firewater49

Thanks Guys :) Well I must admit whenever I drive now I am always looking for someone to cut me off haha

So, I'm 17. I was in a car today with 3 friends (We were going on a date to the zoo...) and we got in a car wreck. Everybody is fine, I'm not the one at fault, and the other driver has insurance. Basically what happened is: He pulled a left turn while there was an SUV (4 lane Road, 2 lanes on each side) that was in the left lane, so he couldn't see me in the right lane (He was driving a GEO prizm) . By the time he was in front of me I was like ~30 ft. away from him. I t-boned the back of his car, the force of my car hitting his car pushed it into a 3rd car. I was going the speed limit (35 mph) so it wasn't really a high speed accident. Everyone is fine though. My car is still drivable.... but but doesn't good. What I'm getting to is: I am super embarrassed, and I feel like I have lost my chi, my bravado if you will, my confidence, my self-assuredness. Not just in driving, I just feel weird. Is this common in post-accident time? P.S. Even though I am a teenager, do you think my rates will go up? I mean, I'm not the one at fault...

Thanks Everyone! Rameumptom - I go to The Indianapolis Stake. (Often called South). It's possible I've seen you before. I've actually thought about going to the Spanish Branch sometime just to try out my Spanish w/ the Gospel. If I do I'll see if I can find you! And yeah, no way am I letting my grades go down - I've worked way too hard to have what I got now. Maya - I LOVE your sig.

Hey Everyone, I'm excited to (finally) make an account on here. I have been reading as a guest for a while now and I'm glad to be a part of the community! About Me: I'm 17 yrs old, and live in the Indianapolis area. I have four passions. They are: (Please note this dis-includes the generics i.e. family, friends etc) 1. The Church 2. Running 3. Self-Improvement 4. Learning I run Cross Country and Track and am hoping to break 17:00 minutes in my 5K this year!! Self-Improvement has just always been something I loved - specifically learning new talents. (Juggling, Piano, Swing Dancing). And learning, I KNOW it sounds cliche but I really do love it. I am in 4 AP Classes, scored a 34 on my ACT, and study with an ADDICTION. SO, that's probably more than you all ever wanted to know about a random stranger lol - Anyone else here share some similar interests?

I totally know what you mean lost! And also I just found this quote on the Church website, "Masturbation is not physically necessary. There is already a way by which the male system relieves excessive spermatic fluid quite regularly through the nocturnal emission or wet dream. Monthly menstrual flow expels the female’s egg and cleanses the womb. For both sexes, physical or emotional tensions can be released by vigorous activity. Thus, in a biological sense, masturbation for either gender is not necessary. In a gospel sense, it is a sin: “Masturbation, a rather common indiscretion, is not approved of the Lord nor of His Church regardless of what may have been said by others whose ‘norms’ are lower. Latter-day Saints are urged to avoid this practice” (Spencer W. Kimball, Love Versus Lust, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [Provo, 5 Jan. 1965], p. 22)." So no, it is not a "biological need" for males to masturbate.

Ok, so here is my thing regarding masturbation. First off, I am 16 years old. I have been a member of the church my entire life and have always strived to live The Gospel. About 5 months I had my first encounter with Masturbation. I have heard many others "discovered" this much young than me. I don't why I never found out about it, but here's the deal, when I didn't know it existed I was never tempted to do it and while I was often aroused, I just never did anything about it. ANYWAYS: After the first time, I felt absolutely terrible, like I had betrayed my entire body, life, and my Heavenly Father. As time went on I often thought well, "One more time surely can't hurt". By the time this had been going on for several months I thought, "Well everbody does it. Even LDS youth. I also remember a quote from President Hinckley "No young man should be called on a mission who is not freed from this practice". Many times I would justify my practice by thinking, "Well I can fix this by the time I go on my mission. Or I'll do this another month or two then I am done." For a while I didn't even consider it wrong. By this time, (About 2 months after the start still regular) I was losing interest in Church, It was just something I did to please my parents and so everbody (Most people regarded me as a very upstanding youth) would think I am doing good as ever. When finally I realized, "What Happened to the old me?". I used to love going to Church (not anymore), I hadn't felt the Spirit in Months, and my personal prayer was terrible, I prayed just because I thought it was, "proper". So then I decided I had to look for something to prove it was wrong. I knew Pornography was wrong I never looked at it - ever - and wanted nothing to do with it because the Prophets spoke out against it. I rationalized that if I could find something that made me know masturbation was wrong I would never do it again. Lds.org search... nothing... Lds.net search... little... mostly for married couples. That is when I realized every little thing cannot be discussed and defined as what is "wrong" and what is not. HERE'S THE BOTTOM LINE: "If you can't feel the spirit while your doing it, or afterwards, it is wrong." THAT WAS ENOUGH TO CONVINCE ME. I gave it up. And do not miss it. Since letting it go I feel the spirit once more, enjoy going to Church, and feel hope again.Now, that's not to say I still don't get aroused, in this modern world I fear everybody does. I draw the line where I can or cannot feel the spirit. I joy in thinking of when I am married and will be able to have a family For those trying to quit: It is the one week mark man. Just like a bad itch if you don't itch it, it will go away. For me once I made the week mark the temptation was gone. THERE IS HOPE! you can change! Yeah, so I don't know if anybody actually read that... But it is wrong! No doubt about it, it is detrimental to spirituality and I wish I never had anything to do with it. EDIT: Excuse Me, When I said, "The Temptation was gone." That was incorrect. Temptation will always be there. More like, "The Will to do it was gone."

What I do is think about what it does to you spiritually. It can stop you from receiving many blessings from the lord and not feeling the spirit. (For a long time until you receive forgiveness) Now: I am going to assume temptation comes from the computer. First, I downloaded and Installed K9 web filter. This allows me to not see any popups, or accidentally stumble upon a site that has pornographic content on it. This helps a lot because if you are, "aroused" it can be hard to let go. Lastly if you already are, "aroused": Immediately turn off the computer. Don't get back on until you have done an activity of some sort that will occupy you for a long time. If you are addicted: Seek Immediate help... and this time set web filter's password so that someone else has control over the password.

Once again guys, this has been helpful. It is cool how understanding, no put you down things, and willing to help everyone is. The talk about "Sharing the Gospel using the internet" Could also be phrased, "Helping others using the internet!". I appreciate everyone's help here! Now it is just time to go and help someone else!

Wow guys, I am amazed with your really fast responses. I am grateful for this help... And finding this site! It is really cool!

Hello, A couple months back I was looking for some character art for a video game. And I saw a pornographic character. (Remember that it was a cartoon) And instead of turning away I looked at it for several minutes. Then I got this horrible sick feeling. I went to my room and realized what happened. I immediately started the repentance process. It took me several days, but finally I felt like I was forgiven. Now I just got back from youth conference and my stake president said that, If you are addicted or often view pornography you need to immediately repent. Now I am certainly not addicted. It only happened one time. I felt ashamed, and the sin has never been repeated. (Several key steps of the repentance process) However now I am wondering if I need to tell my bishop. I am scared though If I do I will lose my calling as teacher's quorum presidents, won't be able to pass the sacrament, go to the temple. And everyone will wonder why all this happened. I have a clear conscience about it. But I am worried that something bad will happen if I don't tell the bishop. P.S. My dad is the bishop