Pleasuring Ourselves to Death

Las Vegas, Nevada

At different times in our history, different cities have been the focal point of a radiating American spirit. … Today, we must look to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, as a metaphor of our national character and aspiration.  Its symbol is a thirty-foot-high cardboard picture of a slot machine and a chorus girl, for Las Vegas is a city entirely devoted to the idea of entertainment and pleasure. (Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Neil Postman , 2005.)

Some of us live life as though there were no tomorrow, no day of reckoning. We fill our lives with the pursuit of comfort, gain, and pleasure.  Of such, Nephi said,

“Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us,” (2 Ne. 28:7).

Infinite appetite for pleasure

One of the most critical challenges we face today is to recognize the difference between joy and pleasure.  Satan and his forces have become extremely effective in their effort to convince us that pleasure should be the most sought-after objective.  Joy is very different from pleasure.

“Your joy in life depends upon your trust in Heavenly Father and His holy Son, your conviction that their plan of happiness truly can bring you joy…. It is not to be endlessly entertained or to be constantly in full pursuit of pleasure,” (Richard G. Scott, “Finding Joy in Life,” Ensign, May 1996).

In the brief video vignette below, Gordon B. Hinckley illustrates the difference between two young boys choosing to experience joy rather than fun or pleasure at another’s expense.

Lessons I Learned as a Boy

We all could benefit from “thinking before we act.”

The Danger of Pleasure Hunting

President Spencer W. Kimball explains the evils associated with seeking pleasure.

“There are unfortunately millions today who prostrate themselves before images of gold and silver and wood and stone and clay. But the idolatry we are most concerned with here is the conscious worshipping of still other gods. Some are of metal and plush and chrome, of wood and stone and fabrics. They are not in the image of God or of man, but are developed to give man comfort and enjoyment, to satisfy his wants, ambitions, passions and desires. Some are in no physical form at all, but are intangible.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969], p. 40.)

Pornography is the perfect example of dangers associated with pleasure hunting.  It begins with temporary personal pleasure of “some titillating feast for the eyes that gives a momentary rush of excitement. [Eventually] It has the effect of damaging hearts and souls to their very depths, strangling the life out of relationships…” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Tragic Evil among Us,” Ensign, Nov. 2004).

Over the years, I have made many visits to “LDS” inmates in Utah jails and prisons. I am convinced that they have received immediate gratification from their “pleasurable” activities!  Sexual behavior, alcohol, drugs, pornography really do activate the reward/pleasure centers of the brain.  But, now they are in “jails and prisons.”

Seek Joy … not Pleasure

Can we not see that, pushed by pleasure, we will become more and more distant from joy?

“In fact, instant and unrestrained gratification of all our desires would be the shortest and most direct route to unhappiness…” (James E. Faust, “Our Search for Happiness,” Ensign, Oct. 2000).

Joy is the purpose of our creation (2 Ne. 2:25) and does not require success, money or prestige. True joy comes from within, in part, a result of self-restraint and obedience.

There is no intention to suggest that recreation and entertainment are not appropriate for Latter-day Saints. They are. It is fitting that we participate in recreational activities.  For example, in part,

“Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of … wholesome recreational activities.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World.)

What We Love will Ruin Us

My grandpa was a patriot and feared our nation would crumble because the enemy would ban our books. Time has proven him wrong. Now, there is no reason to ban books because of the internet, cable and satellite TV no one wants to read them anyway.

My grandpa was religious and feared our testimonies would be weakened because  the enemy would take away our freedom of speech.  Time has proven him wrong.  Truth is available. But now truth can hardly be found because it has been drowned in the sea of irrelevant information –400 TV channels, $300 million movies, heated political talk shows, etc., etc.

My grandpa was a lover of life and feared that an enemy would poison our water and food or drop a nuclear bomb and we would all die.  Time has proven him wrong.  Now, the greatest threat of life isn’t from without. No, we die from overeating, smoking, alcohol, drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, etc., etc.

In short,

Grandpa feared that what he hated – the enemy – would ruin us.

I fear that what we love – pleasure – will ruin us.

Principle:

“We must not let complacency blind our eyes to the real dangers threatening to destroy us.” (David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals, p. 433)

We live in perilous times; the signs are all around us.  Pleasure is not the purpose of man’s existence.  Joy is!

Additional Resources:

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Happiness, Your Heritage,” Ensign, Nov. 2008.

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