Protecting our Families from the Storm of Porn

 

LDS FIRST PRESIDENCY STATEMENTS
         Pornography is sweeping across the world with increasing momentum and devastating impact. It is difficult to avoid the impact pornography has upon our lives. Its pervasive, immoral, and destructive influence is felt in the media, the workplace, conversations, social activities, and homes in every land. Because of the addictive influence of pornography, one at first may simply tolerate its existence, then unconsciously come to accept it until moral feelings become desensitized, no longer outraged at its content. Pornography is a poison to the mind and spirit, ruining the lives and homes of innocent men, women, and children. Let us resolve to keep our minds, our bodies, and our spirits free from the corrupting influence of pornography. Let our voices be heard in the communities where we reside. People of good will, united in a worthy cause, and aided by divine power, can have profound impact on the quality of life in their communities. Let us unitedly exercise our faith and work to find solutions, prayerfully seeking help from the God of Heaven. May we be blessed in our efforts as we stand in defense of those virtues that make men and women and nations strong and victorious over evil.
       The First Presidency --Ezra Taft Benson Gordon B. Hinckley Thomas S. Monson 1 June 1988

A Personal Family Fight
copyright Beverly A. Qualheim 2004

"You would not send your child out into a snow storm without warm clothing.  You would not feed your teenager dinner on a plate that has manure on it, even if it's 'just a little bit of manure', yet we allow our children to go on the web unsupervised, or we allow them to see movies without checking out the content first.  Sometimes, all it takes is a night watching TV, with it's ever increasing, little by little, pieces of worldliness, and evil that are slowly spoon fed to us... until we come to accept it... but we must not allow this to happen to our families.  Are we becoming jaded to the pervading storm that is building around us; do we think that the storm will just be a small one so it's no big deal?  How many times do we think something is hideous or discusting at first, but we become complacent, or even accepting, the more we see of it, or hear it?
"Vice knows she's ugly, so she puts on her mask."  Benjamin Franklin

I am sure all of you reading this, know this already, but we live in an increasingly, wicked world.  Our homes need to be safe havens for our children, and for us.  We are surrounded by filth, by wickedness, by the acceptance of evil that invades our homes via the television, in books, magazines, on the internet, in our schools, on billboards, in fact, it is everywhere. 

I am sick of people crying that it is all about 'freedom of speech'.  What nonsense!   Pornographers do not take into account that most of us do not want to see their photos, or read their garbage, yet they force it on us via emails and spam or right out in front in ads on TV.  Where is *my* freedom then? 

Where is my freedom when my family and I drive to shop in Vegas, our nearest city with stores, and many of the billboards there are pure pornography?  Who cares how much damage seeing that filth does to the minds of my teenagers and children?  Certainly the people out to make a buck from the products advertised, don't care!   As parents we had better care and stand up for what is right in this world. 

As I shop for clothing for my daughters, we have to go from one shop to another, just to find a shirt that will cover their tummies, and try to find a modest one-piece swim suit--??!!   I bought a shirt recently for my 9 year old daughter which she did not try on, I wanted to make sure it was not skin tight like most of them.  When she tried it on at home, we discovered that even for a 9 year old little girl these whoremongers are now selling
Off-the-shoulder shirts!  Give me a break!  She has to wear it with another shirt under it just so it is modest, and to think I was only worried about how tight it might be.  It has the word 'Princess' on it, and she really wanted to wear it for Family Home Evening when we went to see the 'Princess Diaries 2'.

 For the most part Satan does not shove evil at us in a huge package.  He presents it to us little by little... TV shows and movies slowly introduce pornographic images, or immodest clothing as fashionable, collarlines are a little lower, shorts are a little higher, evil is presented as humorous, or even twisted so that if we don't accept it, WE are the evil ones.  Don't believe it!  Fight pornography in every way you can.  I hope this page will help you do that."

 Sister Bev Qualheim

President Gordon B. Hinckley - "In Opposition to Evil" Ensign Magazine, Sept 2004
"Legal restraints against deviant moral behavior are eroding under legislative enactments and court opinions. This is done in the name of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of choice in a so called personal matters.  But the bitter fruit of these so called freedoms has been enslavement to debauching habits and behavior that leads only to destruction."

"Do you wish to help Satan score? There is no surer way than to become engulfed in the tide of pornography that is sweeping over us. If we succumb to it, it destroys us, body and mind and soul." President Gordon B. Hinckley, Oct Conf 1994

Are you aware that 95% children under the age of 10 have been exposed to pornography?  (You should be horrified at this!)
Did you know that, 4 out of 5 children 12 -14 year olds have had multiple exposures to hard core porn?
(from the book:  To Strengthen the Family)

Many internet service providers now provide spam filters and porn blocks.  Be sure to check into that for your home.  Be sure to use spamcop.com and turn in every single spammer who sends you something you never signed up to receive.  It's a free service and I use it on every spammer, especially any scum that sends me pornography.   The following is part of a handout we were given at a Relief Society Home, Family and Personal Enrichment night.  We have a right to fight pornography and it all begins in our homes. Here are a few guidelines from our Bishop at the Logandale 4th ward in Nevada.

EXCELLENT ARTICLES - all worth reading and pondering
Breaking the Chains of Pornography - names withheld
If your spouse is addicted to online porn - what you can do.
Keeping Kids Safe Online - from CBS news
Latter-Day Counsel against porn
Page of Safe-Web articles -    from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Pornography and Internet Safety -  Parents can do many things to safeguard their homes from the harmful influences found on the Internet. This page includes some helpful safety tips.
Pornography, the Deadly Carrier, by Thomas S. Monson
Porn Addiction published on the Fires of Darkness website
Pornography - Latter-day counsel
Sisters Unite - good, comprehensive site against porn.

The Dangers of MySpace.com

From BYU's Cyber Secrets Conference on Pornography at Brigham Young University on February 7, 2001.
Awake my Soul - LaNae Valentine 
Cyberporn and Internet Safety - Jerry Ropelato
Pornography - Satan's Counterfeit - Dr. Brad Wilcox
Pornography, Getting help for Loved ones - Dr. Rick Moody, Dr. Kirk Dougher and Dr. Mike Buxton
Pornography and the Evils Thereof -  President Merrill J. Bateman
Pornography and Internet Safety - list of things parents can do to safeguard your family.
How to protect you and Your Family from Internet Porn - Dr. Eric L. Denna
 
LINKS for websites involved in the fight against pornography!
If you want to fight pornography in your community -   on pastors.com
www.envisionentertain.com/decency.asp - fighting for decency in film and Television. Motion Picture addresses are listed!  We need to write to them and thank them for good, clean movies, or let them know when we find something offensive.  Page also contains other excellent information to help all of us help fight porn.
http://www.cleanport80.com/
www.parentstv.org - Top 10 Best TV shows for you and your family are listed,  how to file an FCC complaint, and more!
www.onemillionmoms.com/
www.safetysurf.com/  -  reviews and rates several internet filtering software programs
www.screenit.com/ -   excellent for looking up strict, moral reviews of movies.  
www.waronpornography.com/  - send letters to politicians, editors and so on.

 Internet filtering software  - I have not personally tried all of these.

http://www.we-blocker.com/    (free)
http://www.cyberpatrol.com/
http://www.cybersitter.com/  free-trial
http://kids.getnetwise.org/tools/index.php)

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