Pornography

 "Pornography is like a raging storm, destroying individuals and families, utterly ruining what was once wholesome and beautiful."

                                                                            ( Gordon B. Hinckley ) 

 " Participation in pornography in any of its lurid forms is a manifestation of unbridled selfishness. How can a man, particularly a priesthood bearer, not think of the emotional and spiritual damage caused to women, especially his wife, by such abhorrent activity?"

                                                                     ( Richard G. Scott ) 

 "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 ) 

 "In our day the dreadful influence of pornography is like unto a plague sweeping across the world, infecting one here and one there, relentlessly trying to invade every home, most frequently through the husband and father. The effect of this plague can be, unfortunately often is, spiritually fatal. Lucifer seeks to disrupt “the great plan of redemption,” ¹¹ “the great plan of happiness.” 

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."

                                                           ( President Boyd K. Packer ) 

 “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.”

                                                                          

                                                                                 ( Dallin H. Oaks ) 

 "(Pornography) And sin it is. It is devilish. It is totally inconsistent with the spirit of the gospel, with personal testimony of the things of God, and with the life of one who has been ordained to the holy priesthood."

                                                                                    ( Gordon B. Hinckley ) 

 "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."

                                                                             

                                                                        ( Richard G. Scott ) 

 "My beloved friends, under no circumstances allow yourselves to become trapped in the viewing of pornography, one of the most effective of Satan’s enticements. And if you have allowed yourself to become involved in this behavior, cease now. Seek the help you need to overcome and to change the direction of your life. Take the steps necessary to get back on the strait and narrow, and then stay there."

  

                                                                             ( President Thomas S. Monson ) 

" And young women, please understand that if you dress immodestly, you are magnifying this problem by becoming pornography to some of the men who see you."

                                                                                       ( Elder Dallin H. Oaks ) 

 "Parents, be aware that the addiction of pornography can begin with youth at a very early age. Take preventative action to avoid that tragedy." 

                                                                              

                                                                                    ( Richard G. Scott ) 

Position: I am thankful for the support that the church provides to those whom become addicted to pornography. This is a sad and dangerous problem for so many of our day. I feel terrible when I see women at the mall or grocery store displaying themselves in provocative ways. It hurts me that they are hurting themselves and all of those around them. I hope that someday the truth about being immodest can be linked to the addiction to pornography because this desire could be enhanced by the appearance of those around us. I am positive that the Lord knows best how to help individuals with a pornographic addiction; although there are many therapists one could work with, and programs outside of the church; I believe that the help from the Lord's servants would be most effective. 

Application: I have zero problems with pornography. I do try to be extra careful about my children and the images they are exposed to on the computer advertisements. I have tried to inform individuals about church therapists for other reasons, and I do try to have healthy conversations about pornography addiction in our children and what we can do to ensure that this does not become a problem for them. 

Agency

"The future of this world has long been declared; the final outcome between good and evil is already known.  There is absolutely no question as to who wins because the victory has already been posted on the scoreboard.  The only really strange thing in all of this is that we are still down here on the field trying to decide which team’s jersey we want to wear! "

                                                                                           ( Elder Jeffrey R. Holland )


"Generally our Heavenly Father will not interfere with the agency of another person unless He has a greater purpose for that individual.  Two examples come to mind:  Saul, who became the Apostle Paul, and Alma the Younger.  Both these men were deterred from their unrighteous objective of persecuting and trying to destroy the church of God.  Both became great missionaries for the Church.  But even as the Lord intervened, they were given choices.  Alma, for example, was told, “If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God.”  (Alma 36:11.) "

                                                                                                         ( Elder Marvin J. Ashton)


"Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God’s greatest gift to man. . . . Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give. It is inherent in the spirit of man.  It is a divine gift to every normal being. . . . Everyone has this most precious of all life’s endowments – the gift of free agency – man’s inherited and inalienable right."

                                                                                                   ( President David O. McKay )

"What a perilous time [the war in heaven] must have been.  The Almighty Himself was pitted against the son of the morning.  We were there while that was going on.  That must have been a desperately difficult struggle, with a grand, triumphal victory. . . .Why were we then happy?  I think it was because good had triumphed over evil and the whole human family was on the Lord’s side.  We turned our backs on the adversary and aligned ourselves with the forces of God, and those forces were victorious."                                     

                                                                                                ( President Gordon B. Hinckley)

"We tend to think of agency as a personal matter.  If we ask someone to define “moral agency,” the answer will probably be something like this:  “Moral agency means I am free to make choices for myself.”  Often overlooked is the fact that choices have consequences; we forget also that agency offers the same privilege of choice to others.  At times we will be affected adversely by the way other people choose to exercise their agency.  Our Heavenly Father feels so strongly about protecting our agency that he allows his children to exercise it, either for good or for evil."

                                                                                                           ( Elder M. Russell Ballard )

"The spirits of men had their free agency, some were greater than others, and from among them the Father called and foreordained his prophets and rulers.  Jeremiah and Abraham were two of them. . . . The spirits of men were not equal.  They may have had an equal start, and we know they were all innocent in the beginning; but the right of free agency which was given to them enabled some to outstrip others, and thus, through the eons of immortal existence, to become more intelligent, more faithful, for they were free to act for themselves, to think for themselves, to receive the truth or rebel against it. "        

                                                                               ( President Joseph Fielding Smith)

"God has given us our agency.  He will not take it from us, and if I do that which is wrong and get into the devil’s territory, I do it because I have the will and power to do it.  I cannot blame anybody else."

                                                                                                                     ( George Albert Smith ) 

"The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely, personal thing we have to place on God’s altar.  The many other things we “give” are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us.  However, when you and I submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then, we are really giving something to Him!  It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!"

                                                                                                                ( Neal A. Maxwell ) 

"To countermand and ultimately forbid our choices was Satan’s way, not God’s, and the Father of us all simply never will do that.  He will, however, stand by us forever to help us see the right path, find the right choice, respond to the true voice, and feel the influence of his undeniable Spirit.  His gentle, peaceful, powerful persuasion to do right and find joy will be with us “so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved” (Moroni 7:36)."

                                                                                          (  President Howard W. Hunter )

"Free agency is the impelling source of the soul’s progress.  It is the purpose of the Lord that man become like him.  In order for man to achieve this it was necessary for the Creator first to make him free.  “Personal liberty,” says Bulwer-Lytton, “is the paramount essential to human dignity and human happiness.”             

                                                                                            (  President David O. McKay )

Position: I find our agency that is provided by God to be a beautiful thing. At times I have hard times making choices. I often times would like to find someone I trust and then have them make the choice for me. I have learned over the years why this does not work in my personal growth. Of those times that I let someone else decide what I was going to do, I was not able to fully grow because later when I would suffer consequences, I thought to myself, " well, this was not my choice anyways." This prohibited growth for me because I was not fully able to own up to all of my choices. Had I experienced being responsible for my choices at a younger age, I believe that I would have learned to be more careful about my choices at a younger age. 

Application: One way I have been working on the concept of agency is realizing that each and everyone of God's children has their own agency. Often times I would pray to my Father in Heaven for a person, and His response to me in the thoughts that came to my mind were, " This is that person's choice, and that is part of My plan." Then I would see things in a brighter light and understanding of God, His ways, and the pattern after which He works. 

The Atonement

“Not only does the Atonement of Jesus Christ overcome the effects of the Fall of Adam and make possible the remission of our individual sins and transgressions, but His Atonement also enables us to do good and become better in ways that stretch far beyond our mortal capacities.”
                                                                                     ( Elder Bednar ) 


“If we have made moral mistakes in our lives, we can repent because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The first and foundational step to living a morally clean life for the future is to repent of past transgressions, to exchange a foundation of sand for a foundation of rock. Often that commences with confession.”

                                                                                ( Elder Callister ) 

“In the case of sin, there is a wonderful reformatting process called repentance that allows us to clear our internal hard drives of the clutter that burdens our hearts. The gospel, through the miraculous and compassionate Atonement of Jesus Christ, shows us the way to cleanse our souls of the stain of sin and once again become new, pure, and as innocent as a child.”
                                                                                        ( President Uchtdorf ) 

"The Atonement was the foreordained but voluntary act of the Only Begotten Son of God in which He offered His life and spiritual anguish as a redeeming ransom for the effect of the Fall of Adam upon all mankind and for the personal sins of all who repent.The literal meaning of the English word Atonement is self-evident: at-one-ment, the bringing together of things that have been separated or estranged. The Atonement of Jesus Christ was indispensable because of the separating transgression, or Fall, of Adam, which brought two kinds of death into the world when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. ³ Physical death brought the separation of the spirit from the body, and spiritual death brought the estrangement of both the spirit and the body from God. As a result of the Fall, all persons born into mortality would suffer these two kinds of death. But we must remember the Fall was an essential part of Heavenly Father’s divine plan. Without it no mortal children would have been born to Adam and Eve, and there would have been no human family to experience opposition and growth, moral agency, and the joy of resurrection, redemption, and eternal life. ^"

                                                                                                ( Elder Holland ) 

"Here is an imperative need for each of us to strengthen our understanding of [Christ's] Atonement so that it will become an unshakable foundation upon which to build our lives. As honor, virtue, and purity are increasingly cast aside in the pursuit of appetite, our understanding of and faith in the Atonement will provide strength and capacity needed for a successful life... bring[ing] confidence in times of trial and peace in moments of turmoil.”

                                                                                                                                                ( Richard G. Scott ) 

 "Throughout your life there may be times when you have gone places you never should have gone and done things you never should have done. If you will turn away from sin, you will be able one day to know the peace that comes from following the pathway of complete repentance." 

                                                                                                                                          ( President Boyd K. Packer ) 

 "Throughout your life there may be times when you have gone places you never should have gone and done things you never should have done. If you will turn away from sin, you will be able one day to know the peace that comes from following the pathway of complete repentance." 

                                                                                                                                                   ( James E. Faust )

 "In Gethsemane, Christ went apart from His Apostles to pray. Whatever transpired is beyond our power to know! But we do know that He completed the Atonement. He was willing to take upon Himself the mistakes, the sins and guilt, the doubts and fears of all the world. He suffered for us so that we would not have to suffer. Many mortals have suffered torment and died a painful, terrible death. But His agony surpassed them all." 

                                                                                                                                                     ( President Boyd K. Packer ) 

 “Our Savior has redeemed us from the sin of Adam, but what about the effects of our own sins? Since ‘all have sinned’ (Romans 3:23), we are all spiritually dead. Again, our only hope for life is our Savior, who, the prophet Lehi taught, ‘offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law’ (2 Nephi 2:7).  “In order to lay claim upon our Savior’s life-giving triumph over the spiritual death we suffer because of our own sins, we must follow the conditions he has prescribed. . . . ” 

                                                                                                                                                          ( Dallin H. Oaks ) 

“We knew that our purpose was to gain a physical body, to overcome trials, and to prove that we would keep the commandments of God. Our Father knew that because of the nature of mortality, we would be tempted, would sin, and would fall short. So that we might have every chance of success, He provided a Savior, who would suffer and die for us.” - Thomas S. Monson, “
   
                                                                                                             ( President Thomas S. Monson )

Position : I know that the atonement of Jesus Christ is the greatest miracle that there ever was. I have felt the effects of the atonement and the possibilities that it opens the way for me so many times in my life. Although I strive to do better all of the time, it is impossible for me to go one day without needing to repent. As I repent on my knees and out loud in a prayer, I can feel the Holy Ghost working as the cleansing agent in my life. I feel the enabling grace allow me to do things that I would normally not be able to do on my own. There is no greater gift than that of my Savior Jesus Christ and his desires to provide us with this gift of the atonement, by way of God, The Eternal Father.

Application: I have applied the atonement in my life daily, and I have been more mindful of the ways that the atonement has helped me rather than focusing on the ways that I wished that I had done better during the week. As I have focused on these things, I clearly see the enabling grace that I have been given as I have used the atonement of Jesus Christ.
                                                                                 

The Family

“My counsel is that we need to focus our energy on strengthening our families by talking, rejoicing, preaching, and prophesying of Christ, that we may enjoy the reward of righteous families so we can be eternal families.”                               
                                                 ( Quentin L. Cook ) 

 “Righteous parents not only make deliberate and loving choices to bring children into the world, but they also prepare, pray, and eagerly wait during the period of gestation, anticipating the birth of their child.  "                   
                                                                   (Quentin L. Cook ) 

   "A family built on the marriage of a man and woman supplies the best setting for God’s plan to thrive."      

                                                                    ( Elder Christopherson )       

 "  Above the Great West Door of the renowned Westminster Abbey in London, England, stand the statues of 10 Christian martyrs of the 20th century. Included among them is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a brilliant German theologian born in 1906.¹ Bonhoeffer became a vocal critic of the Nazi dictatorship and its treatment of Jews and others. He was imprisoned for his active opposition and finally executed in a concentration camp. Bonhoeffer was a prolific writer, and some of his best-known pieces are letters that sympathetic guards helped him smuggle out of prison, later published as Letters and Papers from Prison.
One of those letters was to his niece before her wedding. It included these significant insights: “Marriage is more than your love for each other. … In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls into his kingdom. In your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal—it is a status, an office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man. … So love comes from you, but marriage from above, from God.”    

                                                                         ( Elder Christopherson ) 

    

1. "People may be loyal to one another in non marital relationships, and children can be born and raised, sometimes quite successfully, in other than a married two-parent family environment. But on average and in the majority of cases, evidence of the social benefits of marriage and of the comparatively superior outcomes for children in families headed by a married man and woman is extensive. On the other hand, the social and economic costs of what one commentator calls “the global flight from the family,” weigh increasingly on society. Nicholas Eberstadt catalogs the worldwide declines in marriage and childbearing and the trends regarding fatherless homes and divorce and observes: “The deleterious impact on the hardly inconsequential numbers of children disadvantaged by the flight from the family is already plain enough. So too the damaging role of divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing in exacerbating income disparities and wealth gaps—for society as a whole, but especially for children. Yes, children are resilient and all that. But the flight from family most assuredly comes at the expense of the vulnerable young. That same flight also has unforgiving implications for the vulnerable old.” (See “The Global Flight from the Family,”
2.  Wall Street Journal, Feb. 21, 2015, wsj.com/articles/nicholas-eberstadt-the-global-flight-from-the-family-1424476179.)
3.                                                                         ( Elder Christopherson - Why Marriage, Why Family )               

          “Marriage was ordained of God. It is a righteous principle when in holiness it is received and practiced. If men and women today would enter into this covenant in the spirit of humility, love and faith, as they are commanded to do, walking righteously in the ways of eternal life, there would be no divorce, no broken homes; but a happiness, a joy, beyond expression.” 

                                                                                                               (  Joseph F. Smith ) 

“Husbands and wives who love each other will find that love and loyalty are reciprocated. This love will provide a nurturing atmosphere for the emotional growth of children. Family life should be a time of happiness and joy that children can look back on with fond memories and associations.”
                                    
                                                                                          ( Ezra Taft Benson ) 


“Marriage provides an ideal setting for overcoming any tendency to be selfish or self-centered.                                               
                                                                                             ( Richard G. Scott ) 

“Our Father knew exactly what He was doing when He created us. He made us enough alike to love each other but enough different that we would need to unite our strengths and stewardships to create a whole. Neither man nor woman is perfect or complete without the other. Thus, no marriage … is likely to reach its full potential until husbands and wives … work together in unity of purpose, respecting and relying upon each other’s strengths.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ( Sheri Dew ) 

“The secret of a happy marriage is to serve God and each other. The goal of marriage is unity and oneness, as well as self-development. Paradoxically, the more we serve one another, the greater is our spiritual and emotional growth.”

                                                                                                    ( Ezra Taft Benson ) 

“Marriage is a gift from God to us; the quality of our marriages is a gift from us to Him.                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                    ( Whitney Clayton )


Position: I know that the family organization is of God. I am thankful every single day for the things that I learn being a mother to my children and a wife to my husband. I know that as we learn to be unselfish in our family relationships and as we seek to have God's help as we raise our children and serve as a companion to our spouses, this is the way that we learn to become more like Him. I have been thankful for the defensive of the family in recent conference talks because it is clear that the family unit is under attack. The good thing about our Savior Jesus Christ is that the battle has already been won, now His children just need to decide which side that they are on?

Application: I have diligently been praying about being a better wife to my husband and mother to my children. As I have been working to show God that I would like His help in this area of my life, He has blessed me with ideas and steps that I need to take to actually become better at this role of wife and mother that I have.
      

Sabbath Day

“There is a direct correlation between the proper observance of the Sabbath and true reverence for God, which includes obedience to his other commandments.”

( John Groerburg,  General conference , 1984 )

"Oh, my dear brothers and sisters, there is power in keeping the  Sabbath day holy—power to help others as well as ourselves. If we would have God’s blessings and protection as individuals, as families, as communities, and as nations, we must keep His Sabbath day holy."

( John Groerburg,  General conference , 1984 )

“The Lord commanded: “Go ye out from among the wicked. Save yourselves. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” 4  A critical element in observing this commandment is to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” 

( Aldridge Gislispe, General Conference 2000)

Now it is time to “bind [ourselves] to act in all holiness before [the Lord].” 3  In other words, based on this conference, we need to decide on specific actions to bring about needed changes in our lives. This action is called faith, and the changes are repentance. Blessings always follow these two principles. If we do not take action quickly, then the very thing which could have sanctified us may  turn to our condemnation.

( Aldridge Gislispe, General Conference 2000)

The prophet Spencer W. Kimball counseled: “The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from  work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping,reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. [Failure]to do these proper  things is a transgression on the omission side.” 16 

( Aldridge Gislispe, General Conference 2000)

“The Sabbath was made for man.” 18  What does that mean? It means for a man to have the joy and happiness which the gospel promises, on this day he must sacrifice the world, set aside his employment as possible, and keep the eternal covenant of the  Sabbath day. The Lord commanded: “Wherefore the children of Israel [which includes all Latter-day Saints] shall keep the Sabbath … throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever.” 19 

( Aldridge Gislispe, General Conference 2000)

"The way we keep the Sabbath day holy is an outward manifestation of our covenant to always remember Jesus Christ. " 

                                                                                   ( Lary M. Gibson ) 

"I wish I had the power to convert this whole church to the observance of the Sabbath. I know our people would be more richly blessed of the Lord if they would walk in faithfulness of the observance of the Sabbath. "

                                                                                       ( President Gordon B. Hinckley ) 

"Sunday is more than a day of rest, it is a feast day for your spirit bodies"

                                                                                                    ( Harold B. Lee ) 

Position: In my own life I have kept the Sabbath day holy better at sometimes than others. During the times that I have kept it more fully, I have felt the spirit in my life more. I am thankful that the Lord gave us a day to rest and become closer to Him through our worship at church, and at home. The Sabbath day is a blessing that I know individuals can miss out on easily when they do not recognize the blessings that can come from actually taking the time to learn from the scriptures at a deeper level through scripture study. I have found the Sabbath Day to be a wonderful day to write in journals, and study at deeper levels than I would have on days that I do not have time. 

Application: Since my husband often goes to work on Sundays or to his own church it can be difficult for me to ensure that my children are also keeping the Sabbath day holy as I get ready for church. One thing that I have incorporated is the decision that I have been teaching them to only watch church shows on Sunday, rather than just turning on the TV. I am thankful for the media that is available on www.lds.org that allows for my children to be busy while still keeping the Sabbath day holy.