth and light.

Here is what the prophet Joseph Smith promised to those who turn to God in righteousness:

“He will endow you with power, wisdom, might, and intelligence, and every qualification necessary, while your minds will expand wider and wider, until you can circumscribes the earth and the heavens, reach forth into eternity, and contemplate the mighty acts of Jehovah in all their variety and glory.”

Here is what Joseph Fielding Smith said about scientific truth and righteousness:

“The Lord has held in reserve for those who obey Him this great blessing of the fullness of truth, and through obedience it is received and in no other way. So with all their searching, with all their delving into the earth and examining of the heavens, man cannot discover the fullness of truth without submission to the principles of the gospel and placing their lives in harmony with the Holy Spirit and walking in obedience to the commandments of the Lord. There is no other way in which all truth may be obtained.”

Rather than embracing these principles, science has rejected them, and by so doing has forfeited blessings of knowledge and truth. But wait. There's more. By purging all recognition of the Creator from its theories and discoveries, what has secular science invoked?  A Creator who is displeased with science.

Joseph F. Smith wrote:

“In all the great modern discoveries in science, in the art, in mechanics, and in all material advancement of any age, the world says, “We have done it.”  The individual says, “I have done it,’ and he gives no honor or credit to God. Now I read in the revelations through Joseph Smith, the prophet, that because of this, God is not pleased with the inhabitants of the earth, but is angry with them because they will not acknowledge his hand in all things.”

Indeed, to be skilled in scientific and scholarly endeavors is good, if one hearkens unto the counsels of the Lord.  Those of us who are learned but do not hearken unto the counsels of the Lord, are ever learning without coming to a knowledge of the truth.

I bet you already knew that the earth has a spirit, but I don’t think that many of us have explored the implications of this fact. The implications include intriguing possibilities regarding the future of our earth and other planets within the solar system. 

The story of Enoch in the Book of Moses is central to understanding the earth's spirit. Enoch is among the privileged few who got a first-hand look at God’s creations. God showed him the earth, all its inhabitants, and gave Enoch a glimpse of the future of mankind. Perhaps most touching, God shared with Enoch how He felt about the wickedness that prevailed upon the earth at that time, before the Flood.

As Enoch talked face-to-face with God, the Lord turned and looked down at the earth and all its wicked inhabitants and wept.  Enoch said, “How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?” Put differently, Enoch queried, “How can you weep? You are God!” The Lord then shared His godly perspective with Enoch. He told Enoch that those wicked people down there were his children, and it pained Him to see them hating each other and rejecting their God. It also pained Him to know of the suffering that would soon come upon them as a result of their wickedness.  

All of a sudden Enoch began to see and understand God’s perspective. As this divine perspective came upon him, he too glanced down at the inhabitants of the earth, “looked upon their wickedness and their misery, and wept.”  Heartbroken over what was happening on earth, Enoch “stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook.”  For a moment he was privileged to see and feel as the Lord saw and felt.  

Enoch’s godly sorrow intensified as his attention was turned toward the earth.  God allowed him to hear the cries of our mother earth. 

“Enoch looked upon the earth [and] heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face? . . . [W]hen Enoch heard the earth mourn, he wept, and cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, wilt thou not have compassion upon the earth?" 

God continued to show Enoch events that would transpire on the earth.  When Enoch saw the crucifixion of the Savior and continued wickedness, he once again felt concern for the earth. He wept again “and cried unto the Lord, saying: When shall the earth rest?” 

Why was Enoch so concerned about the earth? I believe that his concern stemmed from his realizing that our mother earth is a sentient being. It has a spirit that is of a higher order than that found in the animal kingdom.  The earth has an alert, attentive, and responsive spirit that understands the difference between good and evil. Because of its desire for righteousness and apparent willingness to follow the commandments of the Lord, it will be celestialized after dying. In D&C 88 we read:

“[T]he earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law - Wherefore, it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it.”

Reading this scripture, I can’t help but wonder if the earth has moral agency - the power to choose between good and evil which is necessary for exaltation. 

Given that the earth has a spirit, that it will die, and that it may have moral agency, what may we conclude about other planets?

It may be that planets like Mars and Venus are so inhospitable because they are dead. In other words, their spirits have left and now they just exist as empty shells. Mars shows evidence of having once been a vibrant planet with flowing rivers etc.; perhaps it had a spirit at one time, but this is no longer the case. Astronomers are baffled by the hostile features of Venus. If our sister planet had developed the same as earth, it would be very similar to our planet. Well, perhaps Venus was vibrant when it was alive with a living spirit, but became hostile when it died and its spirit left. 

Finally if our earth has moral agency, then might the same be said for other living planets? If this be the case then it is conceivable that other planets have chosen to not follow all the commandments of God. What would happen to these less than faithful planets? Well, under this scenario, I think that some of these would be resurrected to either a telestial or terrestrial state. This kind of makes sense given that telestialized and terrestrialized human beings will need to have worlds to dwell upon, while exalted people dwell upon the celestialized earth.

Think about it this way.  Perhaps Mars was not fully faithful when it was living, and so when it is resurrected, it will be resurrected as a terrestrial sphere, a home for terrestrial beings. What about Pluto? Given how cold and dark it is out there, I am thinking definitely telestial ;)

I enjoy a little bit of speculation now and then.  My latest speculative endeavor is on finding the dwelling place of God.  I believe that I may have found it.

The Pearl of Great Price mentions the following 4 things about the dwelling place of Heavenly Father.

A. “And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it” (Abraham 3:2).
-- His throne is in a star cluster containing large stars. 

B. “These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me” (Abr. 3:3)
-- Kolob is a very large cluster of stars (It is not an individual star – see “Kokaubeam” below, point D). 

C.  “I have set this one [Kolob] to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.”
--- The star cluster known as Kolob influences all the other stars and planets that circle around in the spiral arms of our galaxy, including our sun. This influence includes gravitational force. Scientists speculate that many galaxies have an immense gravity well in their center (their best guess is to call them black holes because those are the only entities known to man that are capable of creating the gravitational pull needed to keep a galaxy together).  The immense source of gravity could very well be a globular (“tightly packed”) cluster of super giant stars.

D. “Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights, which were in the firmament of heaven . . . [and] Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam that thou hast seen, because it is nearest unto me” (Abraham 3: 13, 16).
--- There are multiple star clusters near His throne, but the greatest cluster of them all is the location of His throne (called Kolob).

Points A, B, C, and D seem to suggest that His dwelling place is the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The center of our galaxy is obstructed from our view by dust, and rightfully so. Were it not for this dust, we might be inundated with light and other unwanted rays on a continual basis.  But thanks to imaging technology on board the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, we are able to view the center of the galaxy with infrared sensors. 

The picture below is a composite of over 2000 infrared images taken by the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes.  It shows what the center of our galaxy looks like. Here is how one astronomer described the features in the picture: 

“Clouds of glowing gas and dark dust as well as three large star clusters are visible. Magnetic fields may be channeling plasma along the upper left near the Arches Cluster, while energetic stellar winds are carving pillars near the Quintuplet Cluster on the lower left. The massive Central Cluster of stars surrounding Sagittarius A is visible on the lower right” (Source: APOD).

Here is my interpretation:
Clouds of glowing gas and dark dust as well as three large Kokaubeam are visible. The most massive Kokaubeam (star cluster) visible on the lower right is a probable location for the dwelling place of God (Kolob).

The scriptures tell us that when the Savior comes at the Second Coming He will reveal secrets about the heavens above and the earth below.  All scholarly minded latter-day saints take note!  You don’t want to miss the meeting where he tells everyone how the world was created.  

Another interesting question about the Millennium is, what will science be like?  Will it be like it is today? Will it be run by the Church of God? Will it not change at all?   

Let me start by saying that I am sure there will be science during the Millennium, just as sure as I am that there will be golfing.  However, whereas golfing will likely remain the same, science will undergo some changes.  What kind of changes? The same kind of changes that the political government will undergo.  

Brigham Young taught that during the Millennium the political kingdom on earth will “grow out of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but it is not the church.” I take this to mean that politics will be guided by the principles of righteousness found in the Church, but it will not be directed by the Church. Think about it this way, Deseret Book is an outgrowth of the Church and it adheres to the doctrines of the gospel, but it is not the Church.  

The same can be said about millennial science. During the Millennium I believe that science will be founded on principles of righteousness, but it will not be the Church. Scientists will be free to pursue any scientific endeavor they choose, but they will do so with an eye single to the glory of God and in a manner consistent with the doctrines of the Church.  

This state of affairs between science and the Church means that millennial scientists will likely expunge the moral relativism and atheistic dogma that are endemic in science today.  Moreover, given the state of righteousness that will prevail, the presence of resurrected beings, and the increased outpouring of the Light of Christ, I predict that scientific discoveries will multiply at an unprecedented pace.

On a final note, we know that the lamb and the lion will co-exist in peace during the Millennium, but will the evolutionists and non-evolutionists be able to co-exist in peace as well?  

Hmmm!?

Shortly after the Civil War, the Union Army Surgeon General stated that mid 1800s medicine was “at the end of the medical Middle Ages.”  This statement acknowledges that during the Civil War era, the medical profession was ill-prepared to handle diseases, infections, and war wounds.  Their lack of knowledge on what caused disease, how to avoid infections, and how to treat wounds contributed to the death and suffering.  This was a time when more soldiers died from disease than battle wounds, and checking into a field hospital was often a death sentence.  

The following excerpt from the journal of Carl Schurz, a Union commander at the Battle of Gettysburg, describes the horrors of Civil War surgical procedures.  After 5000 years of human history, this was the best surgical approach that humanity had to offer.  

“To look after the wounded of my command, I visited the places where the surgeons were at work. . . . At Gettysburg the wounded-many thousands of them-were carried to the farmsteads behind our lines. The houses, the barns, the sheds, and the open barnyards were crowded with the moaning and waiting human beings, and still an unceasing procession of stretchers and ambulances was coming in from all sides to augment the number of the sufferers.   A heavy rain set in during the day - the usual rain after a battle and large numbers had to remain unprotected in the open, there being no room left under roof. I saw long rows of men lying under the eaves of the buildings, the water pouring down upon their bodies in streams. 

Most of the operating tables were placed in the open where the light was best, some of them partially protected against the rain by tarpaulins or blankets stretched upon poles.  There stood the surgeons, their sleeves rolled up to the elbows, their bare arms as well as their linen aprons smeared with blood, their knives held between their teeth, while they were helping a patient on or off the table, or had their hands otherwise occupied; around them pools of blood and amputated arms or legs in heaps, sometimes more than man-high.  Antiseptic methods were still unknown at that time. 

As a wounded man was lifted on the table, often shrieking with pain as the attendants handled him, the surgeon quickly examined the wound and resolved upon cutting off the injured limb. Some ether was administered and the body put in position in a moment. The surgeon snatched his knife from between his teeth, where it had been while his hands were busy, wiped it rapidly once or twice across his blood-stained apron, and the cutting began. The operation accomplished, the surgeon would look around with a deep sigh, and then - "Next!"  And so it went on, hour after hour, while the number of expectant patients seemed hardly to diminish. 

Now and then one of the wounded men would call attention to the fact that his neighbor lying on the ground had given up the ghost while waiting for his turn, and the dead body was then quietly removed. Or a surgeon, having been long at work, would put down his knife, exclaiming that his hand had grown unsteady, and that this was too much for human endurance - not seldom hysterical tears streaming down his face. 

Many of the wounded men suffered with silent fortitude, fierce determination in the knitting of their brows and the steady gaze of their bloodshot eyes. Some would even force themselves to a grim jest about their situation or about the "skedaddling of the rebels." But there were, too, heart-rending groans and shrill cries of pain piercing the air, and despairing exclamations, "Oh, Lord! Oh, Lord!" or "Let me die!" or softer murmurings in which the words "mother" or "father" or "home" were often heard.”

Look how far medical knowledge has come in just 150 years!  We are light years ahead of where we used to be during the Civil War, and yet it did not take light years to get where we are; it has taken less than two centuries.  Why has incredible progress taken place during the last 100 years and not during the previous 5000 years?  Answer: The Restoration and the concomitant outpouring of the Light of Christ.  We are living in a wondrous time foretold by the prophets of old.  The blessings of the fullness of the gospel extend far beyond religious domains.

Do you know who Phyllis Burgess is?  You should.  She is an elderly woman who went to a Prop. 8 rally in Palm Springs to voice her opinion against gay marriage. 

Like Daniel in the lion's den, Phyllis stood calmly among an angry mob of gay marriage activists.  They shouted at her, hissed at her, pushed into her when she tried to speak to a reporter, and knocked the cross that she was carrying to the ground and then stomped on it in a fit of rage.  Throughout all of it she remained resolute and calm and even told the angry mob that she loved them.  

This sort of activity brings to my mind the mob activity the Saints faced long ago.  The more these activists protest in hateful ways against those who profess traditional Christian values, the more they show their true colors, and I am not talking about the colors of the rainbow.  Their true colors show them to be potential converts to the great and abominable church of the devil, that organization which seeks to persecute the Church of the Lamb of the God and its followers.    

Given her age, Phyllis looks to be a member of what Tom Brokaw calls the Greatest Generation.  The Greatest Generation refers to our seniors who sacrificed so much to halt the tide of Nazi fascism that swept across Europe during WW II. When times were tough and everything looked bleak, they stood up to one of the fiercest tyrants the modern world has ever known.  Their courage liberated an entire continent and returned peace to billions of people.  Their efforts took guts and tenacity, the sort of guts and tenacity we see in people like Phyllis Burgess. 

Click here to view the video of Phyllis confronting the protestors.

After the passing of Proposition 8 banning gay marriage in California, homosexual activists have been out in full force.  They have organized marches around the Lord’s temples (SLC and Las Vegas most recently) and harassed Californians who support Prop 8, so says my sister who lives there.  It seems that people who accuse members of the church for being hateful for embracing the gospel truth regarding the sanctity of marriage have become themselves agents of intolerance and intimidation.  

These activists did not appear overnight.  They have been infiltrating the regulating bodies and the legal system of our courts, changing policies and viewpoints in an attempt to normalize same-sex relationships.  I first noticed these developments back in 2001 when they planted some operatives in the American Psychological and Canadian Psychological Associations’ (the APA and CPA).  The outcome?  Both associations normalized same sex relationships and embraced gay marriage, all in the name of science and progress.  Moreover, they claim that psychologists who teach or say anything counter to their pro-gay resolutions are acting in an unethical manner.

I was once a card carrying member of both associations.  I am no longer a member of either association, and will remain so for a long time to come.   

A few years ago homosexual activists were also successful in ramrodding gay marriage down Canadians’ throats.  The issue was never put to a vote among the electorate; it was decided in the dark, smoke filled rooms of the House of Parliament, and pushed through by the defection of one conservative party member to the liberal party.  That’s right, the vote of one activist agent in the Canadian House of Commons forced the reality of legalized gay marriage into the lives of millions of Canadians.

Do gay marriage activists realize that they are working for the great and abominable church of the devil?  According to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, “To be in opposition to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on moral issues is to link arms with Satan and to fight against God. On this point we must speak plainly and bluntly—there is no middle ground; men are either for him or against him, and those who are not for him are against him” (The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1982], 144.)

Let’s not confuse the activists with individuals who are sincerely struggling with same-sex attraction; the latter need our love and support.  Yet the activists also need something from us, they need our prayers so that they may realize the error of their ways.  There is another thing that we should be doing during these perilous times, that is standing fast in the face of persecution from gay marriage activists and all other detractors.  As we do so we can take heart in the inspired promises of the Standard of Truth, uttered by the prophet Joseph Smith:

“No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

Two months ago nothing scared my 20 month-old son.  But as his awareness of his surroundings has increased over the last few weeks, he has grown increasingly weary of weird looking things like spiders and strange sounding things like my electric razor.  This change was especially evident during Halloween.  As most parents know, ghosts, ghouls, and goblins elicit some interesting and funny responses from kids.  Sure, we try to comfort and assure them that the ghost is not real, and the older kids seem to get it, but what about the younger kids?  

Studies suggest that toddler-age kids have difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy, notwithstanding assurances from adults.  Belgian developmental psychologist Jean Piaget discovered that many kids have difficulty discerning fantasy from reality before 7 years of age.  I imagine that the younger kids are, the more they struggle with this.  This means that for a 2 year-old child, the ghost hanging above the porch at the neighbor’s house on Halloween night was real, no matter what Mommy said!

Other studies support Piaget’s assertion.  A recent study in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology found that when 3-5 year olds were asked to distinguish real characters such as knights and Michael Jordan from fictional characters such as monsters and dragons, they did so correctly less than 40% of the time.  Their ability to discern real from fictional characters dropped as age decreased.  

All this suggests that younger kids actually see monsters, ghosts, and goblins as being real, but this is only a problem during Halloween, right?  Wrong.  Children are bombarded with fictional content on television that, while innocent to adults, may create dilemmas for younger minds that are unable to discern reality from fiction.  This means that if a 3 year-old sees someone get killed in a movie, he or she may think that it actually happened, regardless of a parent’s assurances.  It is thus important for parents to avoid letting young children watch images on television that may upset their delicate minds, at least until they are able to tell fact from fiction.  Fortunately, most young children 2-5 years-of-age prefer playing to watching grown-up shows.

The counsel to avoid exposing young children to potentially troubling images on television is consistent with the words of Jacob who reminds us that the feelings of our children are “exceedingly tender and chaste and delicate,” and that we should avoid subjecting them to things that may unduly disrupt their delicate minds.