Brigham Young University-Idaho President, Kim B. Clark, Explains 'War' on Masturbation and Porn; 'Feelings of Guilt Are Very Useful' He Says
President of the Idaho campus of Mormon-owned Brigham Young University Kim B. Clark recently explained that "feelings of guilt are very useful" in the school's current "war" on pornography and masturbation made public in a viral YouTube video last December.
In the four-minute video Clark urged students to battle against pornography addiction because it leaves spiritual wounds.
"The temptations of the great war are many. The battles are real. And the strategies are clever. The enemy is cruel, ruthless and relentless. We must not underestimate the danger. We must be vigilant and valiant," warned Clark in the video.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"A lonely confused young man gets addicted to pornography. His roommates know but they do nothing to help him. He stops going to church. And there is darkness in his eyes. The young man is spiritually wounded on the battlefield of the great war," he added.
Clark later explained to TIME that the church advises young people that their bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost and "masturbation is a behavior that, if continued, could over time lead to things that are sinful."
"That comes right out of Corinthians, that is what Paul taught, and it is a beautiful doctrine—that our bodies are a great gift from God and we need to take good care of them, and that the procreative powers that God has given us, He cares very much about how they are used, and so that we need to learn to use them in ways that are in accordance with His will and His mind," he said.
"Pornography is like a plague in our society. We want to educate our young people to be aware of that. That is also true of drugs, alcohol, sexual activity before marriage. Lying, cheating, stealing. But pornography is particularly salient in this media-saturated world," he warned.
Clark acknowledged that students suffered a lot of guilt as a result of pornography.
"One of the characteristics of people who get involved in pornography is that it is done in the dark. It is something people try to hide. Oh yeah, they feel very guilty. Because they know, it is like anyone who gets caught in bad choices they make or situations where they choose to do things that are not right," he said.
These feelings. he explained, are important in leading students to positive change.
"Feelings of guilt are very useful," Clark noted. "You do not want them to get rid of the guilt by anything other than turning to what is right. The real question is: What are we doing to help them caught in the situation? What are we doing to help them get help? Where they can turn to light? So actually guilt is there. It is the part of this wonderful blessing that God has given us, that we have a conscience, that when we do things that are wrong, we feel guilty."
