At Sunday dinner a few weeks ago, my daughter told me about going to a fireside at BYU and a young married couple spoke of the husband’s addiction to pornography. He talked about how he was first introduced and the grip it had on him during his teenage years, through his mission and then his early marriage.

In a discussion I had yesterday, my friend told me that the average exposure time to pornography was 5 years old.

I have also been pondering Alma 50:1-9. Here Moroni talks about the fortifications they implemented to protect their cities from the Lamanites.

• Heaps of earth,

• timbers, “works of timbers built up to the height of a man”,

• pickets, “they were strong and high”.

• high towers and

• places of shelter on the high towers. “that the stones and the arrows of the Lamanites could not hurt them”.

That has always impressed me, that Moroni took the time to tell us about his fortifications. I can picture them! I have wondered what am I doing, how many layers of fortifications do I have, so I can endure to the end? How can I help my children and grandchildren to fortify themselves?

Randomly, I thought I would turn on Elder Gong’s “Face to Face With the Children and the Youth” from a few weeks ago while I was exercising.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/broadcasts/face-to-face/?lang=eng

If you haven’t see this, watch it in 15 minute segments. Actually, if you only watch the first minute and 40 seconds you will feel inspired and fortified. It is worth your time. You will feel hope and see how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is helping us fortify our families, layer upon layer and upon layer of barricades against the evil that is around us. I felt very hopeful and uplifted after listening to it for 20 minutes, and I continued to listen during my exercise time the rest of the week. It is

Through the week I have asked groups of friends I have been with if they have watched it. No. We are on overload with good and great things to watch and listen to. It’s the Christmas season and we are Lighting the World! Maybe on a Sunday, you could take some time to see this amazing broadcast with your children or grandchildren. There is this wonderful theme of being able to connect with other children and youth all over the world that are trying to be valiant. “You are not alone! You can connect with other children/youth that are trying to be good!” is a message I heard over and over again weaving through the different stories and activities.

Thru the rest of Alma 50 Moroni tells us how prosperous the people are in several verses, but more importantly, in the middle of much adversity and war, in verse 23,

” But behold there never was a ^ahappier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni, yea, even at this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges.”