Brittni De La Mora was in the porn industry for 7 years. Back then, she never imagined that she would one day find God and marry a pastor.
On February 20, 2016, Brittni and Richard De La Mora were married. Today they pastor XXX Church, ministering to people about the dangers of pornography while encouraging them to live a sexually pure life.
“When I first met her, I didn’t even know she was in the porn industry,” said Richard. “I found out when she was sharing her testimony. But even then, her being in the industry, I never really looked at her as a product of her past. I looked at her as a product of God’s grace. What God has done in her life has just been incredible.”
In an interview with CBN News, the couple discussed today’s culture war surrounding sex.
“There definitely is a war,” said Richard. “Lust takes but love gives. We’re in a society that’s all about taking and it’s not being self-less but selfish. And when it comes to pornography, it’s just contaminating the minds of so many people.”
He said America’s porn addiction is based on lies that people believe. “The thing with pornography, we don’t see it as ‘that bad of a sin’. You know, ‘you can dabble in it. It’s not going to affect me.’ But the reality is it does affect you.”
“Purity is not (just) ‘no sex before marriage’,” Richard went on to say. “Purity is a lifestyle where we have a pure heart, a pure mind, and we have a pure approach in all things that we do.”
Brittni acknowledges that living a life of purity is a challenge for people.
“It’s hard and it’s not easy,” she explained. “But with God all things are possible. And so, what you need to do if you want to walk in purity – if this is the desire of your heart – you want to honor God with your body. You need accountability and you need to just set clear basic boundaries.”
“If holding hands is too much for you, don’t do it,” said Brittni. “Set yourself up to succeed. Don’t set yourself up for failure.”
Richard exhorts Christian singles to work on themselves before seeking a relationship with someone else.
“If you want to be with the right person, you need to be the right person,” explained Richard. “Also, in the time of singleness, you need to check your heart. I think there’s areas where you need to check your baggage out and see those areas in your life because oftentimes, we’ll go from relationship to relationship and the reality is that they’re not the problem – you are.”
“In the season of being single you’re not only getting to know God, but you are getting to know yourself,” Brittni said. “And you need to love yourself because if you can’t love yourself and date yourself then why is anyone else going to want to try to love and date you?”
Brittni recalled what Valentine’s Day was like for her as a single woman. After becoming a Christian and before meeting Richard, she decided to refrain from sexual activity until marriage.
“I would go out with a girlfriend,” she said. “We’d go out to a nice restaurant. I mean, you can’t let the holidays bring you down.”
She added, “Don’t go and rush the progress and fast forward and get into marriage and wish that you would have done things differently. Thoroughly enjoy your season of being single.”
Richard agreed adding, “Don’t be afraid to be alone. Hey, you know what, if someone’s not buying you roses, go buy yourself some roses. Go pamper yourself.”