Pornography Discussed During Face to Face


Pornography and Sexual Sin Discussed at March 8 YSA Face to Face


On March 8, 2016 there was a live, worldwide Young Single Adult broadcast, featuring a discussion with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Sister Carole M. Stephens, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency; and Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Seventy. 

During that discussion these comments were made by Sister Stephens regarding pornography and sexual sin:

In preparation for this, I read the book of Mormon, and I was thinking about some of the struggles that are happening with young single adults, with many age groups right now, with men and women, and a whole lot of them are sexual sins. And I thought about Alma, and his son Corianton.  

We reviewed a lot of questions, and one of them was, if we find out someone we’re dating or someone we're serious about has an issue with pornography, should we continue to date them, or should we run? What should we do?

And when I got to Alma 39, I read about Corianton, who had committed sexual sin, and I read all of the advice and the council his father gave him, and how he taught him. 

And I thought to myself, would you give up on a Corianton?

But let me clarify that by saying this. What's in the heart? 

You know, are you dating someone who has a good heart? Who's honest about [his addiction]. Who's willing to work with you. Who's willing to go to 12 steps, take the 12-step course, and to really study the scriptures. Can you do this together? Can you work through this together? 

What's the condition of his heart? I think that's where a lot of this decision will come. And then you study, in Alma, you continue to study about the things that Alma taught his son Corianton. 

And the thing that I loved is when I came to Alma 48. I think Corianton got it. I think he figured out what the important things were.
I know that he did, because it says in Alma 48, verse 17:

Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God.

It doesn't say in that verse, also Alma and his sons, expect for Corianton, because he committed sin. 

Corianton was called back to the work. He figured out what was right and what needed to happen in his life to be able to progress, and he relied on the atonement of Jesus Christ to be able to do that.

And so I would also ask you, if you're willing to work through that, how's your testimony? 

Do you know how the spirit speaks to you? Because you're going to need to know. You're going to have to have the spirit really close to you, to be able to work together on that, and to be able to discern whether this is going to work or not.

So I think that we don't want to ever give up on anyone, because the atonement is real in our lives. 
We rely on it every single day, and we can all be better and do better and be forgiven because of it.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amen! I'm so glad they addressed this and she was able to put it so clearly and so well. It's not about whether or not they have an addiction, it's what they're willing to do to change and become better. We all have weaknesses! It's not our weaknesses/addictions that define us, but the desires of our hearts and the effort we put into becoming better.