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“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power…And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

You might recognize this as part of the “Revelation of St John the Divine” as recorded in the eighteenth chapter. Most assign John’s revelation as applicable to our day. That is, it was a vision of the last days. While I don’t profess to know exactly what the “plagues” are that are spoken of by John, I can deduct from living “in the last days” that one of them is pornography. It has become a plague and scourge upon the land. Its depth reaches our very homes and is evident in almost every aspect of our lives. It has reached epidemic proportions. Once you had to go looking for it in the seedy parts of town. Now it knocks daily on our doors with vigor, and oft-times it enters without invitation. Now, more than any time in history, we must be vigilant in combating this pernicious evil. Let there be no doubt, it is a plague that comes directly from the adversary with intentions of destroying the family. In almost all of our recent general conferences this evil has been denounced. One example was a talk given by Gordon B. Hinckley in 2004. He said:

While the matter of which I speak was a problem then, it is a much more serious problem now. It grows increasingly worse. It is like a raging storm, destroying individuals and families, utterly ruining what was once wholesome and beautiful. I speak of pornography in all of its manifestations. (“A Tragic Evil Among Us,”)

Gordon B. Hinckley, as well as many others, has spoken very directly about this “plague.” In the same address he also said:

“The excuse is given that it is hard to avoid, that it is right at our fingertips and there is no escape.

Suppose a storm is raging and the winds howl and the snow swirls about you. You find yourself unable to stop it. But you can dress properly and seek shelter, and the storm will have no effect upon you. Likewise, even though the Internet is saturated with sleazy material, you do not have to watch it. You can retreat to the shelter of the gospel and its teaching of cleanliness and virtue and purity of life.

I know that I am speaking directly and plainly. I do so because the Internet has made pornography more widely accessible, adding to what is available on DVDs and videos, on television and magazine stands. It leads to fantasies that are destructive of self-respect. It leads to illicit relationships, often to disease, and to abusive criminal activity….we can do better than this. When the Savior taught the multitude, He said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8) (“A Tragic Evil Among Us”)

The Lord gave us a warning during the days of John the Apostle and called for us to “be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues”. The Lord has reaffirmed his warning by giving us latter-day prophets who give a clarion call of warning. It is a clear warning that leaves no room for rationalization. But their words are also a ray of hope that we can avoid this “plague”, if we will follow their counsel.

Space does not allow me to explain the varied problems that have visited the families of those who ignore the counsel of the brethren on this subject, yet, the heartache and destruction of the innocents cry out in lamentation to be heard. In the future there may be plagues that we cannot avoid. The plague of pornography is not one them.  We need to be vigilant and ever watchful for sure, but if we “retreat to the shelter of the gospel”, as with the children of Israel, this “plague” will pass over our homes!