125: Talking to Teens About Pornography

This week, I was asked to teach a lesson to the young women in my church congregation (ages 11-18) about pornography – specifically, “how can I resist pornography.”  I knew that this topic could potentially impact so many of the teenage girls listening, and I felt a huge weight of responsibility to prepare well and most of all, plead with the Lord to have the spirit with me and that He would direct me in what to teach and how to teach this effectively.  Today, I’m sharing what I taught in my lesson to these teenage girls about truth versus lies when it comes to pornography. Whether it’s “normal” or “a good place to learn,” – Spoiler alert: these are all lies Satan wants us to believe, and how to resist these temptations.  We also talked about the best ways to arm ourselves against these temptations and if any of them find themselves struggling with an addiction to pornography, where to turn and how to find help. Neil joins me in this podcast episode as he adds his thoughts, advice and testimony of hope and healing from pornography addiction through the atonement of Jesus Christ. If you have a teenager that you need to talk to about pornography, or if you have a teenager that you want to pass this along to, or if you ever have a situation where you need to teach a group of youth about this or even just for yourself, it's hopefully going to be helpful information.  In this episode, you will hear: There's a lot of truth out there and there are also a lot of lies. And Satan is the father of all lies. He's so tricky, sneaky and so good at what he does by confusing everything Heavenly Father wants for us. Your sexuality is a gift from Heavenly Father. The fact that you have attraction to other people, and you have curiosity and feelings within your body – these are all gifts from our Heavenly Father and it doesn't make you a bad person.  Every single person exists because two people were attracted to each other and had sex. But with every gift that Heavenly Father gives us, Satan loves to come up with a counterfeit. He loves to confuse the plan and the gifts that heavenly Father gives to us.  The “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet contains a list of rules and guidelines that teach young children about relationships, friendships, the music they listen to, and all kinds of things. Everyone within our faith should be taking these standards seriously, including the guidelines on pornography.  Pornography, in all forms, is especially dangerous and addictive. What may begin as an unexpected exposure or a curious exploration can become a destructive habit. Based on science, pornography changes your brain and affects your brain like a drug. It will negatively impact love and intimacy, normalizes objectification and fuels sex trafficking. The internal filter is the best filter. Having that internal filter driven by the Spirit, because you're inviting the spirit into your life is the one that's going to work the very best.  Supporting Resources: “Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul” talk by Jeffrey R. Holland https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/04/place-no-more-for-the-enemy-of-my-soul?lang=eng “Protection from Pornography-a Christ Focused Home” Talk by Linda S. Reeves https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/04/protection-from-pornography-a-christ-focused-home?lang=eng www.fightthenewdrug.org  Subscribe and Review Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.