When I was a boy, I was an avid coin collector. And the jewel of my collection was a Spanish cob taken from a shipwreck in 1669. I first saw it at a reputable shop in our hometown and proceeded to obsess over it for months. I saved up my allowance (and a gift from my parents) and finally purchased it after what felt like an eternity of waiting. For 25 years I cherished that coin’s place in my life. Then in 2025, out of curiosity, I brought it to a different dealer to assess its value. “Oh, that’s a fake,” he said, after about five seconds of inspection. He took another minute to explain what a real coin from that era would have looked like, and especially what it would have been composed of. It turns out my coin wasn’t even a very good counterfeit. I laughed, but younger Layton would have been crushed. This item which I had found so much value in for years became instantly worthless once I knew the real thing.

My fake coin and pornography have much in common. And just like childhood Layton, we have been sold a bill of goods about the so-called merits of our obsession. Centuries of secular philosophers and decades of the sexual revolution have comingled to proudly declare that porn isn’t hurting anyone. 

In fact, it’s a healthy expression of our autonomy and sexuality. Any warnings to the contrary are hand-waved away as prudish pearl-
clutching from the sexually repressed. And yet many of us have lived lives affected by this sexual self-gratification and have come away with nothing to show but disconnection, anxiety, and hurt. Surely there must be something we’re missing?

The conversations on this page are based on our pillars of stories, science, and scripture that explore how pornography affects our bodies, emotions, and spiritual selves. My own story of redemption was powerfully shaped by the ability to understand how I had been changed by my porn use. But most importantly that knowledge gave me hope for what I could expect from healing once I found freedom. Our prayer is for you to similarly find hope and freedom in the resources here, but most importantly in the person of Jesus Christ. Please reach out to us if we can help you in any way.

You are loved,

Layton