A Shift in Battle: Part 1

Shift in Battle

A Latter-day Saint Perspective on Pornography Warfare

Part I: Prepare for War

written by: Vincent Grosso, CPC

April 2015

For your convenience, this article is color coded as follows:

red text = Direct quote

green text = Paraphrasing

Pure in Heart

At the priesthood session of the April 1975 General Conference, Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone said:

I told a group of Aaronic Priesthood holders out in the congregation tonight, if they are pure in heart, they may sleep through my talk, because my talk is directed to those who are not pure in heart.

I wish to say the same to you reading this article now. If you believe you are completely pure in heart, feel free to stop reading. However, if you feel your heart could be a bit more pure, please continue reading, take some time to carefully consider the information presented here, and then apply and share these concepts as you feel so inspired. I am going to jump right into the heart of the issue I would like to address so as to not waste any time.

Names on a Scroll

In the above mentioned conference talk, titled “A Self-Inflicted Purging,” Elder Featherstone goes on to say:

...in your mind’s eye, wherever you are across the far corners of the earth, would you picture a huge scroll sliding down from the ceiling? On it are listed the names of those who purchased pornographic literature. The list is large enough so that all may see. Is your name on the list?

Did you buy some pornographic literature?

Now suppose those names are removed, and the names of all those who attended or viewed x-rated movies are presented so that all who are in the congregation may see. Again, is your name on the list?

Today, the list on the scroll might include the names of those who have viewed pornography on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.  

Let’s move on to the next question he asks.

Now, my young friends, and I am sorry to say, many adults, how about all those of you who have a masturbation problem? If the names of those who had the problem were projected across this big, huge scroll, would your name be there, or would you be able to sit back confident and pure in heart?

If you feel uncomfortable right now, you are not alone. We hear it said jokingly that “98% of people masturbate...and the other 2% are lying about it.” Well, that may be a slight exaggeration, but not by much. Results from the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior show that 94% of men and 85% of women masturbate.

I had a mission companion who asked me if I had ever masturbated. Embarrassed, I sheepishly admitted to it. I then found out that he made a habit of asking this question to as many people as he could (once he got to know them well enough for it to be comfortable to do so--okay, well maybe not comfortable, but at least slightly less awkward), because he wanted to one day meet someone who had never done it. His search continues.

Elder Featherstone shares the story of a father who talked to his 11-year-old son about masturbation. The father explained to his son that if he never masturbates, then 8 years later he would be able to meet with his bishop and stake president in preparation to serve a mission and tell them that he has never done it. "And you would be quite a rare young man.” Indeed he would be.

Prepare for Battle

In the Book of Mormon, toward the end of the Book of Alma, we read about a lot of gory battles and wars. I personally love these chapters, not because I am a violent person, but because I can easily draw parallels between the ancient physical battles we read about and the modern spiritual battles we face in our lives. In Alma chapter 43, we read about one such conflict between the Nephites and Lamanites.

Moroni, at the young age of 25, is the leader of the Nephite army. Zarahemna is the leader of the wicked Lamanite army. Moroni prepares his men not only with weapons, but also armor; shields, helmets, breastplates, arm plates, and thick clothing. The Lamanites, led by a man by the name of Zerahemna, only had their weapons; as for armor and clothing, they were virtually naked (vv 15-21).

Let’s pause there and compare this scene to us today. In general, as a church, I like to think that we are like the Nephites. We are prepared, we have on our armor and thick clothing, armed with weapons, we are fighting for a good cause, and most importantly we have the Lord on our side.

I like to compare the Lamanite army to any force that opposes the people of God. We could refer to this army as Satan and his followers. We could call this army the world. We can get more specific and label this the army of drugs and alcohol, depression, abuse, dishonesty, and so on. For our purposes here, we will call this the army of immorality--specifically pornography and masturbation. Whatever label we put on this evil army, we, the people of God are for the most part prepared to meet the army in battle. We have armor, we have weapons, we have faith, we have the Lord on our side, we have valiant leaders who seek inspiration to know how we might gain the advantage in this war.

The Conflict Begins

When the naked Lamanites see the well prepared Nephites, they get scared and run away and decide to go attack a weaker part of the Nephites in the land Manti instead. Of course they thought that the Nephites would not know where they were going. But Monori, being the wise military leader and man of God that he is, asks the prophet, Alma, to pray and inquire of the Lord where the Lamanites are headed. So he finds out where the Lamanites are going to be, and comes up with a plan to divide his army and basically set up an ambush for the Lamanites. Mormoni has his friend Lehi take half the army and hide on the south side of the hill Riplah, which was on the east of the river Sidon, while Moroni hides with the other half of the army in the valley to the west of the river Sidon, and they wait for the Lamanites to come by. When the Lamanites pass the hill Riplah and are about to cross the river, Lehi and his men come out of their hiding place and start attacking the Lamanites from the rear. The unsuspecting Lamanites turn around and start fighting with Lehi’s army of well-prepared Nephites (vv 22-36). Let’s see what happens in this conflict…

And the work of death commenced on both sides, but it was more dreadful on the part of the Lamanites, for their nakedness was exposed to the heavy blows of the Nephites with their swords and their cimeters, which brought death almost at every stroke.

While on the other hand, there was now and then a man fell among the Nephites, by their swords and the loss of blood, they being shielded from the more vital parts of the body, or the more vital parts of the body being shielded from the strokes of the Lamanites, by their breastplates, and their armshields, and their head-plates; and thus the Nephites did carry on the work of death among the Lamanites (Alma 43: 37-38).

At the time Elder Featherstone gave his talk, I would say that we as a church were probably around this point of the battle. “Now and then a man fell” on our side. Occasionally we would lose a soldier to the enemy. But for the most part, as long as we are...

• prepared with armor
• armed with weapons
• fighting on the right team
• following a righteous leader

...we have a pretty good chance of being spared from spiritual death, as the Nephites were spared from physical death.

HOWEVER, Elder Featherstone gave this talk 40 years ago. I believe he was able to foresee that something was about to change in our circumstances, as is about to happen in the case of the Nephites. Let’s see what happens next.


Continue reading in the next article Shift in Battle Part II: The Tables Turn