Inspirational Quotes: Pornography

"Let us all improve our personal behavior and redouble our efforts to protect our loved ones and our environment from the onslaught of pornography." Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Pornography, April 2005 General Conference. 

“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 Dallin H. Oaks, Pornography, April 2005 General Conference. 

Those who seek out and use pornography forfeit the power of their priesthood. The Lord declares: “When we undertake to cover our sins, … behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man” (D&C 121:37). Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Pornography, April 2005 General Conference. 

"The best counsel for us to give young people is that they can arrive back to Heavenly Father only as they are guided and corrected by the Spirit of God. So if we are wise, we will encourage, praise, and exemplify everything which invites the companionship of the Holy Ghost." Henry B. Eyring, "Help Them on Their Way Home," April 2010 General Conference. 

"When we face such temptations in our time, we must declare, as young Nephi did in his, “[I will] give place no more for the enemy of my soul.” ¹² We can reject the evil one. If we want it dearly and deeply enough, that enemy can and will be rebuked by the redeeming power of the Lord Jesus Christ." Jeffery R. Holland, Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul, April 2010 General Conference. 

"Like the fly fisherman who knows that trout are driven by hunger, Lucifer knows our “hunger,” or weaknesses, and tempts us with counterfeit lures which, if taken, can cause us to be yanked from the stream of life into his unmerciful influence. And unlike a fly fisherman who catches and releases the fish unharmed back into the water, Lucifer will not voluntarily let go. His goal is to make his victims as miserable as he is." M. Russel Ballard, O That Cunning Plan of Plan of the Evil One, October 2010 General Conference.

"Pornography hijacks the brain by fueling dopamine production, which provides excitement, but no endorphins are emitted to help the brain feel satisfied, he explained. This cycle leads users to fall deeper and deeper into their addiction as they seek a satisfaction that will never come. "
Patrick Trueman, former chief of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Criminal Division, Education Is Key to Protecting Families from Pornography, June, 2010 Edition Ensign Magazine.

With the Saints gathered for general conference, the First Presidency issued a statement on pornography. Recognizing that “pornographic filth” continues to flood the United States and other nations of the world, the First Presidency message said:

“There is abundant evidence of the damaging effect of obscenity on the solidarity of the family, on the moral fiber of the individual.

“We, with many leaders outside the church, are deeply concerned about this growing obscenity in print, on record and tape, on television, and in motion pictures.

“We therefore urge Latter-day Saint parents to teach their children to avoid smut in any of its insidious forms. ‘Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.’ (D&C 121:45.)

“The Lord has also said: ‘Set in order your houses; keep slothfulness and uncleanness far from you.’ (D&C 90:18.)

“We also encourage Latter-day Saints as citizens to exert every effort to fight the inroads of pornography in their communities. History is replete with examples of nations which have fallen in a large measure through licentiousness.”  First Presidency Statement Against Pornography, December 1972

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship prescribed in God’s plan. Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed. Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. We are agents blessed with moral agency and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God—and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or secular philosophies." Elder David A. Bednar, We Believe in Being Chaste, April 2013 General Conference. 

"Violating the law of chastity is a grievous sin and a misuse of our physical tabernacles." Elder David A. Bednar, We Believe in Being Chaste, April 2013 General Conference. 

"Remember, my dear one, not an age in life passes without temptation, trial, or torment experienced through your physical body. But as you prayerfully develop self-mastery, desires of the flesh may be subdued. And when that has been achieved, you may have the strength to submit to your Heavenly Father, as did Jesus, who said, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42.) Elder Russell M Nelson, Self-Mastery, October 1985 General Conference.

"As servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is our sacred responsibility to teach His standard of morality, which is the same for all of His children. When our thoughts or our actions are impure, we violate His standard. The Lord has said, “I … cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.” ⁸ Some attempt to rationalize away their conduct." Quentin L. Cook, Stewardship- a Sacred Trust, October 2009 General Conference.

"Please, never say: “Who does it hurt? Why not a little freedom? I can transgress now and repent later.” Please don’t be so foolish and so cruel. You cannot with impunity “crucify Christ afresh.” ⁸ “Flee fornication,” ⁹ Paul cries, and flee “anything like unto it,” ¹⁰ the Doctrine and Covenants adds. Why? Well, for one reason because of the incalculable suffering in both body and spirit endured by the Savior of the world so that we could flee. ¹¹ We owe Him something for that. Indeed, we owe Him everything for that. “Ye are not your own,” Paul says. “Ye [have been] bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” ¹² In sexual transgression the soul is at stake—the body and the spirit." Jeffery R Holland, Personal Purity, October 1998 General Conference.