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Pornography will always repel the Spirit of Christ and will interrupt
the communications between our Heavenly Father and His children and
disrupt the tender relationship between husband and wife.
The
priesthood holds consummate power. It can protect you from the plague
of pornography—and it is a plague—if you are succumbing to its
influence. If one is obedient, the priesthood can show how to break a
habit and even erase an addiction. Holders of the priesthood have that
authority and should employ it to combat evil influences.
We
raise an alarm and warn members of the Church to wake up and understand
what is going on. Parents, be alert, ever watchful that this wickedness
might threaten your family circle.
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Parents,
be aware that the addiction of pornography can begin with youth at a
very early age. Take preventative action to avoid that tragedy. Stake
presidents and bishops, warn of this evil. Invite anyone you consider
captured by it to come to you for help.
An
individual with foundation standards and an enduring commitment to obey
them is not easily led astray. Someone who is increasingly repulsed by
grievous sin and who exercises self-restraint outside human influence
has character. Repentance will be more efficacious for such an
individual. A feeling of remorse after a mistake is a fertile soil
wherein repentance can flower.
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Pornography also inflicts mortal wounds on our most precious personal
relationships. In his talk to men of the priesthood last October,
President Hinckley quoted the letter of a woman who asked him to warn
Church members that pornography “has the effect of damaging hearts and
souls to their very depths, strangling the life out of relationships” (Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2004, 60).
Pornography impairs one’s ability to enjoy a normal emotional, romantic,
and spiritual relationship with a person of the opposite sex. It erodes
the moral barriers that stand against inappropriate, abnormal, or
illegal behavior. As conscience is desensitized, patrons of pornography
are led to act out what they have witnessed, regardless of its effects
on their life and the lives of others.
"Pornography" Dallin H. Oaks General Conference April 2005
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Those who
seek out and use pornography forfeit the power of their priesthood. The
Lord declares: “When we undertake to cover our sins, … behold, the
heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when
it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man” (D&C 121:37).
Patrons
of pornography also lose the companionship of the Spirit. Pornography
produces fantasies that destroy spirituality. “To be carnally minded is
death”—spiritual death (Rom. 8:6; see also 2 Ne. 9:39).
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I
know that I am speaking directly and plainly. I do so because the
Internet has made pornography more widely accessible, adding to what is
available on DVDs and videos, on television and magazine stands. It
leads to fantasies that are destructive of self-respect. It leads to
illicit relationships, often to disease, and to abusive criminal
activity.
Brethren,
we can do better than this. When the Savior taught the multitude, He
said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).
Could
anyone wish for a greater blessing than this? The high road of decency,
of self-discipline, of wholesome living is the road for men, both young
and old, who hold the priesthood of God. To the young men I put this
question: “Can you imagine John the Baptist, who restored the priesthood
which you hold, being engaged in any such practice as this?” To you
men: “Can you imagine Peter, James, and John, Apostles of our Lord,
engaging in such?”
No,
of course not. Now brethren, the time has come for any one of us who is
so involved to pull himself out of the mire, to stand above this evil
thing, to “look to God and live” (Alma 37:47).
We do not have to view salacious magazines. We do not have to read
books laden with smut. We do not have to watch television that is
beneath wholesome standards. We do not have to rent movies that depict
that which is filthy. We do not have to sit at the computer and play
with pornographic material found on the Internet.
I
repeat, we can do better than this. We must do better than this. We are
men of the priesthood. This is a most sacred and marvelous gift, worth
more than all the dross of the world. But it will be amen to the
effectiveness of that priesthood for anyone who engages in the practice
of seeking out pornographic material.
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Now,
my brethren, I do not wish to be negative. I am by nature optimistic.
But in such matters as this I am a realist. If we are involved in such
behavior, now is the time to change. Let this be our hour of resolution.
Let us turn about to a better way.
Said
the Lord: “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy
confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the
priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
“The Holy Ghost
shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter
of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting
dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever
and ever” (D&C 121:45–46).
How
could any man wish for more? These supernal blessings are promised to
those who walk in virtue before the Lord and before all men.
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Sexual immorality and impure thoughts
violate the standard established by the Savior. We were warned at the
beginning of this dispensation that sexual immorality would be perhaps
the greatest challenge.
Such conduct will, without repentance, cause a spiritual drought and
loss of commitment. Movies, TV, and the Internet often convey degrading
messages and images. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and I were recently in
an Amazon jungle village and observed satellite dishes even on some of
the small, simply built huts. We rejoiced at the wonderful information
available in this remote area. 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.
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If
anyone who is addicted has a desire to overcome, then there is a way to
spiritual freedom—a way to escape from bondage—a way that is proven. It
begins with prayer—sincere, fervent, and constant communication with
the Creator of our spirits and bodies, our Heavenly Father. It is the
same principle in breaking a bad habit or repenting from sin of any
kind. The formula for having our heart, our body, our mind, and our
spirit transformed is found in the scriptures.
The
prophet Mormon counseled us: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto
the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with
this love … ; that ye may become the sons of God; … that we may be
purified even as he is pure” (Moroni 7:48).
This
and many other scriptures testify to us there is hope for the addicted,
and this hope comes through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ
and by humbling oneself before God, pleading to be freed of the bondage
of addiction and offering our whole soul to Him in fervent prayer.
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To those who are dealing with an addiction personally or within your
family, I repeat, fervent prayer is key to gaining the spiritual
strength to find peace and overcome an addictive craving. Heavenly
Father loves all of His children, so thank Him and express sincere faith
in Him. Ask Him for the strength to overcome the addiction you are
experiencing. Set aside all pride and turn your life and your heart to
Him. Ask to be filled with the power of Christ’s pure love. You may have
to do this many times, but I testify to you that your body, mind, and
spirit can be transformed, cleansed, and made whole, and you will be
freed. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me
shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
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Most days we all find ourselves assaulted by immoral messages of some
kind flooding in on us from every angle. The darker sides of the movie,
television, and music industry step further and further into offensive
language and sexual misconduct. Tragically, the same computer and
Internet service that allows me to do my family
history and prepare those names for temple work could, without filters
and controls, allow my children or grandchildren access to a global
cesspool of perceptions that could blast a crater in their brains
forever.
. . . Remember that those young wives said their husbands’ infidelity began
with an attraction to pornography, but immoral activity is not just a
man’s problem, and husbands aren’t the only ones offending. The
compromise available at the click of a mouse—including what can happen
in a chat room’s virtual encounter—is no respecter of persons, male or
female, young or old, married or single.
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