The Pornography Dilemma in The Church

First off, I tip my hat to whoever actually decides to read something uncomfortable as what I'm about to write. I've been thinking of what I posted yesterday, and have more to say. The discussion on pornography definitely is taboo in religious communities, most notably, the Mormon community - and for good reason: only in The Book of Mormon do you hear that going after prostitutes is the worst sin only to killing other people and denying existence of the Spirit (Alma 39:3-5).

But it's a common problem now. Anybody can break that commandment on their smartphone almost instantaneously, which, by the way, is the most common form of viewing pornography now. It's free, doesn't affect others, and one of the most common addictions today.

Think about these addictions:

Smoking addictions lead to lung cancer - You can smell them.
Cocaine screws up the brain - you can see it in their eyes.
Gambling makes the bank account run dry - they may ask for money.
Alcohol impairs our ability to think - They crash into your car.
These addictions are in the top 10 most common addictions.

With pornography, though, it is incredibly difficult to tell a user from a nonuser. Because of this, members, users and nonusers alike, can walk to their chapels and be best friends. They "speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls," (Moroni 6:5) but seldom mention pornography. You know why: it's taboo; users are scared of being judged for this serious transgression.

And they are. With reason! Breakups, divorces, and broken families are all evidence of this**.

I won't go into how common pornography is, it's statistics, or whatever - just remember it's common. If you don't know how common it is, look it up.

Instead, I want to talk about the dilemma and solution. Although members who are users want to imagine otherwise, defeating pornography is a group effort. Here's the first dimension of the dilemma: users never receive help because of the fear associated with the stiff stigma cemented into our culture. Here's the second dimension of the dilemma: those who are brave enough to ask for help don't receive enough appropriate help because those in a position to help the user are uncomfortable, not knowledgeable, and inexperienced, even if they are very empathetic to the user.

Having heard of such examples personally, I want to help, but don't know how. Whoever may read this may feel likewise.

I hope you're interested in finding a solution as I am. If you feel you have a solution, please comment.

**I heard from my stake president that according to one study, 70% of girls at BYU would rather date a cocaine addict than somebody who watches porn. Do people not understand how prevalent this is inside the church? Or how many of their friends suffer from this? That's putting many of of their friends who are trying to do the right thing as less date-worthy than the "wrong crowd" in high school. I know I'm ranting but, here's my question: who do you think can support a family, gain higher education, and get a job: a porn or cocaine addict?