Pornography
Although I have been lucky to have not been directly affected by pornography, I see it all around me in the world today. It is brought up as an accepted past time or form of entertainment in many of the television shows that I watch. I have had people in my home ward and stake that have lost their families and their membership over pornography. I think that Satan is adept in tricking us into thinking that it is nothing, just a show, you are not participating so there is no harm in it. The prophets and apostles have taught that it is just as spiritually deadly as someone pulling the trigger. It is a viscous trap that Satan enslaves so many in. We need to approach it as a society as something with the same impacts as a firearm or a robbery. Only when people acknowledge it as the danger it is will Satan loose his power to deceive them.
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"Don’t accommodate any degree of temptation. Prevent sin and avoid having to deal with its inevitable destruction. So, turn it off! Look away! Avoid it at all costs. Direct your thoughts in wholesome paths. Remember your covenants and be faithful in temple attendance. The wise bishop I quoted earlier reported that “an endowed priesthood bearer’s fall into pornography never occurs during periods of regular worship in the temple; it happens when he has become casual in his temple worship” (letter of Mar. 13, 2005)."
Dallin H. Oaks, April 2005 General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/pornography?lang=eng&query=pornography#1-
Dallin H. Oaks, April 2005 General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/pornography?lang=eng&query=pornography#1-
"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)."
Dallin H. Oaks, April 2005 General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/pornography?lang=eng&query=pornography#1-
Dallin H. Oaks, April 2005 General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/pornography?lang=eng&query=pornography#1-
"Satan has become a master at using the addictive power of pornography to limit individual capacity to be led by the Spirit. The onslaught of pornography in all of its vicious, corroding, destructive forms has caused great grief, suffering, heartache, and destroyed marriages. It is one of the most damning influences on earth. Whether it be through the printed page, movies, television, obscene lyrics, vulgarities on the telephone, or flickering personal computer screen, pornography is overpoweringly addictive and severely damaging. This potent tool of Lucifer degrades the mind and the heart and the soul of any who use it. All who are caught in its seductive, tantalizing web and remain so will become addicted to its immoral, destructive influence."
Richard G. Scott, October 2009 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/to-acquire-spiritual-guidance?lang=eng&query=pornography
Richard G. Scott, October 2009 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/to-acquire-spiritual-guidance?lang=eng&query=pornography
"If you are ensnarled in pornography, make a total commitment to overcome it now. Find a quiet place; pray urgently for help and support. Be patient and obedient. Don’t give up."
Richard G. Scott, October 2009 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/to-acquire-spiritual-guidance?lang=eng&query=pornography
Richard G. Scott, October 2009 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/to-acquire-spiritual-guidance?lang=eng&query=pornography
"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. And just to make sure that temptation is ever more accessible, the adversary is busy extending his coverage, as they say in the industry, to cell phones, video games, and MP3 players."
Jeffrey R. Holland, April 2010 General Conference, Saturday Afternoon Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/place-no-more-for-the-enemy-of-my-soul?lang=eng&query=pornography
Jeffrey R. Holland, April 2010 General Conference, Saturday Afternoon Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/place-no-more-for-the-enemy-of-my-soul?lang=eng&query=pornography
"On the other hand, however—and extremely alarming—are the reports of the number of individuals who are utilizing the Internet for evil and degrading purposes, the viewing of pornography being the most prevalent of these purposes. My brothers and sisters, involvement in such will literally destroy the spirit. Be strong. Be clean. Avoid such degrading and destructive types of content at all costs—wherever they may be! I sound this warning to everyone, everywhere."
Thomas S. Monson, April 2009 General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/until-we-meet-again?lang=eng&query=pornography
Thomas S. Monson, April 2009 General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/until-we-meet-again?lang=eng&query=pornography
"Pornography, though billed by Satan as entertainment, is a deeply poisonous, deceptive snake that lies coiled up in magazines, the Internet, and the television. Pornography destroys self-esteem and weakens self-discipline. It is far more deadly to the spirit than the rattlesnake my father warned me not to pet."
David E. Sorensen, April 2001 General Conference, Priesthood Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/04/you-can-t-pet-a-rattlesnake?lang=eng&query=pornography
David E. Sorensen, April 2001 General Conference, Priesthood Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/04/you-can-t-pet-a-rattlesnake?lang=eng&query=pornography
"...I warn against pornography. It is degrading of women. It is evil. It is infectious, destructive, and addictive. The body has means by which it can cleanse itself from harmful effects of contaminated food or drink. But it cannot vomit back the poison of pornography. Once recorded, it always remains subject to recall, flashing its perverted images across your mind, with power to draw you away from the wholesome things in life. Avoid it like the plague!"
Russell M. Nelson, April 1999 General Conference, Priesthood Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/04/our-sacred-duty-to-honor-women?lang=eng&query=pornography
Russell M. Nelson, April 1999 General Conference, Priesthood Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/04/our-sacred-duty-to-honor-women?lang=eng&query=pornography
"Avoid any semblance of pornography. It will desensitize the spirit and erode the conscience. We are told in the Doctrine and Covenants, “That which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.” Such is pornography."
Thomas S. Monson, April 2006 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/true-to-the-faith?lang=eng&query=pornography
Thomas S. Monson, April 2006 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/true-to-the-faith?lang=eng&query=pornography
"Pornography, in particular, is a weapon of mass moral destruction. Its impact is at the forefront in eroding moral values. Some TV programs and Internet sites are equally lethal. These evil forces remove light and hope from the world. The level of decadence is accelerating. If we do not black out evil from our homes and lives, do not be surprised if devastating moral explosions shatter the peace which is the reward for righteous living. Our responsibility is to be in the world but not of the world."
Quentin L. Cook, October 2010 General Conference, Saturday Afternoon Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/let-there-be-light?lang=eng&query=pornography
Quentin L. Cook, October 2010 General Conference, Saturday Afternoon Session
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/let-there-be-light?lang=eng&query=pornography