http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/lds-church-releases-new-video-on-porn-addiction/article_87707d0e-e71c-5df5-b30e-9906bdebb155.html

My father had to go to counseling and a part of that was to write a sexual history. I inadvertedly found it hidden in a closet (play laugh tract here) and read it.

He looked at magazines, went to X-rated theaters in SLC, hired women to pose for him in his "photography" hobby etc. and I looked at a variety of magazines and videos growing up.

I don't remember the LDS "War on Porn" back then at all. Do you?

In the above linked article I hear an echo from my past. I think Packer or someone talked about how you can't unsee porn. The quote in this article is laughable. It is like you have a porn service running in your head 24/7.

They went from pictures stuck in your head to "Brainstorm."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNiZP2G-nEM

I knew looking at porn was a sin and ala Kimball I could be led down a path to Mormon Hell if I didn't stop it but it was a more a sinful and dangerous (because of where it could lead you) habit back then and not an addiction which is now the bad place itself.

It is like they went from saying porn is a gateway drug to it being the destination drugs. Why?

Because it wasn't so readly available like it is today. Today people can find it on their cell phones, tablet, laptops etc..

When I growing up it was in adult porn shops in the middle of nowhere. Or a early search on big bulkly computers in the 1990s.

Maybe the morg just needs a "Bogeyman" and porn it!!?? Well their battle to stop same sex marriage hasn't been going well recently...

Growing up, my first and only exposure to "porn" was finding a Playboy tucked under the socks in my dad's dresser (he was inactive).

The next time I saw any "porn" was on my mission to France -- where every drugstore in Paris unapologetically displayed ads featuring nude women.

Of course, those were both long before the internetz...:)

I remember hearing a talk awhile back about how your mind is a stage. Most of the time you have control of what you think about, but every once in a while something you saw unexpectedly pops up onto the stage. So if you looked at porn then it's always there for recall. The main point of the talk is what would happen if you were in the temple and some porn images popped into your head? At the time I was a TBM and I never thought about porn at the temple, just didn't. But after listening to that talk I always thought about porn at the temple because I was telling myself to not think about porn.

I love that story. I wish I thought about porn in the temple. It would have helped me through those sessions.

+1

I've seen porn images in my mind at the temple before. Then I would have to tell myself, man that is really messed up that you just thought of naked ladies right now. What's wrong with me. Ok, back to Jesus, Jesus...holy ghost...what's my new name....awe $hit what was it again......

Guess I'm just going to have to wait near the veil for a bit and listen to the other guy to find out the new name again.

Yep, I always hoped for an Eve nipslip during the temple movie, then felt guilty about it.

A sacred garment malfunction would have been great!

Boyd K Packer, "Worthy Music Worthy Thoughts," 1974.

I was in the Young Mens' program during those days. Yep, 'supposed to replace those evil thoughts by singing a hymn.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2014 11:22AM by jpt.

Control

When the missionaries came to teach me, I had my Playboys displayed on the coffee table. This was in 1966 and that was

pretty much the extent of my porn exposure.

They were too busy harping on bra ads and suggestive TV shows.

Probably because they are so into hiding their daughters

shoulders in class pictures they don't have the time. ;)

Oh boy, you've maybe heard my tale but the bishop's kid was the source of my first peeks at Playboy.

And I would be remiss if I didn't testify that them plain and precious presentations of the shameless temptress Marilyn are forever burned into my brain.

Hi Elder, although I want to laugh, I'm actually feeling sorrow for both you and your Dad.

Your Dad because he, like most guys, enjoyed some porn, but must have felt very guilty and was probably shamed by the Morg. What you described could probably apply to many men of his generation, Mormon or not. Although, I doubt anyone else but .tB
Ms had to keep a porn history.

You, because, every son should see his Dad's greatness, not his weak parts. Unintentional, or not, you both probably experienced unnecessary shaming.

A kind of personal story here, one late night (when cable made it to my parents house) I went downstairs to get a drink of water. I glanced into our den and saw my dad jump up and hit the off button on the TV. I just walked back upstairs, it didn't take a genius to know Dad had been polishing the banister while watching some porn. Now how did I know this, well let's just say I recognized the dialogue from the night before when I had beat off to the same movie! By that time, I was out of the Morg and didn't think badly of my Dad.

Which was a good thing as a couple of month later, he walked in on me when I was way too busy to hear him coming. He just said, just making sure you're okay, and then turned around and went upstairs THANK GOD!

Im really glad we didn't have the Morg shaming us! Elder Boner.

byuboner Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You, because, every son should see his Dad's
> greatness, not his weak parts. Unintentional, or
> not, you both probably experienced unnecessary
> shaming.

I saw that my father wasn't much interested in his 10 kids and he was complicit in getting my mother some much kids through adoption which he went ahead and molested. Family services came and got them and my father plead guilty and did a year jail time. This was in the 80s. Funny thing is he is a very social person and his molesting adopted girls didn't do much to tarnish his social life.

My parents love the movie "Cheaper by The Dozen" because it encapsulates my mother's former frugality in "raising kids" (now she spends money even more freely on herself but she did a lot back then as well) and her desires to be admired by others for her number of children. My father gives my mother whatever it is she wants as long as she doesn't nag him about getting what he wants.

Back in the 80s he spent thousands of dollars on computers and we ate moldy and insect ridden food.

His best wasn't something he was into showing his kids.

> Im really glad we didn't have the Morg shaming us!
> Elder Boner.

I am very glad. Perfectionism "correlated" with absolutism is what Mormonism is at its core paired with an insane worship of traditional family. It is a stark place for many Mormon families.

They aren't concerned with porn. They are concerned with people finding out the truth about mormonism and leaving. Porn is the excuse used to get people to avoid anything but approved sites, and also to control their family's access to the information on the internet. (particularly to get women to monitor their husbands and parents to control teens access)

elfling_notloggedin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They aren't concerned with porn. They are
> concerned with people finding out the truth about
> mormonism and leaving. Porn is the excuse used to
> get people to avoid anything but approved sites,
> and also to control their family's access to the
> information on the internet. (particularly to get
> women to monitor their husbands and parents to
> control teens access)


nailed it!

altho not the first to make that astute observation, good on you elfing!

Guys, I'm taking someone's word that temple Eve was suitably saintly and hot.

I know I would go to hell if I was seeing her for the first time.

Never made it to the upper floors of the tempul but man, I felt bad enough feeling wood in my jesusjammies down there in the holy hot tub.



Ahhhh Mormons.

I read the posted article.

"Porn changes the brain, the website said. "Neurons that fire together, wire together. Just like other addictive substances, porn floods the brain with dopamine. That rush of brain chemicals happening over and over again rewires the brain’s reward pathway ultimately changing the make up of the viewer’s brain. This can result in an increased appetite for porn."

When you are actually having sex does your brain NOT get flooded with dopamine? Having repeated sex Doesn't rewire your brain?

Do you have to jackoff, wait, jackoff 10 times in a day to get this rewiring process going on. Miss work, just watch port for 5 hours. Don't worry about the kids knocking on the door, don't eat, skip class / work because your pulling on the pud? Mabye that's when you brain is being rewired to get that instant pleasure.

How about the single guy having one night stands with good looking ladies every week. Screwing and more screwing, repeating the process of passionate sex.

Is that dopamine flooding doing something else Mr Doctor?


"The challenge kids face is the porn now days is not the same," Moore said. "It is more violent and deviant and they have instant access."

Well tell your kids to search for the good and wholesome porn then. There are so many different variations and fetishes. Use Google Search-Fu and use keywords to find the non-violent porn by eliminating them with search parameters.


Gaede asked, "How early are children allowed to have cell phones? Cell phones get pornography. How many parents are monitoring cell phones?"

"Cell phones is usually the answer," Gaede said. "Even with the number of ways of blocking them, there's always a way to get around it."


The internet is everywhere with lots of hotspots and friends have wireless. All smartphones nowadays can search for whatever they want so long they network they are connected to is unfiltered.



"Treatment facilities entirely dedicated to pornography addiction are opening everywhere in the county," Moore said.


I am starting to form the opinion that the war on porn is just not only for control but to help line the pockets of business men. TSCC creates the guilt product in their members and once again tells you that you are broken. So, you spend money on therapy sessions and go to one of these clinics. Which can be expensive over time. How many of these clinics are possibly owned by some Mormon linked business man?

Well curing porn is more costly that a $29.95 / month subscription to HotLatinas or GarmentwearingLesbianMissionary blondes weekly.


So, in a way Porn is creating a secondary economy for people to make money to cure the porn. Those with an "addiction" are broken, need Jesus so the need the church. Well Jesus doesn't know anything about playboy or hardcore porn babes so you have to pay a bunch money to the clinic.

It's like one big money grab on top of the 10% tithing and the wife policing how many times you get to masterbate. Guilt trip to the max if you get to pleasure yourself without her company. The church is re-programming people once again to self-hate, create the guilt, say your broken, and that the church will fix you. Yet, it never does, only gives empty promises.

These metrics helped re-shape/create the war on porn narrative.

2009 Study --Utah tops states with the highest consumption of porn
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/03/utah_tops_states_with_the_highest_consum.php#Bl3zQkcreul5QDKl.99

The biggest consumer, Utah, averaged 5.47 adult content subscriptions per 1000 home broadband users; Montana bought the least with 1.92 per 1000. "The differences here are not so stark," Edelman says.


In reality, there so few studies that have tons of data about broadband subscribers and their religion along with vpn redirectors to really ever conclude how Utahans stack up against Mormon Utahans in porn habits. Only bandwidth data is listed. Read the comments of this this URL link to find how the posted study above and below are both narrow in scope. You can't really have any real conclusions because there isn't enough data.


http://virtuoussociety.com/2014/04/16/rethinking-mormons-and-porn-utah-40th-in-us-in-new-porn-data/

All seriousness aside, Phazer.....sobering thoughts!

If one thinks.

Pornography is an epidemic of our day. There is no doubt about that. And it is addictive as science has proven so. And it is very unhealthy. And it does destroy family relationships. It even gets people in trouble at work. Check out fight the new drug. And getting off to a fake,mass-produced image has got to admittedly come in a far, sad 2nd place to being in a loving, real life relationship with an actual woman who has a heartbeat. Where there is no guilt, shame, drop from the high. Come on guys! Remember us? Breathing, tangible girls that will actually talk to you, laugh at your jokes, cook you dinner, take care of your children, rub your aching back, rub you back... We're pretty awesome even still...
However, I don't necessarily agree with how the Mormon church handles the situation. In fact I believe the shame and closed mindedness of the religious culture breads porn and sex addiction. This church was founded by a sex addict!
My husband struggled with a secret porn addiction since he was 10 yrs old. Eventually his acting out led to real life sexual relationships. His addiction all but destroyed our life and family. Luckily we have been getting professional help. But the pain has been excruciating and our children have been exposed to a lot of unnecessary stress. I feel like I will never be the same from all of the hurt. In our recovery process, we have found that my husband growing up in the church actually contributed to his addiction despite the endless conference talks. It created a judge mental and unsafe environment for him in times he did seek help. Also, with all of the GAs talk about the problem the church has little knowledge of what to actually DO to help people with this issue. They just keep yammering on about how bad it is while families continue to suffer. Addiction isn't about the substance as much as its about emotionally mismanaging your life.
If you are struggling with a porn or sex addiction (its really the same thing) don't kid yourself and believe this behavior is ok or healthy. If you have a desire to get better, get help from a therapist that specializes in the area. Check out the Lifestar Network. Also Sex Addicts Anonymous is excellent. And don't be surprised to discover that the Mormon church's culture and belief system actually contributes to the problem it so vehemently professes to oppose.

I know plenty of young men who looked at porn but also had perfectly healthy, normal relationships with their girlfriends and wives. It's like any other substance -- use it in moderation. If viewing porn gets in the way of your home life, work life, or personal relationships, it becomes a problem. But I can assure you for *most* men, porn use is not a problem.

The Mormon church gets hysterical over porn as it does for many other things. Even a small amount of porn viewing constitutes an "addiction." That's why I get suspicious any time I hear the words "porn addiction" used in a Mormon or Christian context. Viewing porn on occasion does not mean that you are "addicted" to it any more than having a glass of beer or wine on occasion means that you are addicted to alcohol.

I'm not going to tell you that I'm crazy about porn -- but as an adult who has lived for many decades I understand that it's a part of life that is not going to go away despite certain people who wish it away.

From an early age your husband has been exposed to unrealistic fantasies and beating off to attractive and lusting material for woman he would never be able to a have a real physical relationship with. Then he was told by TSCC or really any church that the natural man's raging hormones was evil, sinful, and from Satan, and that he was garbage. Self-hate, broken, manufactured guilt.

Porn created a comparison of woman that were untouchable. Appeared to very beautiful and any fantasy could be searched for and fulfilled in a whim. He had a belief system that test driving and kicking the tires with a hottie he met at church, school, college, on the street, the restaurant, the bar, anywhere was next to murder. To lust or even think of it was sinful, ugly, 100% concrete seperation from God.

That will fuck up anybody.

Porn does create a reality that isn't real life. However, for some people, in is their real life and play boy kind of life style. When years of fantasy isn't the reality in a normal marriage and fidelity is expected along with the trust the porn will cause issues. Any man or woman can search for a quick fix reality and not worry about pleasing the other person, just get the business done and have that orgasm and then off to the grocery store or pay a bill, put clothes in the dryer, play tennis in the park. Whatever.


I only question that science probably doesn't have enough data.

Has science proven there is a real difference in brain wiring / dopamine / chemical changes between:


A man who sees a very attractive women in real life and then fantasizes about her pleasuring himself. This could be a single man. A married guy thinking of his wife and in a split second fantasizing of sex with the Other attractive woman.

Are the chemical brain changes in the brain different from a guy who:

Thinks of that attractive lady in his brain while doing the deed

Thinks of his attractive wife in his brain while doing the deed

Thinks of his wife and the attractive lady while doing the deed.

Thinks of sports or another fun hobby while dong the deed.

Compare that do a guy who just has sex frequently with a lot of hot ladies.

Compared with a guy who is married to a now unattractive wife having an affair with a more attractive woman fulfilling a fantasy or just a fun fling. Yet, he wants the stability of the home and still has sex with his wife.

Compare that to a blind at birth guy having sex / masterbating.

Compare that to a once seeing to now blind guy having sex...

The list goes on and on.

Science is just measuring blood flow, and circuit traffic all going to the same pleasure zone of the brain.


Men and woman like sex. Porn fills a niche market for that need. It's an instant need that can be requested at leisure.

Affairs fill that void too. Take more time to develop.

Clinics and therapists just manage the issues, collect money and clinics get paid to for these "addictions". Some issues are resolved, healing takes place. Sometimes the outcome isn't expected.


All in all many things stress relationships and only the person involved, if they are honest, can give you the reason for their actions. Whether that is the TRUE reason...it's hard to know 100%. The brain and human passions are complicated.

"Addictions" like that often destroy marriages because the parties involved prime themselves for it. In a less judgemental atmosphere that is not the hyper-LDS or no less injurious evangelical Christianity, a marriage can endure just fine. When people start seeing sin in various actions that are, in and of themselves, not "sins" as much as they are natural behavior, they assign meanings to actions that otherwise have no particular significance. That's when the problems happen.

Speaking of Mormons, porn takes away some of the control that church leaders want to have over the family because church leadership is jealous leadership. This is true even with a successful LDS marriage--the church wants in. They want a piece of it. When a couple has a good love life, the church interferes with talk about whether or not oral sex or pornography is involved. A close friend of mine in Seattle has been married 40+ years to his beautiful immigrant wife. They are active and perform leadership positions. But they have used porn flicks their whole lives to spice up their already sexually flawless marriage. That is not a sin. Saying it is sin is giving a bishop or SP authority that he only has because you're giving it him.

Porn is not intrinsically bad. Neither is alcohol, for that matter. Just like the temperance movements make alcohol evil, over-zealous Christians and Mormons make porn bad.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2014 08:29PM by cludgie.

Good input Cludgie.

well stated....married 25 years and if the wife wants to defend her title I take that over porn any day. If the wife or I are away for a week who am I to say she cant pull out her tablet and rub one out its her life. hell she usually tells me.

Why? They were too busy harping on and on against womens' rights, civil rights and anything that threatened the status quo.

When I was a kid in the 60's-70's they were always preaching food storage, the communist-back civil rights movement, the three nephites and of course the return to missouri. Not much said about those anymore

Once they lose a battle (and they lose most of them) they quickly move on to the next imagined crisis.

Every preacher needs a demon.

Now that they have lost the fight against gay rights, they will invent another crisis.

Do you want to speculate what that next great crisis will be?

They harp on porn now because it's much more readily available and easier to hide your viewing of porn.

It's also a "them" in the church's "us against them" mentality that they use to keep the members under control. As in "women, if you allow your men to question the church they will fall into a nasty porn habit and become perverts." Or "we must, as church members, fight the wicked outside world, including porn, together and stay far from in in our little mental utopia."

Finally, it's as good a stated reason as any to keep your family off the internet. The real problem is that they might find out the church is a pile of crap on the internet. So you need to only allow your family to access the internet under highly controlled circumstances or they might fall into a nasty exmo habit - uh, I mean porn habit.

Porn was very much an underground phenomenon before "Deep Throat" - and even after that, it still held an obscure place in American society until the internet became popular. Only very recently have we as a society been able to even discuss the subject on an academic level.

Actually there's a lot of science to back up the fact that pornography is a dangerous addiction right up there with opiates and cocaine. Its more dangerous for some than others, like anything else. And studies have been done since the 70s.

And other research that proves the opposite. You can't ignore one side of the evidence.

When you were younger Boyd and many of the Brethren were younger as well and 'the iron rod' still worked.

They are older now and even viagra is failing them. At one time they saw a woman naked, a bare shoulder or a scantily clad woman on a calendar in a low rent mechanics garage. They got a woody & since the babe wasn't their wife and wearing garments they thought it was not a good thing.

Now that they are older and the iron rod is rusted and failing they demonize anything that reminds them of the days of lust and desire.