LDS are praised and warned

In an era of change and continued growth, President Gordon B. Hinckley said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in better condition than at any time in its history, but its members are not immune from worldly challenges, including pornography.

Speaking Saturday at the church's 174th Semiannual General Conference, President Hinckley said, "I've been around for nearly 95 years of that history, and I have seen much of it firsthand.

"I am satisfied that there is greater faith, there is a broader measure of service and there is more general integrity among our youth. There is greater vitality in all aspects of the work than we have ever seen before."

President Hinckley's remarks came on the heels of several major announcements, including the naming of two new apostles, plans for new temples in Utah and Idaho, seismic renovation of the Salt Lake Tabernacle and a previously announced $500 million redevelopment project in downtown Salt Lake City.

Yet while temples now dot the Earth and membership growth continues strong, church members engaged in the plague of pornography that has become a growing problem among Latter-day Saints must "plead with the Lord out of the depths of your soul that he will remove" the addiction "that enslaves you."

During an address to LDS males Saturday night, President Hinckley read portions of a letter from a woman whose husband confessed on his deathbed that — despite serving in many "important church callings" — he had lived a "double life" addicted to pornography.

He said he receives such letters from "broken-hearted wives," who are demeaned, criticized and distanced from their husbands by the sleaze that has them tightly in its clutches. He has seen enough such letters that "I am convinced this is a serious problem, ever among us." Quoting statistics about its pervasiveness, President Hinckley said pornography has many victims.

"Children are exploited and their lives are severely damaged. The minds of youth become warped with false concepts. Continued exposure leads to addiction that is almost impossible to break. Men, so very many, find they cannot leave it alone."

He asked the audience to consider whether they could imagine the early apostles of Jesus being involved in such degradation. "No, of course not. . . . We can do better than this. We must do better than this. We are men of the priesthood," but that power will be ineffective "for anyone who engages in the practice of seeking out pornographic material." The stain of such unrepented sin "will continue through life and even into eternity."