The Decision

John, David, and Keir wandered along the Fox River hiking trail one beautiful spring day. John and David were brothers, and their friend Keir lived around the corner from them.

“What do you guys want to do?” asked nine-year-old John.

“Let’s go home and get some ice cream bars. Mom just bought some,” seven-year-old David said.

“OK,” Keir said, “race you!” They took off up a dirt path that led back to the main road. Two blocks from John and David’s house, Keir stopped.

“Hey, look,” he said, pointing to something lying along the side of the path. “What’s that?”

It looked like a stack of paper. As the boys got closer, they realized it was a magazine. It was colorful and shiny with lots of glossy pictures. The pages flapped in the soft breeze.

“Cool,” John said as he picked it up.

They quickly realized that it was not at all “cool.” The magazine cover had pictures of naked women. The boys suddenly became very quiet.

“I think this is what’s called ‘porn,’” Keir said.

“What’s that?” David asked.

“Pornography,” John stated. He slammed the magazine closed and folded it in half so they couldn’t see the cover. “We shouldn’t look at it.”

“I think we should tell our moms,” Keir said.

“Or we could just leave it here,” David said.

“No, I don’t want someone else to find it. We’ll take it to Mom. She’ll know what to do,” John said.

David and Keir nodded. The three boys continued up the path. They didn’t want to laugh and shout anymore. They all felt a dull, heavy feeling inside. They were curious about the magazine, but no one wanted to look at it again.

When they got home, John showed his mom what they had found.

“You were right not to keep looking at it. This is not good for us to see,” she said. “I’m proud of you boys for bringing it to me. I’ll get rid of it.”

Later, when Keir got home, he told his mom and dad what had happened. They had a talk about pornography.

“Heavenly Father gave us our bodies to house our spirits,” Keir’s mom said. “Our bodies are very important, and we shouldn’t misuse them.”

“That magazine was showing how some people treat their bodies badly,” his dad added. “Pornography is evil, and the prophet has told us to stay away from it. You boys made a good decision today, Keir. You’ll be blessed for it.”

Keir had a good feeling in his heart that lasted for a long time. He knew John and David felt the same way. All three boys understood that the Holy Ghost had guided them to choose the right.

[Avoid Pornography]

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President Gordon B. Hinckley

“Avoid pornography as you would a plague.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Overpowering the Goliaths in Our Lives,” Ensign, Jan. 2002, 6.