Church surveys, spiritual independence, porn

[Wolfwoman]

This was an interesting video. It’s John Dehlin/Mormon Stories, full warning, but some of the stuff he puts out is worth a listen.

This one is about some of the surveys the church conducts.
The members of the church can be categorized and put into different groups. If you can get spirituality from other sources besides the church hierarchy then you’re sort of a spiritual independent and only 1-5% of church members would fit in this category. If you’re in this category you have a high chance of leaving the church eventually.

Another interesting finding was an anonymous survey of missionaries when they first started allowing them to have tablets and phones. Something like 25-40% of elders admitted to looking at porn. Sisters was 2% or less. Anyway I thought that was pretty stunning. Sadly John Dehlin and friends think porn use is totally normal and fine and just a thing that humans do. There is so much info coming out about how devastating it is. It’s ruining young men. It’s ruining their chance to have a normal sex life. It’s considered a public health issue. And the info I’m talking about is coming from atheist/agnostic scientists, not old religious people. I’m not saying looking at porn a few times is going to ruin you for life (I’ve seen info that says basically 100% of men have seen porn). But it certainly isn’t a godly thing, and it should definitely be avoided as much as possible, just like any addictive substance, and true repentance should occur if you did succumb to it.

Anyway, here is the link to the video. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, there are times given in the description box for some of the different sections.

https://youtu.be/BGWTCEZud5c

[Niemand]

Sadly John Dehlin and friends think porn use is totally normal and fine and just a thing that humans do.

Depends how you define "normal". I think it is nowadays. Sex outside marriage and homosexuality are "normal" these days. Taking drugs is "normal".

[Wolfwoman]

Sadly John Dehlin and friends think porn use is totally normal and fine and just a thing that humans do.

Depends how you define "normal". I think it is nowadays. Sex outside marriage and homosexuality are "normal" these days. Taking drugs is "normal".

Changing your sex is “normal” nowadays.

[Niemand]

Sadly John Dehlin and friends think porn use is totally normal and fine and just a thing that humans do.

Depends how you define "normal". I think it is nowadays. Sex outside marriage and homosexuality are "normal" these days. Taking drugs is "normal".

Changing your sex is “normal” nowadays.

It's becoming that way. I'm not convinced it is completely mainstream yet except in younger generations.

[FoxMammaWisdom]

I find it interesting that only 2% of the sister missionaries admit to looking at porn.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/women-w ... 21328.html

[Mamabear]

I find it interesting that only 2% of the sister missionaries admit to looking at porn.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/women-w ... 21328.html

Right. And also only 25- 40% of the boys? Hmmmm. Realistically it’s probably 80-90%.

[Robin Hood]

I find it interesting that only 2% of the sister missionaries admit to looking at porn.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/women-w ... 21328.html

Right. And also only 25- 40% of the boys? Hmmmm. Realistically it’s probably 80-90%.

I think the 25%-40% figure is surprisingly high for serving missionaries. There's no way 90% of missionaries are looking at porn on their phones.

[Mamabear]

I find it interesting that only 2% of the sister missionaries admit to looking at porn.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/women-w ... 21328.html

Right. And also only 25- 40% of the boys? Hmmmm. Realistically it’s probably 80-90%.

I think the 25%-40% figure is surprisingly high for serving missionaries. There's no way 90% of missionaries are looking at porn on their phones.

One of the reasons I say this is because my son is on a mission. They’re accessing it on Fb and other ways. He also said that most of the missionaries are addicted to their phones and do not want to do any work.
Why? I believe it’s because of porn.
Think about this…at this time in their life their hormones are raging and they cannot do normal things that boys their age do. Date girls, have fun, etc. They are suppressing their desires to do normal things and thus they are drawn to porn and masterbation.
I’m not making excuses for them, but it is an understandable situation.

[simpleton]

I find it interesting that only 2% of the sister missionaries admit to looking at porn.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/women-w ... 21328.html

Right. And also only 25- 40% of the boys? Hmmmm. Realistically it’s probably 80-90%.

I think the 25%-40% figure is surprisingly high for serving missionaries. There's no way 90% of missionaries are looking at porn on their phones.

Unless......

[Robin Hood]

I find it interesting that only 2% of the sister missionaries admit to looking at porn.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/women-w ... 21328.html

Right. And also only 25- 40% of the boys? Hmmmm. Realistically it’s probably 80-90%.

I think the 25%-40% figure is surprisingly high for serving missionaries. There's no way 90% of missionaries are looking at porn on their phones.

One of the reasons I say this is because my son is on a mission. They’re accessing it on Fb and other ways. He also said that most of the missionaries are addicted to their phones and do not want to do any work.
Why? I believe it’s because of porn.
Think about this…at this time in their life their hormones are raging and they cannot do normal things that boys their age do. Date girls, have fun, etc. They are suppressing their desires to do normal things and thus they are drawn to porn and masterbation.
I’m not making excuses for them, but it is an understandable situation.

Undoubtedly it is happening, but I just don't think it is to that extent. But you could be right.

In my view giving missionaries phones and tablets was a monumentally stupid thing to do. They are all addicted to their phones and social media etc before they go. Two years without them would help to re-calibrate their lives to a certain extent.

I remember taking my oldest son to the airport for his mission in Slovakia in 2009. He said how weird he felt with "no phone, no car keys". But it was good for him to let those things go.

If the church leadership feel missionaries need phones for safety reasons or to call/text investigators, they should just issue them with a simple Nokia.

[Lemarque]

I find it interesting that only 2% of the sister missionaries admit to looking at porn.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/women-w ... 21328.html

Right. And also only 25- 40% of the boys? Hmmmm. Realistically it’s probably 80-90%.

I think the 25%-40% figure is surprisingly high for serving missionaries. There's no way 90% of missionaries are looking at porn on their phones.

I served in 2008-10. If we would have had easy access via smartphone, of my 11 companions my guess is 2 or 3 would have viewed porn weekly, 4 or 5 would have every few months or so (and honestly, I probably would have been in that group), and only 3 would have not looked at it.

And my generation only had flip phones. For the kids that have grown up with smartphones, I can't imagine the number being lower.

[Wolfwoman]

I find it interesting that only 2% of the sister missionaries admit to looking at porn.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/women-w ... 21328.html

Seems far fetched to me.

All I know is I certainly had no desire to ever look at it when I was a missionary at age 21-22. I can’t imagine many sisters who are younger than that viewing it while also serving the Lord. Remember sisters don’t have the pressure to go like boys do. They serve because they want to.

But I could be wrong. It’s certainly a different world than it was when I grew up.

[Wolfwoman]

Right. And also only 25- 40% of the boys? Hmmmm. Realistically it’s probably 80-90%.

I think the 25%-40% figure is surprisingly high for serving missionaries. There's no way 90% of missionaries are looking at porn on their phones.

One of the reasons I say this is because my son is on a mission. They’re accessing it on Fb and other ways. He also said that most of the missionaries are addicted to their phones and do not want to do any work.
Why? I believe it’s because of porn.
Think about this…at this time in their life their hormones are raging and they cannot do normal things that boys their age do. Date girls, have fun, etc. They are suppressing their desires to do normal things and thus they are drawn to porn and masterbation.
I’m not making excuses for them, but it is an understandable situation.

Undoubtedly it is happening, but I just don't think it is to that extent. But you could be right.

In my view giving missionaries phones and tablets was a monumentally stupid thing to do. They are all addicted to their phones and social media etc before they go. Two years without them would help to re-calibrate their lives to a certain extent.

I remember taking my oldest son to the airport for his mission in Slovakia in 2009. He said how weird he felt with "no phone, no car keys". But it was good for him to let those things go.

If the church leadership feel missionaries need phones for safety reasons or to call/text investigators, they should just issue them with a simple Nokia.

Yep, absolutely. We didn’t have cell phones when I served my mission, so I wasn’t addicted to one. But I WAS addicted to TV. And it was the BEST thing for me to stay away from TV for 18 months. And I was having the best time of my life, honestly. Serving the Lord, serving other people, having the spirit with me, studying the scriptures and learning and growing. I got over the addiction fast and to this day I still don’t really like TV and see it as a major waste of time.

I’m glad that elders and sisters can now talk to their families and stuff. (But there is something to be said for the old fashioned letters too.) Hopefully it will help them not be so depressed and wanting to come home early. And will maybe get their families excited about doing missionary work too.

I much preferred my mission though. No internet allowed. No tv. No cell phone. No GPS. It built character.

[Wolfwoman]

I’d also like to know when these boys have time to be viewing porn. I mean, did they decide as a companionship to view it together?!
Or does one watch it while the other is in the bathroom showering? I remember the ONLY alone time I got as a missionary was when I was in the bathroom or my companion was in the bathroom.

Also it sounded like the church has its own operating system on their devices now, so it seems like it would be harder to view that stuff without getting caught. But I suppose kids can figure out ways around things. And there was that one missionary who was caught soliciting a minor for sex.