Ensign, Nov. 2007 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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52 David learned the woman’s name was Bathsheba. Her husband, Uriah, a soldier, was away fighting the Ammonites with the rest of the army, where David, their king, should have been. David had Bathsheba brought to the palace. They committed adultery, she became pregnant, and David began to fear that their adultery would be discovered. Hoping to cover his sin, David ordered that Uriah be sent back to Jerusalem. Uriah returned, but refused on principle to go to his home to visit Bathsheba. David then arranged for Uriah to be slain in battle (see 2 Samuel 11:3–17). This series of dreadful decisions brought death to Uriah and misery to David, Bathsheba, and eventually the entire kingdom. With rich understatement, the Bible says, “The thing that David had done displeased the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27). Do you see how David got caught in this trap? He was on a rooftop courtyard of his palace, and looking below in a neighboring yard, he saw something he never should have seen. That was the adversary’s bait. Modesty, chastity, and good judgment required that David turn away immediately and not watch, but he didn’t do either thing. Instead, he allowed his mind to turn to forbidden fantasies, those thoughts led to actions, and things quickly spiraled downward from bad to worse to fatal. David was trapped, and for him the consequences were eternal. There’s a spiritual snare today called pornography, and many, allured by its provocative messages, enter this deadly trap. Like any trap, it is easy to enter but difficult to escape. Some rationalize that they can casually view pornography without suffering its adverse effects. They say initially, “This isn’t so bad,” or, “Who cares? It won’t make any difference,” or, “I’m just curious.” But they are mistaken. The Lord has warned, “And he that looketh upon a woman to lust after her shall deny the faith, and shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not he shall be cast out” (D&C 42:23). That’s exactly what happened to David: he looked at Bathsheba, lusted after her, and lost the Spirit. How different the rest of David’s life might have been if he had just looked away. Along with losing the Spirit, pornography users also lose perspective and proportion. Like King David, they try to conceal their sin, forgetting that nothing is hidden from the Lord (see 2 Nephi 27:27). Real consequences start to accumulate as selfrespect ebbs away, sweet relationships sour, marriages wither, and innocent victims begin to pile up. Finding that what they have been viewing no longer satisfies, they experiment with more extreme images. They slowly grow addicted even if they don’t know it or they deny it, and like David’s, their behavior deteriorates as their moral standards disintegrate. As popular culture across the world degenerates, sleaze increasingly saturates the media, entertainment, advertising, and the Internet. But popularity according to the world’s prevailing norms is a very perilous scale to use to measure what’s right or even what’s not dangerous. A movie or television show may be well known and well liked by millions of viewers and nevertheless portray images and conduct that are pornographic. If something in a movie “isn’t too bad,” that automatically means that it isn’t too good either. Thus, the fact that others watch movies or open Web sites that aren’t appropriate is no excuse for us. Priesthood holders’ lives should emulate the standards of the Savior and His Church, not the standards of the world. The Savior taught, “And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (3 Nephi 12:8). The promises of the gospel are uplifting and ennobling, even exalting. We receive those promises by covenants which are conditioned on our living lives of purity and morality. When we live right and seek to purify our hearts, we draw closer to God and the Spirit. The condition of our heart determines how much evidence of divinity we see in the world now and qualifies
us for the eventual realization of the promise that the pure “shall see God.” Ours is a quest for purity. Thus, the Apostle John wrote: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:2–3). If you are already caught in the pornography trap, now is the time to free yourself with the help of the Savior. There is a way out, but you will need His help to escape. Your complete recovery will depend upon your complete repentance. Go to your bishop immediately. Seek his inspired guidance. He will help you put in place a plan of repentance that will restore your self-esteem and bring the Spirit back into your life. The healing power of the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ reaches all afflictions, even this one. If you will turn to the Savior with all of your heart and follow the counsel of your bishop, you will find the healing you need. The Savior will help you find the strength to resist temptation and the power to overcome addiction. As Moroni taught: “Come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing. . . . “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:30, 32). May God bless our genuine efforts to be pure of heart and mind, that “virtue [may] garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly” (D&C 121:45). I testify of the redeeming love of the Savior and of the purifying power of His Atonement in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. ■ Today Is the Time ELDER WALTER F. GONZÁLEZ Of the Presidency of the Seventy What are we doing today to engraven in our souls the gospel principles that will uphold us in times of adversity? When President James E. Faust informed my wife and me that we would be transferred to Lima, Peru, we had no clue that on August 15, 2007, only a few days after our arrival, we would witness a devastating earthquake. More than 52,000 houses were destroyed by its sheer strength. Worse yet, it left more than 500 dead. Nine of them were members of the Church. Members in the Ica and Pisco stakes and the Cañete and Chincha districts suffered the brunt of the tremor’s aftermath. The Church provided immediate relief to its members and those of other faiths. The morning after the quake, our members in the disaster area were receiving food and clothing, and before noon the Church was donating humanitarian aid to the nation’s civil defense. Many members who were left homeless were sheltered in our meetinghouses. Despite how unexpected the catastrophe was, the priesthood organization functioned very well to bring relief to those less fortunate. Stake and district presidents along with bishops went out to help their members only minutes after the earthquake. The terrible situation in which these priesthood leaders went out is worth highlighting: it was nighttime; the lights were out; destruction abounded; and the earth would not stop shaking. These magnificent priesthood leaders left their families secured and walked out into the darkness, among people who wept, surrounded by destroyed houses. Thus our leaders went out during the night and the following days, facing frequent, strong aftershocks and a tsunami warning. They searched among the rubble, in the midst of commotion, risking their own lives to get to all the members. A bishop declared, “Without as much as a second thought, I ran in search of my Church brothers and sisters and leaders.” He found them. That’s how he spent most of the night. What motivated these leaders to go out and help others, even to the risking of their own lives? Certainly it was their great faith in the Savior and His Church. It was their understanding of their calling as leaders in the priesthood. It was gospel principles engraved in their lives before the earthquake, not during the crisis— NOVEMBER 2007 53
Page 1 and 2:
T H E C H U R C H O F J E S U S C H
Page 3 and 4: The 177th Semiannual General Confer
Page 5 and 6: INDEXES STORIES Letter written by M
Page 7 and 8: Prior to a conference session (left
Page 9 and 10: the “weak things of the world.”
Page 11 and 12: Church or out. No service could be
Page 13 and 14: experiences that grew out of their
Page 15 and 16: spoke on a topic a couple of months
Page 17 and 18: Through this power, I was able to o
Page 19 and 20: covenants will receive God’s glor
Page 21 and 22: My father returned to us unharmed,
Page 23 and 24: and responsibilities. It means stre
Page 25 and 26: we enter the grand stage of life to
Page 27 and 28: SATURDAY AFTERNOON SESSION October
Page 29 and 30: the way to live in order to enjoy a
Page 31 and 32: and the end of the pathway of disci
Page 33 and 34: Love is the greatest of all the com
Page 35 and 36: Preach My Gospel—the Unifying Too
Page 37 and 38: Preach My Gospel for family home ev
Page 39 and 40: and was baptized. He served a fullt
Page 41 and 42: investing more of your time in the
Page 43 and 44: oft-noted “mystery of the trinity
Page 45 and 46: Scriptural Witnesses ELDER RUSSELL
Page 47 and 48: All 16 French-speaking missionaries
Page 49 and 50: After experimenting with the Fosbur
Page 51 and 52: interacting with people. As an incr
Page 53: ecame clear. A large yellow sign re
Page 57 and 58: taught the meaning of cutting off o
Page 59 and 60: Remember the times I have set a tab
Page 61 and 62: A Royal Priesthood PRESIDENT THOMAS
Page 63 and 64: authority, resulting in a loss of p
Page 65 and 66: It is the cycle which is repeated a
Page 67 and 68: THE FIRST QUORUM OF THE SEVENTY THE
Page 69 and 70: didn’t have to do what he was doi
Page 71 and 72: a desire to serve Him and to keep H
Page 73 and 74: very active members and have 6 chil
Page 75 and 76: thrilled to hear the children recit
Page 77 and 78: I saw you walk out the door, I woul
Page 79 and 80: is homemaking. Homemaking includes
Page 81 and 82: ook, begins to read it, and continu
Page 83 and 84: of the heart and will to God, and a
Page 85 and 86: and spotless before God is a source
Page 87 and 88: prophetically (see Hebrews 12:1). F
Page 89 and 90: of personal revelation in our own l
Page 91 and 92: eceived. When President David O. Mc
Page 93 and 94: In Denmark, part of the fellowshipp
Page 95 and 96: Nourished by the Good Word of God D
Page 97 and 98: Several months ago I attended a tra
Page 99 and 100: on how I was feeling. Then we talke
Page 101 and 102: Another thing that must be our perm
Page 103 and 104: young man who was not of our faith,
Page 105 and 106:
others through seemingly simple act
Page 107 and 108:
est. Even though a particular choic
Page 109 and 110:
in our Church responsibilities,”
Page 111 and 112:
GENERAL RELIEF SOCIETY MEETING Sept
Page 113 and 114:
In São Paulo, Brazil, members lear
Page 115 and 116:
Feed My Sheep SILVIA H. ALLRED Firs
Page 117 and 118:
In Moroni 6:4 we are admonished to
Page 119 and 120:
No better advice can be found than
Page 121 and 122:
children to embrace and hold dear.
Page 123 and 124:
small note of thanks, a brief telep
Page 125 and 126:
The power of the gospel can indeed
Page 127 and 128:
President Henry B. Eyring Second Co
Page 129 and 130:
of Jesus Christ was a defining even
Page 131 and 132:
The Presidency of the Seventy Seate
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Ensign, Nov. 2007 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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