Pornography

“We also recognized there is virtually no place on earth that cannot be impacted by salacious, immoral, and titillating images. This is one reason why pornography has become such a plague in our day.”

     “Can Ye Feel so Now,” Quinten L. Cook, Ensign, Nov. 2012

“How like the elm is man. From a minute seed, and in accordance with a divine plan, we grow, are nurtured, and mature. The bright sunlight of heaven, the rich blessings of earth are ours. In our private forest of family and friends, life is richly rewarding and abundantly beautiful. Then suddenly, there appears before us in this generation a sinister and diabolical enemy—pornography. Like the bark beetle it too is the carrier of a deadly disease. I shall name it ‘pernicious permissiveness.’”

     “Pornography-The Deadly Carrier,” Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Nov. 1979

“Pornographic or erotic stories and pictures are worse than filthy or polluted food. The body has defenses to rid itself of unwholesome food. With a few fatal exceptions, bad food will only make you sick but do no permanent harm. In contrast, a person who feasts upon filthy stories or pornographic or erotic pictures and literature records them in this marvelous retrieval system we call a brain. The brain won’t vomit back filth. Once recorded, it will always remain subject to recall, flashing its perverted images across your mind and drawing you away from the wholesome things in life.”

     “Pornography,” Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, May 2005

“Above all, start by separating yourself from people, materials, and circumstances that will harm you. As those battling something like alcoholism know, the pull of proximity can be fatal. So too in moral matters.”

     “Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul,” Jeffrey R. Holland, Ensign, May 2010

“You live in a world of terrible temptations. Pornography, with its sleazy filth, sweeps over the earth like a horrible, engulfing tide. It is poison. Do not watch it or read it. It will destroy you if you do. It will take from you your self-respect. It will rob you of a sense of the beauties of life. It will tear you down and pull you into a slough of evil thoughts and possibly of evil actions. Stay away from it. Shun it as you would a foul disease, for it is just as deadly. Be virtuous in thought and in deed. God has planted in you, for a purpose, a divine urge which may be easily subverted to evil and destructive ends.”

     “Some Thoughts on Temples, Retention of Converts, and Missionary Service,” Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1997

“We cannot afford husbands and fathers who fail to provide spiritual leadership in the home. We cannot afford to have those who exercise the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God, waste their strength in pornography or spend their lives in cyberspace.”

     "Brethren We Have Work To Do," D. Todd Christofferson, Ensign, Nov. 2012


“Be Cautious. These same technologies can allow evil influences to cross the threshold of your homes. These dangerous traps are only a mouse click away. Pornography, violence, intolerance, and ungodliness destroy families, marriages, and individual lives. These dangers are distributed through many media, including magazines, books, television, movies, and music, as well as the internet.”

     "A Matter of a Few Degrees," Deiter F. Utchdorf, Ensign, May 2008


“(Pornography) is utterly without redeeming social value. We urge our families to protect their children in every way possible. We live in a permissive world, but we must make certain we do not become a part of that permissive world, that degenerate world.”

     "God Will Not Be Mocked," Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, Nov. 1974


“Priesthood holders carry with them the antidote to remove the terrible images of pornography and to wash away guilt. The priesthood has the power to unlock the influence of our habits, even to unchain from addiction, however tight the grip. It can heal over the scars of past mistakes.”

     “Cleansing the Inner Vessel,” Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, Nov. 2010


“Immoral thoughts, words, and deeds always are immoral, even in cyberspace… We are all accountable to God, and ultimately we will be judged of Him according to our deeds and the desires of our hearts.”

     “Things as They Really Are,” David A. Bednar, CES Fireside, May 3, 2009 BYU-Idaho

My Testimony

Because God's plan is central to the family and seeing it come back to dwell in His presence, I understand the incredible stumbling block pornography is to His plan. It twists and perverts the true meaning of love and takes the sacred act of procreation and defiles is meaning. Sex is something to be expressed as an indicator of commitment and love to a spouse and to bring other of God's children into the world so they can choose to live with Him again. Pornography mocks God's most sacred plan by creating false senses of love and lust. Pornography removes our ability to reason, to see things as they really are. It clouds our judgments. The viewing of pornography physically alters the brain, rewiring it to think unnaturally and to be discontent unless all of our carnal desires are satisfied. I recognize that we as human beings are weak, susceptible to falling and many make the mistake of viewing pornography. In perfect love Heavenly Father designed a plan, that if we would turn our hearts away from sin and back to Him, He could heal us and forgive us. Just because we repent doesn't mean the consequences have vanished and the same is true with pornography. Those who have become victim to its addictive grasp will have to fight it the rest of their lives. The atonement will however, end the consequences after this life so the repentant sinner can enjoy exaltation in God's presence.