The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and masturbation

On many occasions spanning over a century leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have explicitly taught that members should not masturbate as part of obedience to the code of conduct regulating sexual expression by Mormon people known as the law of chastity.[1]:80–127[2][3] The LDS Church places great emphasis on the law of chastity. Commitment to live the law of chastity is required for baptism,[4] and adherence is required to receive a temple recommend,[5] and is part of the temple endowment ceremony covenants members promise by oath to keep.[6][7] While serving as church president, Spencer Kimball taught that the law of chastity includes "masturbation ... and every hidden and secret sin and all unholy and impure thoughts and practices."[8] Before serving full-time missions members are required to abandon the practice as it is believed to be a gateway sin that dulls sensitivity to the guidance of the Holy Ghost.[9][10] The first recorded public mention of masturbation by a general church leader to a broad audience was in 1952 by apostle J. Reuben Clark,[11][12] and recent notable mentions include ones in 2013[13] and 2016.[14]

In their seminal overview on the topic Mark Mallan and Vern Bullough describe Mormon community attitudes and teachings on masturbation as having gone through four major stages while various official church publications and new opinions of leaders have emerged throughout the church's history:

  1. Silence, from 1830 to the first public statements
  2. Secular Conformity, characterized by following popular medical opinion ranging from viewing masturbation as unhealthy to harmless
  3. Counterrevolution, opposing modern medical views and scientific data
  4. Emerging Reform, indicated by Mormon literature suggesting that masturbation may be normal and not immoral[1]:118,122–123

Though rhetoric has softened and become less direct, and the majority of Mormons' views are at odds with those of top church leaders, the prohibition on masturbation remains in place, though enforcement and opinions of local leadership and members vary.[1]:118 During regular worthiness interviews, members—including teenagers,[15] are required to confess of any sexual sins like masturbation in order to be deemed worthy,[1]:118 and are sometimes asked specifically about their masturbation habits.[16][17][18]

Timeline of teachings and events

Below is a timeline of events, publications, and speeches on the topic of masturbation in the LDS community.

1800s

  • 1871 – First Presidency member Daniel Wells told a group of Church leaders that many of their young men had a masturbation habit (called "self-abuse", "self-pollution", and "onanism") that was a great sin and would prevent marriage and lead to insanity and an early death.[19]:415
  • 1883 – The First Presidency and Apostles spoke at length with stake presidents about the "self-pollution of both sexes" in the first Mormon reference to female masturbation.[19]:418

Early 1900s

  • 1902 – In response to reports of many students at church schools masturbating, church president George Smith stated that masturbation was a "damnable and pernicious practice" and that all top leaders should be strongly against it. He stated that stake leaders should instruct and warn the members about it.[20]
  • 1920s and 1930s – During this time top leaders made lessons that warned parents against causing emotional distress in adolescents by overreacting to their children's masturbatory behaviors and referred them to secular books which taught that sexual interests in children and adolescents should be guided and directed and not inhibited.[21][1]:94–95

1950s

Bruce McConkie's 1958 book was the first major publication outlining church teachings on masturbation.
  • 1952 – Apostle J. Reuben Clark stated that those who teach that "self-pollution" (a now obsolete euphemism for masturbation)[11] is non-sinful are as bad as "the teachers who prostitute the sex urge".[12]
  • 1953 – Alarmed by the results found in the Kinsey reports Brigham Young University president Ernest Wilkinson appointed two faculty committees to tackle the "masturbation problem" on the church school's campus.[22]
  • 1954 – Kimball published a booklet for youth titled "Be Ye Clean"[23] in which he stated that masturbation and a preoccupation about sex in one's thoughts was a reprehensible sin.[24]
  • 1958 – Apostle Bruce McConkie spoke strongly against masturbation in his Mormon Doctrine saying it was "condemned by divine edict" and among the "chief means" the devil uses "leading souls to hell".[25] He also stated when psychiatrists tell their patients experiencing a serious "guilt complex" from masturbation that it is "not an evil" this keeps the patient from complying with the law of chastity and becoming clean, which would lead to "mental and spiritual peace" that helps one cope with or resolve mental disorders.[26]

1960s

Kimball addressed masturbation numerous times as a leader, including in this important 1969 publication.
  • 1964 – In an address at BYU to instructors of religion Kimball refuted the statements of physicians and others to young Mormon men that masturbation was normal, natural, or necessary.[27][28]
  • 1965 – Apostle Spencer Kimball gave a BYU address in which he called masturbation a "common indescretion"[10]
  • 1966 – Apostle Delbert Stapley told BYU students to avoid "perversions" like masturbation.[29] He further stated that before receiving temple endowments or serving an LDS mission that this "weakness" and "habit" should be abandoned.[10]
  • 1967 – Apostle Kimball gave an April general conference address in which he compared sexual sins like masturbation to the leaves and twigs of a spiritually parasitic mistletoe plant that grows with every indiscretion.[30]
  • 1967 – A proposed update to the BYU Honor Code banning "masturbation" was removed in committee.[31]
  • 1968 – Popular Mormon author and later mission president Lindsay Curtis coauthored a book published by the church's Deseret Book which called masturbation an indication of emotional immaturity and an unhealthy coping mechanism which can cause psychological damage. The book further stated that it stems from loneliness, low self-esteem, and poor self-control,[32]:221–223 and that the habit can be broken by fasting, prayer, and staying busy.[32]:52
  • 1969 – Apostle Kimball wrote several paragraphs on masturbation in the Miracle of Forgiveness, stating that ancient and modern prophets "condemn masturbation" and that it shows "slavery to the flesh".[33]

1970s

  • 1970 – In a missionary guide a section was included called "Steps to Overcome Masturbation" written by apostle Mark Petersen.[1]:98–99[34] The guide, reprinted in a 1973 church packet,[35] recommended exercise, keeping a Book of Mormon held in hand at night, limiting time in the bathroom, and praying for help to stop masturbating.[36][1]:98–99,126
  • 1972 – The Relief Society Courses of Study book stated that, "As boys and girls reach physical maturity, curiosity in one’s body may result in self-stimulation (masturbation)."[37][38]
  • 1974 – The Relief Society Courses of Study book update contained an example conversation between mother and child where the child asks, "What's wrong with playing with my body? The other kids says it's okay." The mother responds, "Your body is sacred and you know more about your eternal potential than the other kids. Many so-called experts say that masturbation is all right, but it is not. The Lord expects us to use self-control."[39]
  • 1975 – In the April general conference meeting for men church seventy Vaughn Featherstone stated that the "urge" to masturbate "does not have to be satisfied" and that we should not "have a problem with masturbation".[40]
The pamphlet reprint of Packer's 1976 General Conference address on masturbation.[41]
  • 1976 – One of the lengthiest public discussions of masturbation by an apostle was Boyd Packer's October general conference address "To Young Men Only" in which he uses a "little factory" euphemism to discuss male reproductive organs and warns young men not to tamper with the factory lest it speed up and become a guilt- and depression-inducing habit that is not easy to resist. He gave vigorous exercise as a method to help control thoughts and break the habit of masturbation since it is a "transgression" that is "not pleasing to the Lord".[3][42] The talk was printed as a pamphlet and widely distributed by the church from 1980 to 2016.[41]
  • 1976 – BYU sociology professor Wilford Smith published his study of thousands of students spanning 1950 to 1972. He found that 64% of active Mormon females and 57% of active Mormon males did not believe that masturbation was immoral. Additionally, 78% of church-going Mormon men and 27% of active Mormon women reported having masturbated, with 50% of Mormon males and 11% of active Mormon females reporting recent masturbation.[1]:110[43]
A study of thousands of university students by BYU sociology professor Wilford E. Smith spanning 1950-1972 found these statistics for male (blue) and female (pink) Mormon subjects who reported consistent LDS church attendance.

1980s

  • 1980 – Church president Spencer Kimball gave an address calling masturbation a "reprehensible sin."[44]
Cover of a 1981 church manual which gave bishops steps to help members stop masturbating.
  • 1981 – A manual for bishops on attempting to "cure" homosexual members was released. It listed masturbation as a cause of homosexuality[45][46][47] and contained steps on how to help members stop masturbating. These included asking them when, where, and how often they masturbate, and having them break off friendships with other people who also masturbate. Other ideas included reading church books, praying, fasting, serving others, regular accountability with the bishop, developing healthy coping mechanisms for stress and loneliness, and exercising.[48][45] The manual received media attention in 2017.[45][49][50]
  • 1981 – Church leaders funded the writing of a book on sexuality[51] and sent every bishop and stake president a copy. The book was written by Church Welfare Services director[52] Victor L. Brown Junior and stated that habitual masturbation will cause social-emotional isolation and erotic obsession.[53][54]
  • 1983 – In October an LDS psychiatrist Cantril Nielsen paid a death malpractice settlement to Eugene Eliason for prescribing that his patient 16-year-old Kip Eliason abstain from masturbation as directed by his bishop. This allegedly contributed to the patient's shame-induced suicide on 2 March 1982 over his inability to stop masturbating as recorded in his journal.[1]:98,101,116[55][56][57]
  • 1983 – Then president of the twelve Ezra Benson stated in the October general conference that priesthood holders are virtuous and don't masturbate.[58]
  • 1984 – The Ensign published an article referencing a 1965 research article which stated that, "such sexual activity as masturbation, homosexuality, exhibitionism, and voyeurism can be prompted and reinforced by pornography. A number of studies I have reviewed suggest that persistent deviant sexual fantasies frequently lead later to deviant behavior."[59]
  • 1985 – The church began providing a manual for parents to use in discussing sexuality with their children. The manual includes statements that "prophets have condemned [masturbation] as a sin" and "perversion of the body's passions" that causes one to "become carnal".[60]
  • 1985 – This edition of the Relief Society Courses of Study book stated that fathers should, "caution their young sons about how masturbation detracts from the spiritual growth," and that parents should teach their children that the Lord has clearly told us to refrain from masturbation.[61]
  • 1985 – The Ensign published an article stating that music producers have gradually added more sexual perversions to their music including, "homosexuality, transvestism, sodomy, masturbation, sadomasochism, rape, prostitution, venereal disease, child abuse, and incest."[62]
  • 1986 – Church seventy Theodore Burton stated in an address to the BYU student body that pornography leads to masturbation and is an evil that takes a considerable amount of time to repent of.[63]
  • 1986 – Members were told that a virtuous priesthood holder does not practice "self-abuse" (i.e. masturbation) or any other sexual perversion by church president Ezra Benson in the October general conference.[64]
  • 1987 – Church seventy Theodore Burton stated in a BYU-wide address that marriage infidelity can often start with "personal indulgences based on selfishness" such as viewing pornography which, "leads to self-abuse, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, child and spouse abuse, incest, rape, and cruelty."[65][66]
  • 1988 – In the church guide "Handbook for Families" BYU professor Lynn Scoresby advised parents to "Teach that self-abuse will result in loss of self-esteem and feelings of self-doubt" in reference to masturbation.[67]

1990s

  • 1990 – Vaughn Featherstone told LDS church therapists that masturbation was "serious" and against church standards and that it would cause the Holy Ghost to withdraw from someone. He further stated that as a mission president almost 80% of his missionaries did not masturbate for the 1.5 to 2 years they were under his direction.[68]
The 1990 edition of the "For The Strength of Youth" pamphlet explicitly forbade masturbation.[1]:101–102
  • 1990 – An edition of the church's youth guidelines pamphlet was released stating that the "Lord specifically forbids ... masturbation".[69] It also stated that violating this moral law would cause guilt, sin, heartache and withhold blessing of peace, comfort, and happiness from the Holy Ghost.[1]:101–102
  • 1992 – In a guide for bishops the Church called masturbation a deviant behavior linked to homosexuality, and stated that it makes it more difficult to cease same-sex sexual behavior. It characterized regular masturbation as an addiction that was difficult to quit.[70]:4
  • 1994 – A book previously sold by the Church's Deseret Book[71] written by a professor at BYU stated that allowing any degree of sexual arousal in oneself prior to marriage was a moral sin.[1]:106[72]
  • 1994 – An Ensign article stated that parents should teach their children about correct moral choices and standards taught by the First Presidency like that the Lord specifically forbids masturbation.[73]
  • 1995 – Another study on the masturbation habits of LDS individuals was released in which 43% of the 103 active, married, church-attending LDS women interviewed reported current masturbation.[1]:110
  • 1997 – In the church-published Family Home Evening Resource Book fathers were instructed to caution their male children against self-stimulation, and that the 1976 pamphlet "To Young Men Only" could help.[37]

2000s

The 2001 update to the youth guideline pamphlet removed the explicit reference to masturbation.[1]:102–13
  • 2000 – In it's Sunday lesson manual for young and adult men, the LDS Church published that the Law of Chastity forbids "improper uses of the divine power of procreation," and that, "Among the other ways man misuses this sacred power are fornication (including living together without marriage), homosexuality, abortion, and masturbation."[74]
  • 2000 – Popular LDS writer, bishop, and BYU professor Brad Wilcox released a book "Growing Up: Gospel Answers about Maturation and Sex" sold by the church's book company in which he stated that masturbation causes serious emotional and spiritual consequences.[1]:105–106[75]
  • 2000 – An Ensign article re-emphasized the teachings of the 1990 "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet which states that the Lord specifically forbids masturbation.[76]
  • 2001 – A new edition of the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet was released alluding to masturbation with statements forbidding anything that "arouses" any sexual feelings or emotions in one's "own body".[77][78]
  • 2003 – The apostle Packer again addressed masturbation while discussing sexual mores stating, "there are cravings and temptations, and there can be habitual self-stimulation, and a lot of things that are just unworthy."[79]
  • 2004 – LDS Family Services releases "A Practitioner's Guide: Addiction to Masturbation and Pornography" on how LDS therapists can help clients stop masturbating.[80][81]

2010s

  • 2010 – The Church Handbook for leaders states that the three bishopric members should ensure that members from ages 12 to 17 are interviewed twice a year during which they are to discuss the "importance of obeying the commandments, particularly ... refraining from any kind of sexual activity, and refraining from viewing, reading, or listening to pornographic material." Additionally, leaders are told to "ensures that the discussion does not encourage curiosity or experimentation."[82] It also states that disciplinary council should not be called for members "who are struggling with pornography or self-abuse."[83]
  • 2011 – An update to the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet contained the same wording against masturbation from the 2001 edition.[78]
  • 2011 – In the Ensign an LDS neurosurgeon is quoted saying viewing pornography and "the accompanying act of self-stimulation may not seem horribly bad at first," but that, "you may not believe you are addicted until it is too late."[84]
  • 2013 – Seventy Tad Callister stated in a 2013 speech at BYU-I that God condemns self-abuse which he clarifies stating, "Self-abuse is the act of stimulating the procreative power of one’s own body."[13] The speech was reprinted in the March 2014 Ensign.[85]
  • 2015 – The Church published two anonymous accounts related to masturbation in March. One was by a married woman navigating what she termed her husband's addiction to pornography and masturbation and the relapses he had. The other was of a man who stated that he became addicted to masturbation at the age of 12, and as a married man became paralyzed from the neck down and was still addicted so he sought the help of the LDS Addiction Recovery Program and states that he has been sober for one year.[86][87]
  • 2016 – In a recent BYU campus-wide address on suppressing and changing sexually impure thoughts, BYU administrator Jeffery Bunker quoted Benson stating that virtuous priesthood holders do not practice "self-abuse" (i.e. masturbation).[14]
  • 2017 – The LDS Church website published an anonymous account of a woman's experience with what she describes as an addiction to masturbation and pornography that began as a girl and continued as a problem as a married woman. The account includes her repentance consultations with a bishop and LDS counselor and describes a later relapse and involvement with the LDS Addiction Recovery Program.[88]
  • 2017 – The Ensign published an article in which an LDS Family Services employee stated that survivors of sexual abuse may, "become promiscuous to seek nurturing through sexual activity (including pornography and self-stimulation)."[89]
  • 2017 – LDS Living, a magazine published by the church's Deseret Book publishing,[90] features an article stating, "Although the term 'masturbation' hasn’t formally been used in a general conference talk since the 1970s, there are current Church publications that clearly teach that masturbation isn’t necessary and is even considered sinful," and that it "can lead to loneliness and isolation." It also states that masturbation is "highly addictive" and leads to selfishly focus on one's own pleasure and comfort.[91]
  • 2017 – At a Sunstone presentation one married LDS man stated that after his Bishop recommended he attend LDS Addiction Recovery Services in order to stop his occasional masturbation he became hopeless as the program wasn't helping and decided he needed to castrate himself in order to end all sexual feelings and alleviate his guilt, though, lack of money for a trip to a foreign doctor prevented his plans until he changed his mind.[92]
  • 2017 – In an Ensign article BYU professor Mark Butler taught that adolescents can use masturbation to replace or mask distressing emotions, and that this risks psychological dependency on the behavior to manage life stresses.[93]
  • 2017 – A former bishop gathered thousands of petition signatures[94] and protested at temple square over the church's practice of bishops asking sexual questions about topics such as masturbation to minors during interviews behind closed doors.[95][96][97] He gathered personal accounts from thousands of current and former church members who said the youth interviews caused them distress, and some were driven to consider or even attempt suicide because of the shame they felt as a result of probing questions about masturbation, pornography or sexual activity.[98]
  • 2017 – A church spokesperson released a statement on bishop's interviews in response to the petition which says, that bishops are "counseled to not be unnecessarily probing or invasive in their questions."[99]
  • 2018 – The BBC stated in an article that in the Mormon Church "pornography and masturbation are banned," and quoted two Mormons who said they were taught masturbation was "satanic" and "just below murder."[100]
  • 2018 – A first-hand account of an experience with masturbation interviews growing up in the Mormon Church was published by KUTV. In it Kip described his experience as a 13-year-old of confessing masturbation to his bishop. His bishop then had him confess to his father and then mother. Much later, a different bishop gave him the paper "Steps In Overcoming Masturbation" attributed to the LDS apostle Mark Petersen which recommended aversive techniques such as imagining bathing in and eating worms while masturbating in order to stop. Kip stated that all of this made him feel he was disgusting and awful for masturbating and he reported feeling depression and self-loathing.[101]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Malan, Mark Kim; Bullough, Vern (December 2005). "Historical development of new masturbation attitudes in Mormon culture: Silence, secular conformity, counterrevolution, and emerging reform". Sexuality and Culture. 9. doi:10.1007/s12119-005-1003-z. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems: Suggestions for Ecclesiastical Leaders, Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 1992 . Reprint without permission at qrd.org.
  3. 1 2 Packer, Boyd (1976), To Young Men Only (PDF), LDS Church, Archived from the original on 2016-03-11
  4. ↑ "Chapter 12: How Do I Prepare People for Baptism and Confirmation?", Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 2004) pp. 203–12.
  5. ↑ "Being Worthy to Enter the Temple", Liahona, August 2010
  6. ↑ Christensen, Bryce J. (1992), "Chastity, Law of", in Ludlow, Daniel H, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan Publishing, pp. 265–266, ISBN 0-02-879602-0, OCLC 24502140
  7. ↑ Talmage, James E. (1912), The House of the Lord, Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, p. 100
  8. ↑ Kimball, Spencer W. (November 1980), "President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality", Ensign
  9. ↑ Riess, Jana; Bigelow, Christopher Kimball (25 February 2005). Mormonism For Dummies (1st ed.). Wiley Publishing Inc. p. 273. ISBN 0764571958. Retrieved 5 September 2017. As far as masturbation is concerned, Mormons consider it an impure practice that thwarts self-discipline, dulls spirituality, and can become a gateway to other sins, including pornography and homosexual activity. ...Mormons say it requires repentance—in fact, young people aren't cleared to go on missions until they're free of the practice.
  10. 1 2 3 Kimball, Spencer (January 5, 1965), "Love vs. Lust", BYU Speeches of the Year, pp. 22–24 . Transcript reprint with permission at mentalhealthlibrary.info.
  11. 1 2 Stolberg, Michael (April 2000). "An Unmanly Vice: Self-Pollution, Anxiety, and the Body in the Eighteenth Century". Social History of Medicine. 13 (1): 8. doi:10.1093/shm/13.1.1.
  12. 1 2 Clark, J. Reuben (Dec 1952). "Home and the Building of Home Life". Relief Society Magazine: 793. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  13. 1 2 Callister, Ted. "The Lord's Standard of Morality". byui.edu. BYU-Idaho.
  14. 1 2 Bunker, Jeffery (5 April 2016). "Of Starfish and Destinies". speeches.byu.edu. BYU.
  15. ↑ Fletcher Stack, Peggy (12 December 2017). "Some parents and therapists say Mormon bishops' interviews with children about sexual matters are 'intrusive, inappropriate'". The Salt Lake Tribune. First is when the Mormon lay leader of a congregation (usually the bishop and always a male) calls in the boys and girls in his flock from age 12 on up for an annual interview to ask about their ... adherence to the law of chastity. Some bishops pose pointed questions about moral cleanliness in these conversations, perhaps quizzing about masturbation, heavy petting or fornication, while others keep their queries more general. The other type of interview is when penitent members go to their bishops to confess actions the church deems to be “serious sins.” This exchange may also delve into details of intimate sexual behavior. ... Though the church’s own Handbook, spelling out for local leaders the institution’s rules and practices, never mentions 'masturbation,' many bishops read the above sentence to mean just that.
  16. ↑ Malan, Mark Kim; Bullough, Vern (December 2005). "Historical development of new masturbation attitudes in Mormon culture: Silence, secular conformity, counterrevolution, and emerging reform". Sexuality and Culture. 9: 95, 97, 101, 104, 115–116, 118. doi:10.1007/s12119-005-1003-z. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  17. ↑ Parker, Natasha Helfer. "The Mormon Therapist: Neither a Sin nor a Transgression". sunstonemagazine.com. Sunstone Magazine. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  18. ↑ Bridgstock, Robert (1 January 2014). The Youngest Bishop in England: Beneath the Surface of Mormonism. See Sharp Press. pp. 88–89. ISBN 1937276031. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  19. 1 2 Quinn, D. Michael (2001). Same-Sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252069587. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  20. ↑ Larson, Stan (1993). A Ministry of Meetings The Apostolic Diaries of Rudger Clawson. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. p. 411. ISBN 0941214966. [Thursday, 27 March 1902] Salt Lake City ... Meeting at the temple. ... At this point Pres. Smith referred to a report made by Elder Jos. M. Tanner at the church board of education meeting yesterday, in which he stated that the practice of masturbation was indulged in by many young people in the church schools. Pres. Smith remarked that this was a most damnable and pernicious practice, and the face of every apostle, president of a stake, and high councillor should be set as flint against it. The priesthood should be called together at the stake conferences and the brethren and parents should be instructed and warned in relation to this matter.
  21. ↑ Bush, Lester E. (1 October 1992). Health and Medicine Among the Latter-Day Saints: Science, Sense & Scripture. Crossroad. p. 144. ISBN 0824512197.
  22. ↑ Bergera, James; Priddis, Ronald (1985). "Integrating Religion & Academics". Brigham Young University: A House of Faith. Signature Books. p. 81. ISBN 0941214346.
  23. ↑ Kimball, Spencer. "Be Ye Clean!: Five Steps to Repentance and Forgiveness". churchhistorycatalog.lds.org. LDS Church. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  24. ↑ Kimball, Spencer (1977). Faith Precedes the Miracle. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. p. 174. ISBN 0877474907.
  25. ↑ McConkie, Bruce R. (1958). Mormon Doctrine. Deseret Book. p. 708.
  26. ↑ McConkie, Bruce R. (1958). Mormon Doctrine. Deseret Book. p. 610.
  27. ↑ Kimball, Edward L. (1994). The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball (9th Printing ed.). Bookcraft. p. 269. ISBN 0884944727.
  28. ↑ Kimball, Spencer (10 July 1964). A counseling problem in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Provo, Utah: LDS Church. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  29. ↑ Stapley, Delbert (26 April 1966). BYU Speeches. BYU. p. 12.
  30. ↑ Kimball, Spencer (April 1967). "The Mistletoe". LDS Church. LDS General Conference. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  31. ↑ Wilkinon, Ernest L. (18 August 1967). Presidential Files, Memorandum: Conference Held with First Presidency. Provo, UT, BYU HBLL Special Collections UA 1000 Box 271 Folder 22: BYU. p. 2. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  32. 1 2 Curtis, Lindsay R.; Anderson, Wayne J. (1968). Living, Loving, & Marrying: Thoughts for LDS Teens and Young Marrieds (1978 6th Printing ed.). Deseret Book. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  33. ↑ Kimball, Spencer (1969), The Miracle of Forgiveness, Bookcraft, pp. 25, 77–78, 182, ISBN 978-0-88494-192-7
  34. ↑ Brenner-Idan, Athalya (1 Nov 2003). Are We Amused?: Humour About Women In the Biblical World. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 111. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  35. ↑ Brown Jr., Victor L.; Bergin, Allen E. (1973). Homosexuality: Welfare Services Packet 1. LDS Church. pp. 16–17.
  36. ↑ Tannenbaum, Rob (May 1995). "Keep Your Hands to Yourself". Details: 71. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  37. 1 2 "Teaching about Procreation and Chastity". lds.org. LDS Church. 1997.
  38. ↑ 1972–1973 Relief Society Courses of Study. LDS Church. 1972. p. 203.
  39. ↑ 1974–1975 Relief Society Courses of Study. LDS Church. 1974. p. 191.
  40. ↑ Featherstone, Vaughn. "A Self-Inflicted Purging". lds.org. LDS Church. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  41. 1 2 Peggy Fletcher Stack, "LDS Church 'retires' Mormon apostle's 'little factory' pamphlet", The Salt Lake Tribune, November 14, 2016.
  42. ↑ Samantha Allen, "Tim Ferriss Is Bro Culture's Anti-Masturbation Crusader", The Daily Beast, August 1, 2014.
  43. ↑ Smith, Wilford E. (Fall 1976). "Mormon Sex Standards on College Campuses, or Deal Us Out of the Sexual Revolution!" (PDF). Dialogue. 10 (2): 77. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  44. ↑ Kimball, Spencer (1980), President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality
  45. 1 2 3 Maza, Christina (14 December 2017). "Masturbation Will Make You Gay, Warns Leaked Mormon Church Document". Newsweek. Newsweek Media Group.
  46. ↑ Gutierrez, Lisa (16 December 2017). "Masturbation, sharing beds lead to homosexuality, according to leaked Mormon teachings". The Sacramento Bee. McClatchy Company.
  47. ↑ Griffith, Keith (15 December 2017). "Leaked Mormon church document claims that masturbation turns you gay". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers Ltd.
  48. ↑ Homosexuality. Salt Lake City, UT: LDS Church. 1981. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  49. ↑ Gutierrez, Lisa (16 December 2017). "Masturbation, sharing beds lead to homosexuality, according to leaked Mormon teachings". The Sacramento Bee. McClatchy Company.
  50. ↑ Griffith, Keith (15 December 2017). "Leaked Mormon church document claims that masturbation turns you gay". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers Ltd.
  51. ↑ Smith, George D.; Bergera, Gary James (1994). Religion, Feminism, and Freedom of Conscience. Signature Books. p. 102. ISBN 1-56085-048-5. By 1980 costs for the proposed defense of church teachings had reached close to $150,000, and some church authorities had become “squeamish' over the issue ... Bergin eventually bowed out of the project, and the completed work, a more general treatment of 'Human Intimacy: Illusion and Reality', published in 1981, listed Brown as its only author.
  52. ↑ Brown Jr., Victor L. "A Better Me, a Better Marriage". lds.org. LDS Church.
  53. ↑ Swedin, Eric G. (Winter 1998). "'One Flesh:' A Historical Overview of Latter-day Saint Sexuality and Psychology" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 31 (4): 6. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  54. ↑ Brown Jr., Victor (1981). Human Intimacy: Illusion & Reality. Parliament Publishers. pp. 73–75. Another example of the lust illusion is careless acceptance of masturbation as an inconsequential natural function. … For example, a current myth claims that masturbation is both therapeutic and necessary. … Thus, habitual, obsessive results in a self-focused addiction that can be detrimental to intimacy. It is an emotional narcotic; like a drug-induced high, it creates a temporary escape but leaves the person depressed. … Unable to obtain physical and emotional rewards in other ways, the habitual masturbator resorts to self-manipulation. … Habitual masturbation, whether practiced alone or jointly in an emotionless but technically skilled mutual orgasm, is lust. It permits the person(s) to avoid the complexities and forces him to forego the rewards of intimate relationships. Allied with fantasy it creates a world in which reality never requires an accounting. This is well known to publishers of such soft-core pornography as Playboy and similar magazines, long used as literal visual aids to masturbation. As a consequence the individual cannot develop the attitudes and behaviors which will help him develop and retain close and rewarding relationships. Masturbation’s consequences are social-emotional isolation and erotic obsession.
  55. ↑ "Forum Discusses Suicide Prevention Among Mormons" (PDF). Sunstone Magazine (125): 79. December 2002. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  56. ↑ Taylor, Mark A. (April 1986). Sin and Death in Mormon Country: A Latter-day Tragedy. Hustler. pp. 44–94. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  57. ↑ "Father's Lawsuit Blames LDS for Son's Suicide". The Salt Lake Tribune: C2. 4 March 1982.
  58. ↑ Benson, Ezra. "What Manner of Men Ought We to Be?". lds.org. LDS church. A priesthood holder is virtuous. ... He will not commit adultery “nor do anything like unto it.” (D&C 59:6.) This means fornication, homosexual behavior, self-abuse, child molestation, or any other sexual perversions.
  59. ↑ Cline, Victor (April 1984). "Obscenity—". lds.org. LDS Church.
  60. ↑ "A Parent's Guide Chapter 5: Teaching Adolescents: from Twelve to Eighteen Years". lds.org. LDS Church. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  61. ↑ Relief Society Courses of Study 1985. LDS Church. 1985. pp. 109, 117–118.
  62. ↑ de Azevedo, Lex (March 1985). "A Closer Look at Popular Music". lds.org. LDS Church.
  63. ↑ Burton, Theodore (3 June 1986). "Love and Marriage". speeches.byu.edu. BYU. Generally [the causes of that lead to transgression] are various personal indulgences based on selfishness. One of the greatest of these is the use of pornography. The use of pornography is a basic sin that leads to self-abuse, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, child and spouse abuse, incest, rape, and cruelty. No love ever develops out of pornography, only self-gratification. To protect yourself against such evils you have to stay clean yourself and have a clean partner. ... Although repentance is possible, it must be sincere and requires a considerable period of time to make that change permanent.
  64. ↑ Benson, Ezra (October 1986). "Godly Characteristics of the Master". lds.org. LDS church. [A virtuous priesthood holder] will not commit adultery 'nor do anything like unto it'. This means fornication, homosexual behavior, self-abuse, child molestation, or any other sexual perversion. ... A priesthood holder should actively seek for that which is virtuous and lovely and not that which is debasing or sordid. Virtue will garnish his thoughts unceasingly. How can any man indulge himself in the evils of pornography, profanity, or vulgarity and consider himself totally virtuous? Whenever a priesthood holder departs from the path of virtue in any form or expression, he loses the Spirit and comes under Satan’s power.
  65. ↑ Burton, Theodore (3 June 1986). "Love and Marriage". byu.edu. Brigham Young University.
  66. ↑ Burton, Theodore (June 1987). "A Marriage to Last through Eternity". lds.org. LDS Church.
  67. ↑ Scoresby, A. Lynn. "Teaching Children about Physical Development". lds.org. LDS church.
  68. ↑ Featherstone, Vaughn (1 October 1990). "However Faint the Light May Glow". Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy. 16 (1): 65–66. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  69. ↑ For the Strength of Youth (7 ed.). Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1990.
  70. ↑ Understanding and Helping Those Who Have Homosexual Problems. LDS Church. 1992. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  71. ↑ "Is Kissing Sinful?". Deseret Book. LDS Church. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  72. ↑ Von Harrison, Grant (1994). Is Kissing Sinful?. Ringmasters. p. 4. ISBN 1565090616.
  73. ↑ Marsh, Jeffrey (July 1994). "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery". lds.org. LDS Church.
  74. ↑ "Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood: Basic Manual for Priesthood Holders: Moral Cleanliness". lds.org. LDS Church. 2000.
  75. ↑ Wilcox, Brad (June 2000). Growing Up: Gospel Answers About Maturation and Sex. Bookcraft Publishing. p. 104. ISBN 9781573458214. Archived from the original on 2017-07-03. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  76. ↑ Hanson, Kaye (September 2000). "For the Strengthening of Youth". lds.org. LDS Church.
  77. ↑ For the Strength of Youth (8 ed.). Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. p. 26. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  78. 1 2 For the Strength of Youth (PDF) (9 ed.). Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fall 2011. p. 36. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  79. ↑ Packer, Boyd (2 February 2003). The Instrument of Your Mind and the Foundation of Your Character. Brigham Young University Marriott Center, Provo, Utah: LDS Church. Event occurs at 33:00. Transcript also available at byu.edu.
  80. ↑ A Practitioner's Guide: Addiction to Masturbation and Pornography. Salt Lake City: LDS Church. 2004.
  81. ↑ "A Practitioner's Guide for Masturbation/Pornography". mentalhealthlibrary.info. Mental Health Resources Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Reprinted with permission (see here).
  82. ↑ "7.1.7". Handbook 1: Stake Presidents and Bishops. Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS church. 2010. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017.
  83. ↑ "6.7.1". Handbook 1: Stake Presidents and Bishops. Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS church. 2010. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Failure to Comply with Some Church Standards: A disciplinary council should not be held to discipline or threaten members who do not comply with the Word of Wisdom, who are struggling with pornography or self-abuse, or whose transgressions consist of omissions, such as failure to pay tithing, inactivity in the Church, or inattention to Church duties.
  84. ↑ Cook, Loran (February 2011). "The Secret Enemy". lds.org. LDS Church.
  85. ↑ Callister, Tad. "The Lord's Standard of Morality". lds.org. LDS Church. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  86. ↑ "The Power to Heal All: Joanne's Story". lds.org. LDS Church. March 2015.
  87. ↑ "Moving in the Right Direction: Samuel's Story". lds.org. LDS Church. March 2015.
  88. ↑ "A Burden to No Longer Carry: Laura's Story". lds.org. LDS Church. January 2017.
  89. ↑ Talley, Nanon (April 2017). "A Bridge to Hope and Healing". lds.org. LDS Church.
  90. ↑ "About LDS Living". ldsliving.com. Deseret Book.
  91. ↑ Streurer, Geoff (27 July 2017). "How to Talk to Your Kids About This Sensitive Chastity Topic". LDS Living. LDS Church. Deseret Book.
  92. ↑ The Church’s Sexual Addiction Recovery Program (Speech). 2017 Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium. University of Utah: Sunstone Education Foundation, Inc. 27 July 2018. Event occurs at 14:30. It got to the point now where I realized that the [LDS Addiction Recovery] program was not working for me ... I decided to disfigure my body to never feel sexual feeling again. ... I started looking for seedy doctors ... I didn't have money to go out of the country. So, based on those two facts I'm pretty sure those two facts kept me from going all the way. And I ended up finding a couple podcasts ... and finding a community of people that had the same pain that I did, and because of that I am not disfigured today.
  93. ↑ Thomson, Lisa Ann (August 2017). "Eight Strategies to Help Children Reject Pornography". lds.org. LDS Church.
  94. ↑ Kuruvilla, Carol (13 December 2017). "Petition Calls On Mormon Church To Stop Letting Leaders Interview Kids About Sex". The Huffington Post.
  95. ↑ Vaifanua, Tamara (1 December 2017). "Former LDS bishop calls for church leaders to stop interviewing teens about sexual practices". Fox13. Tribune Broadcasting. KSTU.
  96. ↑ Witham, Joseph (4 December 2017). "Former Mormon bishop asks church leaders to stop interviewing kids about sex behind closed doors". St. George News. He said he was surprised when he later learned that many church members in their youth had been asked explicit questions about masturbation or sexual relationships. But he said the biggest shock came when he asked his now adult daughter if she had ever been asked by a church bishop if she masturbates. ... The interview questions inadvertently led his daughter to finding pornography after she looked up the meaning of masturbation ... others shared their own experience confirming that they were asked in their youth about sex and masturbation by church leaders.
  97. ↑ Fletcher Stack, Peggy (12 December 2017). "Some parents and therapists say Mormon bishops' interviews with children about sexual matters are 'intrusive, inappropriate'". The Salt Lake Tribune. ... [S]ome Mormons question whether the current interview system is the safest and soundest way to instill and enforce the faith’s moral standards—or whether it constitutes harassment itself. An online petition with more than 6,000 signatures urges The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 'to immediately cease the practice of subjecting children [ages 10 to 17] to questions about masturbation, orgasm, ejaculation, sexual positions or anything else of a sexual nature.' It further insists the Utah-based faith 'publicly disavow this practice.' Young believers talking about details of their sexual experience with bishops 'is intrusive, inappropriate and sends a mixed message regarding boundaries around sexual conversation with adult men,' says Julie de Azevedo Hanks, a Salt Lake City therapist, mom and wife of a newly named LDS bishop. 'In no other situation would a parent allow or encourage their minor child to have sexual conversations with an adult.'
  98. ↑ Witham, Joseph (31 August 2018). "Facing excommunication, former LDS bishop says Mormon leaders could learn from Catholic Church". St. George News.
  99. ↑ Hawkins, Eric (12 December 2017). "Statement from the LDS Church on Mormon bishops' interviews". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  100. ↑ Adnitt, Jo; Etutu, Joice (1 July 2018). "Mormon Church must end children's sexual interviews, members say". BBC Victoria Derbyshire. The British Broadcasting Corporation.
  101. ↑ Curtis, Larry D. (17 August 2018). "Victims speak: Sexually shamed as a child, LDS man struggled with self loathing". KUTV. Sinclair Broadcasting Group.
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