(#1-AMD) "If, through our unrighteous choices, we have lost our footing on that
path, we must remember the agency we were given, agency we may choose to
exercise again. I speak especially to those overcome by the thick
darkness of addiction. If you have fallen into destructive, addictive
behaviors, you may feel that you are spiritually in a black hole. As
with the real black holes in space, it may seem all but impossible for
light to penetrate to where you are. How do you escape? I testify the
only way is through the very agency you exercised so valiantly in your
premortal life, the agency that the adversary cannot take away without
your yielding it to him." "To Act for Oursleves: The Gift and Blessing of Agency" by Robert D. Hales April 2006 General Conference http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/to-act-for-ourselves-the-gift-and-blessings-of-agency?lang=eng
(#3-AMD) “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.” "Pornography" by Dallin H. Oaks April 2005 General Conference http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/pornography?lang=eng
(#4-AMD) “Peace comes from knowing that the Savior knows who we are and knows that we have faith in Him, love Him, and keep His commandments, even and especially amid life’s devastating trials and tragedies.” by Elder Quentin L. Cook, April 2013 general conference https://addictionrecovery.lds.org/family-and-friends/help?lang=eng
(#7-AMD) “Some may regard the quality of character known as honesty to be a most ordinary subject. But I believe it to be the very essence of the gospel. Without honesty, our lives…will degenerate into ugliness and chaos” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “We Believe in Being Honest,” Ensign, Oct. 1990, 2).
(#8-AMD) “We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance (see 1 Nephi 1:20). by Elder David Bednar (in Conference Report, Apr. 2005, 106–7; or Ensign, May 2005, 100–101).
(#9-AMD) For many of us, an inventory was our first effort to write about our lives. A personal journal can continue to be a very powerful tool of recovery. Prophets of the Lord have often taught the importance of journals. For example, President Spencer W. Kimball counseled, “Write . . . your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies” (“The Angels May Quote from It,” New Era, Oct. 1975, 5). http://addictionrecovery.lds.org/steps/4?lang=eng&prefs=
(#10-AMD)
(#1-JTD) "While the matter of which I speak was a problem then, it is a much more serious problem now. It grows increasingly worse. It is like a raging storm, destroying individuals and families, utterly ruining what was once wholesome and beautiful. I speak of pornography in all of its manifestations."
(#2-JTD) "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" by Dallin H. Oaks April 2005 General Conference https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/pornography?lang=eng
(#2-AMD)
"Stay away from pornography as you would avoid a serious disease. It is
as destructive. It can become habitual, and those who indulge in it get
so they cannot leave it alone. It is addictive... It seduces and
destroys its victims. It is everywhere. It is all about us. I plead with
you young men not to get involved in its use. You simply cannot afford
to. The girl you marry is worthy of a husband whose life has not been tainted by this ugly and corrosive material." "Living Worthy of the Girl You Will Someday Marry" by Gordon B. Hinckley April 1998 General Conference https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/04/living-worthy-of-the-girl-you-will-someday-marry?lang=eng
(#3-AMD) “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.” "Pornography" by Dallin H. Oaks April 2005 General Conference http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/pornography?lang=eng
(#4-AMD) “Peace comes from knowing that the Savior knows who we are and knows that we have faith in Him, love Him, and keep His commandments, even and especially amid life’s devastating trials and tragedies.” by Elder Quentin L. Cook, April 2013 general conference https://addictionrecovery.lds.org/family-and-friends/help?lang=eng
(#5-AMD) “The pure love of Christ can remove the scales of resentment...from our eyes, allowing us to see others the way our Heavenly Father sees us: as flawed and imperfect mortals who have potential and worth far beyond our capacity to imagine.” —President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Merciful Obtain Mercy,” April 2012 General Conference https://addictionrecovery.lds.org/family-and-friends/help?lang=eng
(#6-AMD) “The study of the doctrines of the gospel
will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve
behavior. Preoccupation with unworthy behavior can lead to unworthy
behavior. That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines
of the gospel” (President Boyd K Packer, Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 20; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17). http://addictionrecovery.lds.org/steps/1?lang=eng
(#7-AMD) “Some may regard the quality of character known as honesty to be a most ordinary subject. But I believe it to be the very essence of the gospel. Without honesty, our lives…will degenerate into ugliness and chaos” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “We Believe in Being Honest,” Ensign, Oct. 1990, 2).
(#8-AMD) “We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance (see 1 Nephi 1:20). by Elder David Bednar (in Conference Report, Apr. 2005, 106–7; or Ensign, May 2005, 100–101).
(#9-AMD) For many of us, an inventory was our first effort to write about our lives. A personal journal can continue to be a very powerful tool of recovery. Prophets of the Lord have often taught the importance of journals. For example, President Spencer W. Kimball counseled, “Write . . . your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies” (“The Angels May Quote from It,” New Era, Oct. 1975, 5). http://addictionrecovery.lds.org/steps/4?lang=eng&prefs=
(#10-AMD)
“Worthiness interviews, sacrament
meetings, temple attendance, and other Church meetings are all part of
the plan that the Lord provides to educate our souls, to help us develop
the healthy habit of constantly checking our bearings to stay on the
path of faith. Regular spiritual checkups help us navigate life’s
highways and byways. . . .
“. . . We can all . . . benefit by looking
deep inside our hearts during reverent moments of worship and prayer
and asking ourselves this simple question, ‘Am I true?’
“The question becomes more powerfully
useful if we are completely honest with our answers and if it motivates
us to make repentant course corrections that keep us on the path of
faith” (by Elder Joseph B Wirthlin, Conference Report, Apr. 1997, 20; or Ensign, May 1997, 17). http://addictionrecovery.lds.org/steps/10?lang=eng&prefs=
(#1-JTD) "While the matter of which I speak was a problem then, it is a much more serious problem now. It grows increasingly worse. It is like a raging storm, destroying individuals and families, utterly ruining what was once wholesome and beautiful. I speak of pornography in all of its manifestations."
(#2-JTD) "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" by Dallin H. Oaks April 2005 General Conference https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/pornography?lang=eng
(#3-JTD) "Continued exposure leads to addiction that is almost impossible to break. Men, so very many, find they cannot leave it alone. Their energies and their interests are consumed in their dead-end pursuit of this raw and sleazy fare.""A Tragic Evil among Us" by Gordon B. Hinckley October 2004 General Conference http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/a-tragic-evil-among-us?lang=eng&media=audio#listen=audio
(#4-JTD) "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.""A Tragic Evil among Us" by Gordon B. Hinckley October 2004 General Conference http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/a-tragic-evil-among-us?lang=eng&media=audio#listen=audio
(#5-JTD) "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.""Pornography" by Dallin H. Oaks April 2005 General Conference https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/pornography?lang=eng
(#6-JTD) "How like the elm is man. From a minute seed and in accordance with a divine plan, we grow, are nurtured, and mature. The bright sunlight of heaven, the rich blessings of earth are ours. In our private forest of family and friends, life is richly rewarding and abundantly beautiful. Then suddenly, there appears before us in this generation a sinister and diabolical enemy—pornography. Like the bark beetle, it too is the carrier of a deadly disease. I shall name it “pernicious permissiveness.”" "Pornography, the Deadly Carrier" by President Thomas S. Monson July 2001
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/07/pornography-the-deadly-carrier?lang=eng
(#7-JTD) "Would a mother stand by watching were her son embraced by a cobra? Would she subject him to the taste of arsenic or strychnine? Mothers, would you? Fathers, would we?
From the past of long ago we hear the echo so relevant today:
“O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that
are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children
together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would
not!
“Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.”
5
Today
we have a rebirth of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah. From seldom-read pages
in dusty Bibles they come forth as real cities in a real world,
depicting a real malady—pernicious permissiveness."
"Pornography, the Deadly Carrier" by President Thomas S. Monson July 2001
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/07/pornography-the-deadly-carrier?lang=eng(#8-JTD) "
Third, a pledge to wage and win the war against pernicious permissiveness.
As we encounter that evil carrier, the pornography beetle, let our
battle standard and that of our communities be taken from that famous
ensign of early America, “Don’t tread on me.”
7
Let
us join in the fervent declaration of Joshua: “Choose you this day whom
ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
8
Let our hearts be pure. Let our lives be clean. Let our voices be heard. Let our actions be felt.Then the beetle of pornography will be halted in its deadly course.
Pernicious permissiveness will have met its match. And we, with Joshua,
will safely cross over Jordan into the promised land—even to eternal
life in the celestial kingdom of our God."
"Pornography, the Deadly Carrier" by President Thomas S. Monson July 2001
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2001/07/pornography-the-deadly-carrier?lang=eng(#9-JTD)"“… There cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God. …” (1 Ne. 15:34.) And again, “… no unclean thing can dwell with God. …” (1 Ne. 10:21.) To the prophets the term unclean in this context means what it means to God. To man the word may be relative in meaning—one minute speck of dirt does not make a white shirt or dress unclean, for example. But to God who is perfection, cleanliness means moral and personal cleanliness. Less than that is, in one degree or another, uncleanliness and hence cannot dwell with God." President Spencer W Kimball The Miracle of Forgiveness https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-spencer-w-kimball/chapter-4?lang=eng
(#10-JTD) "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." "Cleansing the inner Vessel" by Elder Boyd K. Packer October 2010
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/cleansing-the-inner-vessel?lang=eng
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