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Messages: 105 - 108 (119 total)

	okcitykid 5/16/2006 10:21 AM	105 out of 119
	I have not read all the way through this thread, only the first and the last. I come here because I'm an inactive Mormon currently investigating wondering if I want to renew my membership. I want to thank you ProudArmyMom2 for your testimony, without it I think I would have to say the heck with the Mormon church. Why do we think sex is some kind of evil thing that can only be shamefully enjoyed? It all started in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve took of the forbidden fruit and saw that they were naked and were ashamed. I never could understand that. We are the only animals on this earth ashamed of our nakedness. These are questions I have asked myself for many years. It is true, just like Adam and Eve - I too am ashamed of my nakedness, but this is not good and I'm not proud of it. Jesus said we must be like children to enter the kingdom of heaven and children are not ashamed of their nakedness. The bible teaches us that we have inherited Adam and Eve's sin, could this be our shamefulness for our bodies that God created and that we should be thankful for? Should we curse God that these bodies should feel pleasure? From the beginning of time religion has agreed with us that we should be ashamed, adding to our shame guilt and condemnation. If you study the dark ages, it gets REAL scary. Devices of torture were placed on our children to protect them from our imagined sin. Seven years ago I woke up and asked myself "who condemned me?" and discovered it was me myself and from then on it was a journey. You know I used to "need" to masturbate all the time until I discovered it wasn't a sin, and guess what, now I don't have to masturbate anymore. I guess its like my mom has said, if you tell a child they can't do something, all of a sudden they feel they have to. But I do masturbate because, believe it or not, its actually good for you. I'm 47 years old, actually young looking and am in excellent health. My doctor says to keep doing whatever it is I do because if more people were like me doctors would be out of business. I leave you this, the truth shall set you free, and even the Mormon missionaries teach that Satan would make us perfect through control but Jesus bought us freedom. Freedom not to sin but to become the perfection God had made. Perfect is an ever growing never ending process and if you should be ashamed of what God has made then you need to bring that before your creator and it is personal between you and your creator. No two people are alike and we should not be square pegs trying to fit into a round hole. If the Mormon church wishes to take from me my freedom and bind me up into its interpretation of my personal perfection then it is not the true church of God but has let the deceit of Satan come in who would control and not let us be free. If the church was always right in making us feel guilty for our nakedness, then what did we need the restoration of the Mormon church for or is to bring back the dark ages "God forbid."

	presurg 6/2/2006 4:57 AM	106 out of 119
	amoung more obvious things, like sex between a man AND a woman, I think what I try to teach my kids and how my husband and I have discussed it, it's also about self control, self mastery. where do you draw the line? if you're away and your husband gets lonely, is it okay for him to masturbate but not look at pornography because the prophet has specifically said NO? I don't believe so. if we are teaching our youth that it's not okay, why is it okay after we are married? its still SELF GRATIFICATION. I don't mean to sound preachy at all...I simply think that our Father in Heaven has given us specific guidelines to follow and that when we don't, when we cross into that "gray" area, it's just like being lost in the "mist"...in Lehi's dream. Just my opinion.

	Gaia-j 6/2/2006 12:31 PM	107 out of 119
	Let's say your husband is "away" for months -- maybe in Iraq -- and misses you terribly, physically, emotionally, spiritually. What makes it so wrong for him to masturbate, if he fantasizes about YOU and nobody else? I think too often (as the previous poster said) we become loaded down with and respond out of guilt and fear. "...But we have not received the spirit of fear, but the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 'Abba, Father'." Jesus was a man . Do we think he wouldn't understand the demands of the mind and body for comfort, companionship, or release? I think the very most of any us can or should say or do, is what we will or won't do; NOT what anybody ELSE should or shouldn't do. ~Gaia

	MeDharma 8/14/2006 7:36 PM	108 out of 119
	i know this thread started a long time ago but i just came across this book while vacationing and it has done wonders in my marriage: "And they were not ashamed: strengthening marriage through sexual fulfillment" by Laura M. Brotherson she also has a website: http://strengtheningmarriage.com i believe it is perfect book for newlyweds & those of us married for a while. i've been with my husband for over a decade and this book has been a godsend. i personally never had a problem with masterbation but i know of friends that have (male & female) many of them became addicted to it and it caused problems with it leading to pornography & adultry in some situations both before & after marriage. i liked the analogy of a fire...its functional but can hurt you if used improperly. there is a fine line and crossing it can be done without knowing it. it comes down to the purpose...for me if its for self-pleasure and therefore inappropriate if i'm in my youth and beyond. you are always tempted but the lord will not allow you to be tempted above what you can withstand. you must just simply make a decision NOT to do it and follow guidelines to avoid it. if you are a recovering drinker you would avoid the bar correct? then avoid visual stimulation or situations that would encourage you to do something you do not want to do. within the bounds of marriage it becomes the discussion between the couple & god. does it offend one then do not do it. i do believe sex after marriage can be a very spiritual interaction...i know because i've been there. then there are days its an "itch" as someone said but in the end its something sacred between me and my man. we pray for intimate problems together also which many would think odd but if you think of it as talking to the lord as a confidant or a wise friend it is easy. this book was an answer to our prayers. now i agree it is up to the individual to decide thru the spirit what is right and wrong. the spirit has helped me avoid drugs, alcohol, smoking, and the lot. you must first make the decision before the situation presents itself. i did not run with a strictly 'mormon' crowd & my parents were of two different religions but both christian. i'm not perfect i admit and will not "air" my dirty laundry since it has been forgiven (anyway we all have some sin i think because none of us are perfect) so i do not want my advice dismissed because someone thinks i'm a molly mormon and my man is not the model peter priesthood but we are currently worthy temple recommend holders. also it bothered me the gal who was engaged and someone said if masturbation kept her man from going somewhere else to get it then it was okay (i hope i remembered that comment correctly...if not forgive me my memory is short lived since having children LOL) for me if he loved me & respected me he wouldnt go elsewhere but would be willing to wait! btw, we dated for several years and were worthy of a temple marriage (and i did not masterbate) its being in the right place all the time. enough of my comments...praying you all find what you are looking for here :) god bless!

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