"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape..."
~1 Corinthians 10:13
Tracy* is black. I say this as a hairstylist, not as a racist. He's a 16 year-old with a fabulous two-inch fro who wears neon knee-high socks. His life revolves around tennis and girls. He was baptized six months ago, and he is a leader among the youth. He is unconventional, and for that I love him.
The elders were worried on Saturday night when Tracy didn't answer his phone. He was giving his first talk in sacrament meeting, and they were supposed to help him write it. I'm so glad that they didn't.
What proceeded from Tracy's mouth on Sunday morning was a thirty-minute exposition that made a few people squirm and quite a few people giggle, but which really needed to be said. He was asked to speak about a topic from the For The Strength of Youth** pamphlet. He chose the things that were most pertinent to his teenage lifestyle: Sexual Purity and Media and Entertainment.
"I got involved in some stuff that I'm not going to say," he started. "All you ladies out there might be pure, and I don't want to talk about it."
Alright, I've read Jacob Chapter 2 a few times, and this made my ears perk up. He like Jacob, was going to be plain of speech, but he worried for the wives and children, many of whose feelings are exceedingly tender and chaste (Jacob 2:7). His vernacular was pidgin, but the kid was all over this.
The word he never said was "pornography."
He proceeded to describe how his friend had shown him a video, and then he got hooked. He said he didn't know it at the time, but he was addicted. He had to watch the videos all the time, until one day his older brother blew his cover in front of the missionaries.
My favorite part of the talk is that Tracy, who delivered most of the talk with his eyes closed, opened his eyes for a few minutes to show us how he looked when he was addicted to pornography. He stooped his head and his eyes got dark and broody. He just stared. He said that he was raised to think that it was OK to do what you wanted with women (again he was a little uncouth in his language), and that his dad had this look about him all the time. He mom takes care of seven kids and pretends not to notice when her husband stays up at night looking at pictures on his cell phone.
Tracy wanted something better from his life, so he cleaned up his act. On Sunday after church, he received the Aaronic Priesthood. Next week he will pass the sacrament.
Tracy understands two wonderful things: 1. Wives and children need husbands and fathers who are pure and chaste. 2. Pornography is addictive, and harmful to self and others. Nothing about Tracy's life promotes these two truths, and yet this is what he has gleaned from six months in the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His life, and the lives of his children and wife will be forever changed because he knows these things.
There is a third thing that Tracy knows, and it is this thing that I would like to testify of today: The Atonement of Jesus Christ is adequate to overcome pornography addiction. I know it because I have seen it. To any that might struggle, please consider Tracy's plain speech. If his words aren't enough, take the testimony of a living apostle:
"We (need) men that women can trust, that children can trust, and that God can trust...Prepare to be a good husband and father; prepare to be a good and productive citizen; prepare to serve the Lord, whose priesthood you hold. Wherever you are, your Heavenly Father is mindful of you. You are not alone, and you have the priesthood and the gift of the Holy Ghost...It is true that we are in many ways ordinary and imperfect, but we have a perfect Master who wrought a perfect Atonement." ~Elder Todd Christofferson***
How I love the good, and imperfect, men of the Church! Here's to virtue, to priesthood, and to the wonderful men in my life. Most of all to the Man of all Men, Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
*Name changed.
**This booklet is nothing short of life-changing! We use it in lessons as often as possible. The standards given to Mormon youth are keys to success for all people of any age! https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/ForTheStrengthOfYouth-eng.pdf?lang=eng
***Brethren, We Have a Work To Do (Christopherson) https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/brethren-we-have-work-to-do?lang=eng
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