We were lucky enough to have Pres./Judge Tom Higbee come and teach us about the problems and concerns we have with pornography in our society today. It was a great lesson and I wish ALL of you could have been there to hear it. Whether you are parents trying to protect your kids or grandparents trying to help your kids help your grand kids, it was a great lesson. I am going to just give a few comments and things that we were taught!! And I'm going to add a couple of things that I think are very important to know too.
Definition of Pornography:
(True to the Faith (2004), 117-18)--Pornography is any material depicting or describing the human body or sexual conduct in a way that arouses sexual feelings. It is distributed through many media, including magazines, books, television, movies, music, and the Internet. It is as harmful to the spirit as tobacco, alcohol, and drugs are to the body. Using pornographic material in any way is a violation of a commandment of God: "Thou shalt no...commit adultery, nor do anything like unto it" D&C 59:6. It can lead to other serious sins. Members of the church should
AVOID PORNOGRAPHY in any form and should oppose its production, distribution, and use. Pornography is tragically addictive. Like other addictions, it leads people to experiment and to seek more powerful stimulations. If you experiment with it and allow yourself to remain caught in its trap, it will destroy you, degrading your mind, heart, and spirit. It will rob you of self-respect and of your sense of the beauties of life. It will tear you down and lead you to evil thoughts and possibly evil actions. It will cause terrible damage to your family relationships. Because of the addictive nature of pornography and the harm it can cause to body and spirit, servants of God have repeatedly warned us to shun it. If you are caught in the trap of pornography, stop immediately and seek help. Through repentance, you can receive forgiveness and hope in the gospel. Go to your bishop or branch president for counsel on how to overcome your problem, and seek healing through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord to give you the strength to overcome this terrible addiction.
Pornography is a major problem today. How on earth do we get caught in this awful trap. It's sad but many do.
President Higbee taught that to some, they thinks it's not a big deal. But it is a big deal. It's different for everyone. And men and women are different in the way they see things too. 30% of women are involved in pornography in our world today. SO it's not just a man's problem. As a parent, you cannot ignore it. If you don't talk about it with you children, someone else will!! You need to have open dialog with them and help them understand the pitfalls that come from this huge problem.
Pornography alters the brain!!!
Once addiction sets in, the user has a whole new set of problems, because addiction damages the part of the brain that helps you think things through to make good choices--the brain's limit setting system. For more than 10 years, studies have shown that drug addictions can cause the brain's frontal lobes to start shrinking. While "frontal lobe" sounds really technical, basically it's the part of the brain that controls logical problem solving and decision making. But recent studies have found that it's not just drugs that cause that kind of damage--the same problems show up with other kinds o addictions, such as overeating, internet addictions, and pornography. And here's the really scary part: the more pornography a person looks at, the more severe the damage to their brain becomes and the more difficult it is to break free.
That's the bad news--here's the good news
Neuroplasticity works both ways. That means that the damage to the brain can be undone when someone gets away from unhealthy behaviors.
We read Alma 50:1-6. It's a great scripture about fortifying our homes. The Book of Mormon is full of preparations for war. We are not asked to fight on a battle field in our day, but battling Satan's tools is our challenge. Moroni is fortifying the lands of the Nephites--and it is a great parallel for us as parents to help us in our homes. They dug up heaps of earth around the city. Then they topped that with timbers, and on top of the timbers they added a frame of pickets that were very strong and high. Then they build towers of strength and security on top of that. "Thus Moroni did prepare strongholds against the coming of their enemies, round about every city in all the land."
Message: We cannot be lax in preparing our homes as a safe and protected place for our children to live in. We need to go to great lengths to fortify our homes. Do what it takes!!!
This is a great article you can read if you just type in the title. It gives ways it leaks in and things you can do to prevent it. I just wanted to list some and then have you go to the article to find how to stop the leak!!
1. Mobile Devices. 2. YouTube ads and related videos. #. Shopping Catalogs. 4. Preview and deleted scenes in your DVD collection. 5. Netflix 6. TV commercials. 7. Kids' friends and schoolmates
8. Mobile Game ads. 9. Music and Album Art. 10. Video games. 11. Books. 12. Apps like snapchat, gaggle and more. Please take the time to read this article. It's a great help for those of us that are trying to safeguard our homes.
It's an individual decision on how you're going to help your family and yourself. The repentance process is real. It is NEVER TOO LATE!! Get help if you feel you are falling into Satan's trap. There's always a way out. The Lord offers us tender mercies at every stage of our lives. The Atonement is the key. We need to realize that we can be forgiven and move away from such harmful habits.
Great lesson!! Thanks to President Higbee for be willing to come and teach us.
