Satan's Greatest Tool

     “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.”-Elder Oaks
     The drug of today is the easiest to access and is attacking men (and women) of all ages. This isn't something we should be ignoring or pretending isn't there. It is poison. You wouldn't ignore your child if they ingested poison, do not ignore them if they have ingested pornography. There are steps to remove poison that need to be taken immediately. The longer you let it sit, the longer it takes over the body. It's not enough to rinse it out with a gurgle of water and it's not enough to tell yourself, "I'll make myself quit. No one has to know." Elder Oaks said, “Some seek to justify their indulgence by arguing that they are only viewing “soft,” not “hard,” porn. A wise bishop called this refusing to see evil as evil. He quoted men seeking to justify their viewing choices by comparisons such as “not as bad as” or “only one bad scene.”

 Just as it takes professionals to remove poison, or certain medicines, it takes the same for pornography. If not properly treated, the poison will kill. 
    The medicine that heals all wounds is the Atonement. Heavenly Father loves us so much that he gave us a Savior who can rid us of any sin as we come to Him in humility and repentance. 
 Why is Porn so wrong?
        Elder Scott answered a similar question as to why sex before marriage is wrong. But the answer applies for our question as well. He says, "Sexual immorality creates a barrier to the influence of the Holy Spirit with all its uplifting, enlightening, and empowering capabilities. It causes powerful physical and emotional stimulation. In time that creates an unquenchable appetite that drives the offender to ever more serious sin. It engenders selfishness and can produce aggressive acts such as brutality, abortion, sexual abuse, and violent crime. Such stimulation can lead to acts of homosexuality, and they are evil and absolutely wrong.⁹
Sexual transgression would defile the priesthood you now hold, sap your spiritual strength, undermine your faith in Jesus Christ, and frustrate your ability to serve Him." (Elder Scott "Making the Right Choices"). 

     Pornography is one of Satan's greatest tools to destroy individuals as well as families. "“One of the ultimate ironies of eternity is that the adversary, who is miserable precisely because he has no physical body, entices us to share in his misery through the improper use of our bodies. The very tool he does not have is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to spiritual destruction."-Elder Bednar 'We Believe in being Chaste'.

    It isn't just images or arousing feelings, it is slowly poisoning our very spirit. The Holy Ghost will not dwell with us. And even after the viewing has stopped, the images are still there, as Elder Oaks stated in the quote at the beginning. 

How Do we Prevent Pornography?

   

    In the scriptures, it tells us, " 45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and 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." This is one of my favorite scriptures. Virtue is a combative power to Satan's temptations. It is a protection that helps us stay pure and allow the Holy Ghost to always be with us. 

   There is also a place we can go where the Spirit lives constantly. It is a place where the veil is thinner, where peace dwells, where answers to prayers can be found. "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” (Elder Oaks "Pornography"). This statement struck me. I try to go to the temple. But do I make it a part of me? We make time for work, school, friends, but do we really make time for the temple? I have realized that there truly is a difference between casual temple goers and active temple worshipers. 

   The church came out with a video that describes on a child base level what pornography is and what to do if you looked at it. The link is here: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-08-001-what-should-i-do-when-i-see-pornography?lang=eng

I know that the Lord lives. He loves His children. He also knows that Satan is working against His children to make us miserable like him. So God has provided ways to protect us and heal us when we sin. There is a way back. Always. “But the good news is that no one needs to follow the evil, downward descent to torment. Everyone caught on that terrible escalator has the key to reverse his course. He can escape. Through repentance he can be clean." (Elder Oaks "Pornography").