The Cloud

*Disclaimer: the upcoming message is not meant to say that all technology and social media is
inherently evil.

Imagine that we live in a world where there is a constant, dense cloud above our heads. In this cloud there are all kinds of things. There are TBH’s, LOL’s, OMG’s, TBT’s, and a myriad of smiley faces and thumbs ups. There are angry birds, frowny faces, and vines.  Bit by bit people lose focus on the world around them and get caught up in this entertaining cloud. People start reaching for the cloud and find comfort in those happy little smiley faces and the successful “likes” that the cloud has given them. Eventually everyone is looking at the cloud, instead of at each other.

But what if one day someone got sick of depending on the cloud? What if they wanted to see the sun and the blue sky? What would happen? Slowly people start realizing that this cloud is getting in their way. They find it difficult to connect with family members. Answering phone calls becomes a burden. Meeting up with friends becomes a difficult challenge, because how do you see them clearly through all of the emoji’s and abbreviations and pictures in the cloud? How are you supposed to see which direction you’re supposed to go when the cloud is blinding your vision?

Now imagine one day where you don’t grab a piece of the cloud. At first you feel lonely and like
you’ll miss out on something. FOMO is a real thing! But then you start opening your eyes to the
world around you. Maybe you pray, go on a walk, read a book, paint a picture, write a letter, or
simply just sit and think. Before you know it, you can see a patch of blue sky amidst the cloud.
Slowly, day-by-day, the cloud starts to dissipate and the warmth of the sun is exposed.
You find yourself saying hi to people and giving them a compliment…wait! You just “liked”
someone in real life! How about a high five or a phone call to family or friends?
You just “messaged” them in real life! Suddenly people, ideas, and goals surround your life.
Rather than moving with the cloud, you are moving independently. There are no limits to
the sky now…you can do anything and be anything.  
Elder Bednar has cautioned,

“If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, earbuds, twittering, online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person-to-person communication.”

Heavenly Father loves you and knew that the world needed your particular talents and gifts.
Think about it! The God of the universe knows you so intimately that He placed you where
you are for a reason. Take advantage of the wonderful gift it is to be on this Earth experiencing life.

Lastly, here are two awesome videos. I highly recommend watching them!

Simply, 

Kenzie M