# 14: The Church is Right About Porn

Whether or not the LDS Church is all it claims to be, the Church is right about porn.  The leaders of the church have always decried pornography as sinful, and so it is.

If you stay in the Church, you will be a part of a community that puts porn in its proper place: in the trash can.  You will remain part of a community that is doing its best to combat pornography.  The Church preaches against it during just about every General Conference.  As far as I understand it, the Church doesn't knowingly let those with porn habits into leadership positions.  And this is the way it should be.  Pornography messes up your sense of right and wrong, and your sense of beauty.  It deadens your spiritual sensitivity.

And the Church doesn't merely preach that porn is wrong; it actively tries to help those who are struggling with it.  The Church sponsors addiction recovery groups for those with porn addictions.  Maybe some of the tactics the Church uses aren't the best.  There are too many members who feel too much guilt and shame for looking at porn.  Now, they should feel some guilt.  But they should feel the type of guilt that motivates them to accept the love and grace of Jesus Christ, not the type of guilt that motivates them to wallow in self-hatred.

In addition to the harm that porn does to those trapped by it, porn does harm to the people who create the porn.  For those who think that porn doesn't hurt anybody, go to Shelley Lubben's website.  Warning!  The subject matter, language and imagrey on the website is for mature folks.  But if you are a regular customer of porn, I suggest you go the website.  It will make you think twice before consuming porn.

Mrs. Lubben, a porn star turned born-again Christian, documents the degeneracy that prevails in the porn industry.  She says that many porn actors are on drugs, have psychological problems, and are routinely disrespected by directors and producers.

We often hear that we should make purchasing descions that are informed by our sense of morality.  For instance, if you knew a nail salon employed slaves or indentured servants who were mistreated, would it be ethical to get a manicure there?  No.  When you have a choice between dolphin-safe tuna and dolphin-damaging tuna, which one do you pick?  The dolphin safe one, of course!  You don't want to hurt dolphins.  My point is, we want to support companies that do business ethically. 

Companies that create porn cannot, by their very nature, do business ethically.  Now, surely some porn companies treat their performers better than other companies.  I'm sure some of them deal with people respectfully, relatively speaking.  But slavery can be done relatively respectfully, too.  Slave-masters can be kind to their slaves.  But even kindly administered slavery is wrong.  Slavery as an institution is flawed.  The whole thing needs to be abolished, not regulated or reformed.  The same goes for the porn industry.  It needs to be demolished.

How do we fight the porn industry?  Well, we can write letters to porn companies and kindly ask them to stop.  (That won't work.)  We can try to get laws passed that ban pornography. (That won't work, either.)

I think the best way to fight the porn industry is to ignore it.  Don't consume it.  The companies wouldn't make the porn if nobody was buying it.  And don't let those you love consume it.  If you or someone you love has a problem with porn, pray to Heavenly Father, and go to the Church for help.  Schedule an appointment with your bishop, and confess to him.  Confessing will be therapeutic.  As you pray, Heavenly Father will send you healing spiritual powers.  Ask for his power and He will give it to you.