Watch Your Step

Do you ever just want to punch Satan??? Okay. I know that technically I can't since he didn't get a body so he couldn't feel it. And I know that Satan is the one who tempts us to feel anger and violence, but I never said I was perfect. I just want to scream, "SATAN, go a-w-a-y!" But we know he is a part of this life and we all have to learn to defeat him or pay the sad consequences.

I am tired of getting news that yet another one of my friends has been affected by divorce because of one thing---Lust. There are other reasons, but this one comes up too often. Whether having affairs, inappropriate relationships in person or online, fantasies about someone other than their spouse, or pornography all destroy a marriage. I am tired of Satan succeeding at destroying another family.

I am especially tired of seeing the poor children being affected by selfish decisions of a parent. Whoever says divorce doesn’t have much of an effect on children is trying to make himself/herself feel better about what he is doing.

“Men, take care not to make women weep, for God counts their tears” President Thomas S. Monson, Standards of Strength, Ensign, Nov. 1990, 47

“God will hold us accountable if we neglect His daughters” President Gordon B. Hinckley, Our Responsibility to Our Young Women, Ensign, Sept. 1988, 11

If you couldn’t tell, a friend of mine has been going through a divorce because her husband decided to leave her. One of her girls has been going through depression after hearing the news and she has started cutting herself. This poor girl. I am glad that her mother found out and she is getting help and doing better, but this is not something you emotionally heal from quickly.

I know that the people who need to hear this message aren’t my blogger friends, but I’m posting as a way to vent and also in hopes that it will somehow help someone. Have you noticed that pornography and divorce are so often topics at General Conference now? You and I know why. The number of families, including LDS families, which are affected by both of these is increasing. I have heard many BYU bishops say that pornography is a big problem in their ward semester after semester. People who have been taught since they were young that this is dangerous and wrong are caught up in it.

“Pornography is like that evil stranger, that enemy operating in secret chambers. It targets children, teens, and adults—both male and female. Its purveyors often operate in secrecy and seek to deceive us by claiming to offer something normal and pleasurable that doesn’t harm anyone.” Loran Cook, “The Secret Enemy", New Era, Feb. 2011

“The father of lies and lust … will do anything he can to counterfeit true love, to profane and desecrate true love wherever and whenever he encounters it. … 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. Furthermore, I promise you that the light of His everlasting gospel can and will again shine brightly where you feared life had gone hopelessly, helplessly dark.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul,” Ensign, May 2010, 46.

“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

How can someone expect to have the Spirit with them in any part of his life if he is doing something so contrary to the Lord’s commandments?

“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” Doctrine & Covenants 121:37

Pornography destroys relationships. Those who are not yet married might say that their “hobby” doesn’t affect anyone but himself. Those images will stay embedded in his mind for decades and will warp his expectations for how a woman is supposed to act and look. Even after someone stops viewing pornography, it affects his mind. I am saying “He” only because it is most common, but I know pornography is a problem with some women also and the effects are the same. It is something important for us to teach our children, young men and young women and to continue to teach to adults.

"Do not be misled by Satan’s lies. There is no lasting happiness in immorality. There is no joy to be found in breaking the law of chastity. Just the opposite is true. There may be momentary pleasure. For a time it may seem like everything is wonderful. But quickly the relationship will sour. Guilt and shame set in. We become fearful that our sins will be discovered. We must sneak and hide, lie and cheat. Love begins to die. Bitterness, jealousy, anger, and even hate begin to grow. All of these are the natural results of sin and transgression." President Ezra Taft Benson, The Law of Chastity, New Era, Jan. 1988, 5–6

"Trying to find lasting love without obeying God is like trying to quench thirst by drinking from an empty cup—you can go through the motions, but the thirst remains." Elder John H. Groberg, “The Power of God’s Love” The Power of God's Love  Ensign, Nov. 2004