How to Fight Pornography

How to fight pornography and win: It’s a Light thing!

 

As a mother of two teenage boys, my heart aches to see the pornography that is so easily accessible to anyone with internet access. There are very few homes today that are not touched in some way by the threatening mist of pornography. Like the mist in Lehi’s dream, this darkness makes seeing the pathway difficult and unclear when it pervades our home and the hearts and minds of those we love. If left unattended, this mist of darkness will pollute our homes and snuff out the light and goodness that we strive to keep there. Light will not dwell in a place where darkness resides. In order to fight this growing epidemic, we must consciously lift the level of light in our homes to a higher spiritual plane to create a place where darkness is no longer comfortable.

The key to fighting this enemy may be difficult, but it’s possible and it may be easier than we think. Through my own experiences, I have learned that the key to fighting darkness is raising my level of light. It’s a light thing!

Elder Larry R Lawrence of the Seventy stated, “Accumulating as much light as we can is the key to successfully passing the test of mortal life.” March 2016

The key to our success in passing any test, including overcoming pornography, is accumulating light!

How can gaining light help combat pornography?

Elder Boyd K. Packer, in his message, Inspiring Music, Worthy Thoughts, stated, “For while virtue, by choice, will not associate with filth, evil cannot tolerate the presence of light.” January 1974

Simply stated, the more light we gain, the less we are influenced by temptations from the adversary because Satan’s darkness cannot tolerate the presence of God’s light.

There are many ways we can feed our spirit light, many of which I call the “Primary Answers” or those answers that every child in primary shouts out when asked a question.

Read your scriptures, say your prayers, have family home evening, go to church, attend the temple. These simple acts, consistently done over time, accumulate vast amounts of light that will help us to combat the darkness.

I can testify that this has been true for myself and my own family. When we are consistent in our efforts to do the simple things, there is less contention, less complaining, less frustration, and more love, more kindness, more peace. Filling our homes with light also fills our hearts with the light and love of the Savior, allowing us to feel more love towards each other, and less desire to sin.

Over the past year, the prophet and apostles have emphasized the importance of partaking of the sacrament and keeping the Sabbath day holy. Why do you suppose they are focusing so heavily on these things? These actions seem so simple, and yet if we follow the prophet’s counsel, we are provided great protection from the adversary. These simple acts allow us to increase the level of light within ourselves and our homes so that we create a shield and protection for our home and family throughout the week.

We are also sanctified as we renew those covenants each week. The darkness of sin and sorrow are purged from our soul and we are more unspotted from the world. We are given freedom from Earth stains and provided more holiness and purity through the atonement of Christ. We leave the meeting and return to our homes more filled with light and on a higher spiritual plane where darkness cannot abide.

The more light we gain, the less power Satan has to overcome us. In order to combat pornography, or any sin, we have to fill our hearts and homes with a greater portion of light than the darkness we are fighting. The more light we gain, the more power we have to overcome darkness.

The process of overcoming an addiction may take time, but I testify that increasing the light within you will allow you to overcome any and all addictions. The darkness that feels overwhelming at times will no longer be able to overcome you, because as your light increases, Satan loses power and cannot withstand your level of light.

When fighting an addiction, it is important to understand exactly what you are fighting. As the apostle Paul said, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  Ephesians 6:12

When it comes to our weaknesses, we mistakenly believe we are fighting against ourselves, our very human nature, but in reality, we are fighting against Satan who uses our weaknesses against us. When we understand our enemy, we can fight differently.

Temptations don’t come because we are terrible, unfaithful or weak. They come because we’ve let our shield down and we need to raise our level of light.

When Paul spoke to the Ephesians about putting on the whole armor of God, he spoke of the shield we needed to carry, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Ephesians 6:16

All the fiery darts. This means that if we consistently take up the shield of faith, we can stop all the fiery darts Satan throws at us. This includes immoral thoughts, selfishness, anger, pride, and any other means Satan uses to try to take our light from us.

The Lectures on Faith by Joseph Smith teach that faith is a principle of power. The more we exercise our faith and do not doubt, the more light we add to our spirit. And as we increase in light, we will increase in understanding.

Every battle against Satan should start on your knees. The battle is not ours to fight, it is God’s battle and it began before this world was even created. Satan wants all of us to fail, so he uses our human weaknesses against us and then sells us lies that make us believe we are unworthy to talk to God.

There is nothing further from the truth. God is our Father and He loves us with a love we cannot fully comprehend. He wants what any good father would want, for all His children to come back to Him. He has already provided a way for us to return through the gift of the Savior’s atonement.

Christ’s atonement covers ALL sin, every weakness, every impure thought, every addiction, every selfish impulse, every mistake. It also covers our sorrows and grief and fills our hearts with the most incredible joy. God gave us this gift because He knew we would make mistakes, but He loves us anyway. He will never turn away from His children, especially when they choose to turn their hearts to Him.

When we kneel to God in prayer, He will direct us and we can become great warriors in His army. He will help us to fight the wicked one and overcome every addiction and bad habit we have.

When you pray, ask God to cast Satan out, ask for angels to watch over and protect you, and ask for greater protection from the adversary. Ask God to help your unbelief so that your faith can be whole. Ask God to help you to increase in light, and for inspiration on how you can make that happen in your life. Sincere prayer is how battles are won.  

Divinely inspired music is prayer put to music and is a wonderful way to increase light both in your spirit and your home.

In the Doctrine and Covenants, it states, “For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.” 25:12

Righteous songs are prayers and it is promised that these songs, when sung from the heart, will be answered with blessings on the heads of those who sing them.

We are told, “Pray always that you may come off conqueror, yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.” Doctrine and Covenants 10:5

One of the greatest blessings that can come from singing hymns is that we can fulfill this scripture to pray always, as we have a song in our heart, and it will give us the power to overcome Satan, for we truly are living in the last days.  

I have witnessed the power of music in my own battles with Satan. Time and time again, I have felt darkness flee when I chose to sing one of the songs of Zion. There is power in the words and music of Zion and when we sing them from our heart, Satan cannot abide the light.

Elder Packer promised if we memorize sacred hymns, it would provide a place for our thoughts to go, and if we went over those songs in our mind whenever immoral or unclean thoughts entered in, the baser thoughts would disappear because of the light these songs possess.

In the First Presidency Preface to the Hymns it states, “Hymns can help us withstand the temptations of the adversary. We encourage you to memorize your favorite hymns and study the scriptures that relate to them. Then, if unworthy thoughts enter your mind, sing a hymn to yourself, crowding out the evil with the good.”

The light that comes from music and prayer has the power to overcome Satan. In addition to this, partaking of the sacrament, making and keeping covenants, righteous thoughts, service to those around you, kind words and actions, temple attendance, family home evening, scripture study, listening to conference talks, reading good books, following the prophet, and most importantly, listening and being obedient to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, are all things that will fill your soul with light and help you to overcome darkness in whatever form it takes.

When it comes to overcoming addictions, the idea of gaining light seems so simple that many will discount it, believing it will not work for them. To those who doubt I say, remember the children of Israel. When they were bitten by fiery serpents, the Lord told Moses to make a staff with a brazen serpent, and all who looked on it would be healed. But because of the simpleness, or easiness of the way, many would not look because they did not believe it would heal them, and many people died because of their unbelief.

If we truly desire to overcome sin, we must look to Christ, for in Him, all wounds are healed. His light will carry us through the darkness and allow us to grow brighter and brighter until the perfect day. Light cleaves to light, and as we fill our souls with light, we will become one with the Savior. We will grow brighter and brighter until there is no darkness in us. We will lift ourselves above the evil of the world and dwell in a place where darkness cannot enter because of the presence of light within us.

Christ said it best, “And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.” Doctrine and Covenants 88:67

 

Overcoming any sin, including pornography, truly is a light thing. For when your whole body is filled with light, there is no room for darkness.

 

Elder Boyd K Packer, Inspiring Music, Worthy Thoughts, 1974

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1974/01/inspiring-music-worthy-thoughts.p1?lang=eng

 

Elder Larry R Lawrence, The Light of the Perfect Day, 2016

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2016/03/the-light-of-the-perfect-day?lang=eng

 

Hymns, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985