When Is It too Late to Change Course?

Right now is the 4th time I've been the Gospel Principles teacher at church. Twice in the 90s, once last decade, and since last summer. I've joked about being in a cycle of callings at church. Years ago, I was the first counselor in the Young Men's Presidency, but was called from there to teach the Gospel Principles Sunday School class (my third time). From there, I was called to be the Elder's Quorum President. Then, I was released from that to be a Young Men's counselor, but that only lasted a couple of months before I was called to be the Gospel Principles teacher again.

So I've had time to familiarize myself with the material. Sunday, I taught lesson 31, on honesty, and there is a new sentence in the section on how stealing is dishonest (emphasis added)

Jesus taught, “Thou shalt not steal” (Matthew 19:18). Stealing is taking something that does not belong to us. When we take what belongs to someone else or to a store or to the community without permission, we are stealing. Taking merchandise or supplies from an employer is stealing. Copying music, movies, pictures, or written text without the permission of the copyright owners is dishonest and is a form of theft. Accepting more change or goods than one should is dishonest. Taking more than our share of anything is stealing.

I've taught this lesson before, but today, another thought from earlier in the lesson kept coming back to me as I considered the meaning of this paragraph (and the emphasized language).

Satan would have us believe it is all right to lie. He says, “Yea, lie a little; … there is no harm in this” (2 Nephi 28:8). Satan encourages us to justify our (dishonesty) to ourselves. Honest people will recognize Satan’s temptations and will (be honest), even if it seems to be to their disadvantage.

What was the last thing you were told to change which prompted you to . . . justify not changing? When was the last time you were exhorted to correct a behavior (especially a long-standing one) and instead you took an honest, sober look at the behavior in considering whether to change it or not (rather than shrugging off the exhortation and continuing with your historical patterns)?

A classic question is whether a speed limit sign should prompt strict obedience or not (which is NOT a behavior I am considering changing), but surely you can think of other good examples.

Teaching this Sunday School lesson was a clear moment of insight for me. I knew that there was a lot of pirated media on the computers in our home. I put some of it there! And I was moved to make a decision to change that.

I could hear unspooling in my mind's ear a dozen excuses. With each excuse, I hear the echo of the lesson, “Satan encourages us to justify our dishonesty…”

What's the difference between Tivoing a TV show and torrenting a file of it? Both let me watch it when I want and skip the commercials.

If I download something to try it out and then like it enough to buy it, how is that bad?

What's the difference between downloading a movie and getting it from the library?

What's the difference between taping a song off of the radio and getting a good .mp3 of it?

What if you buy a video game and then the CD for it breaks? What if the game's manufacturer doesn't even sell it anymore? What if the manufacturer doesn't even EXIST any more?

What if someone gives you a copy of , how are you supposed to know its provenance?

If someone else buys a movie/game/CD, copies it and then gives you the original, how is that any different from watching/playing/listening to a torrented version of something?

I'm not sure I know how to answer all of those questions. I have a lot of faith in the benefit of doing good things and finding the right path by the doing of it. I imagine that there will be some combination of amnesty, replacement, and deleting going on to correct our current ownership scheme.

But I am also certain that I don't ever want to be guilty of downloading pirated media again. And I want my children to understand my stance on it.

If you justify lying a little, stealing a little, because there's no harm it, where will that take you in the coming months, the coming years? Satan is patient, and he's in the conflict to harm us over time. Surely he knows that he won't ever actually win, so all he needs to do is damage us. A little bit at a time, perhaps, but that damage adds up.



Even if the "law" about sharing/downloading files is, in your opinion, wrong; it's too draconian, too strict, too inflexible. Even if that's true, every time you break that law, you know you are doing something illegal. How can that behavior continue without doing Spiritual damage to you? How can we justify stealing when our ultimate reasoning rests in the assertion that it's just more convenient to steal the media than to get it legally? Isn't that why Willie Sutton robbed banks?



Last Fall, I waited during Conference for a message that would encourage civility in public discourse, and I got one! This year, I will be waiting for a talk that speaks to honesty in media consumption.

In the meantime, I am open to suggestions. If you really, REALLY can't find something legally, ask me for help. I may know a guy.

And if anyone can point me in the direction of an inexpensive way to acquire all of the Sims 3 expansion packs (Ambitions, Generations, Pets, High End Loft Stuff, Outdoor Living Stuff, Fast Lane Stuff, Town Life Stuff), my kids would be extra grateful.