Mormon Bloggers

I’ve been doing some critical thinking about a couple of recent statements made by J. Michael Bailey. He is the Northwestern psychology professor who has been the subject of so much media attention due to the live sex demonstration in his human sexuality classroom last month. You can Google the story if you want the details. What intrigued me was the challenging nature of the defensive statements he offered when the story became public knowledge. He said that he didn’t expect everyone to agree with his decision to allow the demonstration to take place and that “thoughtful discussion of controversial topics is a cornerstone of learning.” I happen to be enrolled in a critical thinking class right now so this idea caught my attention. While I don’t agree with his decision, I do agree with his statement. So I expected someone to take him up on his challenge, because he offered it as such. Maybe it is too soon but I have yet to see a serious response to his justification. An Argument... Read the rest of this entry »

We want to make it easier to find content about the topic of pornography addiction. Below find a list of the personal stories that have been shared at Mormon Women: Who We Are on this topic. Find links to stories on other websites as well. (If you have a story to share or a link to send, please let us know.) We’ll continue to add content as we find/receive it. Healing from Pornography Addiction: Hope for Addicts, Spouses – includes inspirational art that has helped a couple face the journey of healing from pornography addiction) Forward with Faith: Healing when a spouse has a porn addiction – Steven and Rhyll Croshaw share their story about healing from the effects of pornography addiction (video) Forward with Faith: “When Pornography Hits Home” by Bethany Two Mormon Women’s Stories about Overcoming Pornography Addiction – women also struggle against pornography addiction; read two women who share their stories Rachelle Call: “God raised me and my family... Read the rest of this entry »

We are grateful to Diony for sharing her experience of dealing with her husband’s porn addiction. Hers is an example of how sometimes pornography has so much of a grip that a marriage cannot be saved, but again, we see the message about how walking with and turning to God can make healing possible. (She is now happily married!) Read more of Diony’s insights gained from her journey as the wife of a pornography addict. “God walked it with me. Through Him I found hope. Through Him I found help. Through Him I found healing, and on that path I found peace and love that brought me new joy.” A Hair-line Crack ~by Diony From the age of a young girl on, I grew up knowing God. My family was active in our church, we read the scriptures and we prayed together. I knew I could talk to Him whenever I wanted in my personal prayers and I knew He loved me no matter what. My goals and dreams for the future centered around a temple marriage and motherhood. When I met a handsome... Read the rest of this entry »

Last September, a new initiative called Out in the Light was launched to help women who are affected by a pornography addiction of a spouse or loved one. Rachelle Call was one of the women featured in the documentary that kicked off this initiative. She’s created recovery music to capture what she’s learned (see music player below). Rachelle says: God is all about recovery…. If you knew my story, you would know that God is a god of miracles. There is not one reason why things should have worked out for me and my husband of 15 years. We were dead in the water. But God restored us. He raised me and my family from the dead — and I am not kidding about that. God can do anything. He can restore anyone. The Atonement is real and it heals. But those lessons were only learned after some dark and difficult times. As she struggled against the depression that threatened to consume her, Rachelle found that music brought healing to her soul. The darkness was so intense and I was... Read the rest of this entry »

We are reminded that although we often talk about pornography being a male problem, an increasing number of women are being caught in the snare of pornography. Below, two Mormon women share their experiences with confronting and overcoming their pornography addictions. The first story might come with a bit of a surprise; pornography addiction doesn’t always come in the form of looking at pictures. This Mormon woman was addicted to pornographic literature in the form of romance novels. “Addicted to Romance Novels?” (July 2003 Ensign) —— We are grateful to this second LDS woman who shares her long journey with an addiction, and how she was able to overcome it and find the joy of true, healthy intimacy. As a preface to her post, the author notes that discussing past sins is something that we don’t often do in the LDS Church; because we believe in repentance and the forgiveness available through the power of the Atonement, we are encouraged to forsake our sins... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s note: Yesterday, we introduced Rhyll and Steven Croshaw in an introduction to a series of posts we’ll be featuring this week: Healing from Pornography Addiction: Hope for Addicts, Spouses. They talk of a painting, “Gently Up the Stream,” that has become the symbol of how they have found healing, both individually and as a couple, while facing the reality and effects of Steve’s sexual addiction. Today, Rhyll and Steven share more of their story of hope and wisdom for those affected by pornography / sexual addictions. First, you can hear from from both of them as they talk about the long road they have been on, and what principles and actions helped them get on the road of recovery. Then listen to an interview with Rhyll to hear more about her journey as a wife of a porn addict. Rhyll shares the hard lessons she learned and the concepts and choices that have helped her heal. She knows from first-hand experience that women need specific support and... Read the rest of this entry »

For many years, anti-Mormons have scored propaganda points from the fact that the Mariott Hotel chain, owned by a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, offered adult movies to its guests. Even members of the LDS Church questioned whether or not this was truly consistent with LDS values. Not any more. USA Today and Gawker report that Marriott will stop offering adult movies incrementally. First, they will exclude it from new hotel rooms to be opened in the next several years. Traditional video systems, which included access to adult content displayed in the menu selection, will be replaced by Internet-based video-on-demand systems. Then, they will retrofit existing hotels, according to Gawker. The decision is based upon economics. While Marriott didn’t cite its own figures, hotels in general have seen revenue from providing pay-per-view movies in rooms shrink as more guests bring their own entertainment portals. Hotels typically pocket around 10 percent of the... Read the rest of this entry »

[Edited from original post] We’ve had many people searching for support about what to do with the challenge of a spouse with a pornography addiction. Anyone with input?  Read More →

Walt Whitman left a legacy as an American poet that cannot be ignored.  Yet, nearly 120 years after his death, polarization of opinion about his work and his influence is still strong.  It seems that you either love him or you hate him, and in most cases that view depends upon your moral convictions.  There is no doubt that his work was controversial in his day, evidenced by the labels of “obscene” and “pornographic” given by some reviewers.  For those who have seriously studied his work, the general consensus of opinion is that Walt Whitman was a great American poet and in fact, is considered the first great poet of America.  However, to many in this great nation, instead of singing the body electric, Whitman’s poetry demeans and degrades the human spirit.  And while his works may have shocked the sensitivities of some readers in his day, it is tame by today’s standards, giving us an early preview of America as the land of porn. A Short Biography Walt Whitman was born... Read the rest of this entry »

Many women struggle with knowing how to face the challenge of a spouse with a pornography addiction. Women in this situation can get help and support. Today on KSL-TV, KSL Radio (click link for internet access), and BYUTV, a 30-minute documentary on the topic of pornography will be held at 4:00 p.m. MDT, after the conclusion of the afternoon session of Sunday’s General Conference broadcast. Jane Clayson Johnson will host the documentary. “Out in the Light” is a collaborative effort with a particular focus on providing support and help to women whose husbands have a sex or pornography addiction. This effort can also give hope to those who are battling such addictions. Stories from couples who have dealt personally with the problem of pornography will be featured. Read more information on the documentary. Read more about the Out in the Light initiative.  Read More →

This morning an article appeared in the Deseret News, outlining one family’s struggle with the husband’s and father’s addiction to pornography.  This topic is another example of once taboo subjects better left “under the carpet” rather than exposed.  However, like all sins, it loses its grip on those who are addicted when it is dragged out of the shadows into the sunlight.  In the sunlight of open confession, love and forgiveness it dies.  Its power on the individual is eradicated. The wife and mother in the story says, “I was very nervous about what would happen if it ever leaked out, but privately, I had no clue what it even was. . .  It was something I’d never been exposed to, and I didn’t know you could be addicted to it.” Their story can be replicated thousands upon thousands of times across America every day.  Pornography is the drug of this new millennium.  It is highly addictive, and... Read the rest of this entry »

Question: “I’ll be as concise as I can, but this is a bit of a complicated situation. I have known my husband since we were both 17 (we are now approaching age 50). We have been married for nearly 25 years. We have 4 children, and became members of the LDS Church when we were about 29 years old. A year later, In 1990, we were sealed in the temple. I thought my husband and I were best friends, faithful to one another, honest with each other, and quite content with our lives in general. We did face loss and grief: financial loss, loss of my father-in-law and mother-in-law, suicide of 2 of my husbands nephews, and the difficulties that raising very spirited (sometimes very difficult) children brought us. These occurred over the course of a couple of years. When I noticed my husband having difficulty functioning as well as he had in the past, I assumed it was because of these difficulties. He seemed to move past them in time. Three years ago I was helping my husband organize his... Read the rest of this entry »