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Religion

Found 5 results

  1. What is the churches stance on the LGBTQIA+ community, and people within the church identifying within that label? Researching for a short film I am currently writing that will deal with themes of sexuality and identity inside the Mormon faith
  2. I'm 22. I graduated from college last spring with a double major in Environmental Studies and History, and I've been job searching ever since and living at home with my parents. Well, actually, I had a minimum-wage job with my state's Dept. of Natural Resources for a few months, but I finally decided that the horrible, uninteresting work and an hour's commute just weren't worth minimum wage, so I quit in October, and have been unemployed since then. I've applied for probably 200 jobs at this point, everything from jobs semi-related to my Environmental Studies major, like research assistant positions and internships, to completely unrelated jobs, like a flight attendant or administrative assistant. I've had a few phone interviews and one face-to-face interview for a flight attendant job, but nothing has come of them. I'm about ready to give up. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what to do. My entire life is on hold because I literally can't do anything without money. In addition to the sea of job rejections that I've been plunged into, I've been struggling internally for years with my sexuality. It started when I was about 17. Before that, I guess I just assumed that I was straight. I was homeschooled throughout middle school and high school and grew up in a very Christian family, and I didn't have a lot of friends my age and didn't know any gay people, so I didn't even realize being gay was a thing. And I had a huge crush on a male celebrity as a young teenager, so I had no reason to think I was anything other than straight until I started noticing feelings for girls. It started when I was on Tumblr and came across this lesbian singer. I started watching all her videos, and before I knew it, realized that I had developed a big crush on her. Then I started developing really strong feelings for one of my (straight, female) friends freshman year of college, and that was when I knew it was more than just a short phase or admiration of a singer who happened to be gay; I WAS gay, or at least bisexual with a preference for women. Around age 15 or 16 (before I had any inkling that I might be gay) I had started to explore the LDS church. Even though I had grown up in a Protestant Christian environment, I met someone who was Mormon, which had led me to google the church, and something about it attracted me and made me want to know more about it. I didn't tell my parents, of course, because they would've gotten upset, and I never actually went to any LDS church services because I couldn't have done so on my own without them knowing, but I started reading the Book of Mormon online and thought that once I moved out of my parents' house, then I'd start to attend an LDS church. Well, fast-forward to 2012 - I had just realized that I really was something other than straight, and at first it terrified me. As I started to accept it, I also started to leave religion (of any form) by the wayside and follow my own path. I never really rebelled (I didn't even date women because I didn't know how to meet them), and I never drank except for the occasional few glasses of wine on the weekends with a friend. I just stopped considering myself a Christian because it was easier, and I knew that there was no place for me as a non-straight person in most Christian churches. Now I'm 22, and I've still never been in a relationship with anyone (male or female). Up until a few days ago still gave no thought to God or religion. I went back to the place where I lived as a teenager, back when I first started to explore the LDS church and before everything became so complicated and confusing and I didn't know where to turn. It changed something in me somehow. I started wondering if living life on my own without God was a good plan. I only gave up on Him because I thought I had no other option if I was attracted to women; I thought my options were to either live my life alone and try to maintain my relationship with God, or set off on my own in order to maybe one day fall in love. But I've been single, alone, AND isolated from God, and it's taken its toll on me. Something has to change, and I don't think that pursuing a relationship with a woman is the best solution. The thing is, it's not that I can't see myself falling in love with a man. I can. (In fact, I thought I really was in love with that male celebrity when I was 15!) It's just that I'm not physically attracted to men in general. I can certainly appreciate a handsome face and pretty eyes and a kind smile, it's just that the thought of a sexual relationship with a man is unnerving and gross to me because I don't see men that way. I didn't have any bad experiences with men in the past or anything; I just am not attracted. I feel like if I could be in a romantic but non-sexual relationship with a man, I'd probably be just fine. It's just that the odds of that happening seem to be slim and none. I guess the reason why I posted this was 1. so I could vent all of my feelings and frustrations to people who might understand and 2. to ask for advice on what I should do. My unemployment, separation from God, and lack of any purpose in life has taken a huge toll on me, and I don't know where to turn. If it weren't for the issue with my sexuality, I would jump wholeheartedly back into my relationship with God and going to church, but I'm not 100% sure that I'm okay with being single for life, and the chances of finding a man to be with on my own terms are dismal, especially when a lot of people my age are already in serious relationships or even married. But I can't continue to try to make it on my own without any sense of guidance, and deep down I know that only God can help me to figure out life. Any suggestions for what to do in my situation? I realize that even if I do start to rebuild my relationship with God, it won't be easy, and I'll still face the same issues of unemployment and struggling with sexuality, it's just that I feel like at least I won't be alone in the struggle.
  3. Now that Laura Brotherson has finished her second book, she is putting articles up on Meridian Magazine with little nuggets from her book. This one came out this week. http://ldsmag.com/sexuality-is-part-of-your-divine-nature/ I find the title premise significant and challenging in so many ways. The concept was first introduced to me in Elder Bednar's Apr. 2013 GC talk, where he describes sex (for procreation only?) as "the ultimate expression of our divine nature". This idea that sexuality (not just gender) is a part of our divine nature seemed so opposed to everything I had learned in 40 some odd years on this planet, that it really stood out to me. I cannot say that I have broken through all of the other stuff I have been taught. I can easily say that I believe this (without Elder Bednar's use of the superlatives) intellectually, but I find it difficult to really internalize the idea. I'm not sure what discussion I am looking for. Maybe some thoughts on how you feel that sexuality and divine nature intersect. Implications for married life. Implications for singles. I don't know. Maybe some simple statements whether you agree or disagree that sexuality is a part of our divine nature.
  4. Hi! My name is Chad Kelland! I am doctoral candidate at the APA accredited American School of Professional Psychology. I am also LDS. I am seeking individuals who self-identify as Latter-Day Saints to participate in an online survey developed to learn more about the individual member’s beliefs and behaviors related to spirituality, religiosity and sexuality. Participation is anonymous, is online, and simply requires 15minutes of your time. By completing the surveys, you become eligible to earn one of three $100 Amazon.com gift cards. This study is concerned with spirituality, religiousness, and sexuality. Previous studies and literature reviews suggest that for some individuals, there exists an antagonistic relationship between their individual spirituality and religions and their own sexuality (including sexual behaviors). Religion (including spirituality) and sexuality often evoke strong emotions within people. Previous studies have found that an individual’s sexuality (including values, beliefs, and behaviors) are often impacted by their religious or spiritual beliefs and visa versa. Research suggests that often individuals do not consider the notion that one could be spiritual and sexual at the same time. What is not fully understood is how sexuality influences religious or spiritual beliefs. It is our hope that the results provided will illustrate how one negotiates their sexuality while attempting to live their religion and maintain a level of spirituality. Furthermore, we hope to capture data that will illustrate how acting against one's values or morals impacts the intrinsic and extrinsic spiritual or religious orientation of an individual. Minimum requirements: be at least 18-years-old and not currently receiving mental health treatment. To participate or learn more, please visit: The Spiritual & Religious Impact of Sexual Behavior Survey. Thank you!
  5. Over the past few years I have been wandering the internet gobbling up information as I go like Pac-Man, and a few months ago I hit upon the search term "Mormon Sexuality" in Google's recommended searches list. I hit enter and up came a looooonnnngg list of various sites. A select few were positive, like ones about feminine sexuality via popular LDS therapists, doctors, counselors, and authors like Jennifer Finlayson-Fife or Laura M. Brotherson. The vast majority however were either supposed "Mormon Hidden History" exposure sites with pages on our sexual beliefs [all portraying them in the most negative light possible], ex-Mormon rant sites, and a few secular journalistic pieces with obviously dismissive and irreverently tones on Mormon sexual beliefs. The words which appeared in these results were surprisingly consistent. Terms like, "repression", "self-hate", "shame", "social conditioning", et cetera, et cetera kept popping up. There were even a couple of sites with members who claimed to be LDS, but whose writings clearly left nothing to imagination that they did not practice the Law of Chastity. As a deeply intellectual person, I have long studied my religion and have tried to build a complete, encompassing, and yet simplified personal concept map which lays out my beliefs and how they interrelate, especially in contrast to the modern secular world. And I see little but open hostility in the Western World towards the very idea that you shouldn't have sex whenever you want, without regard to whether you are married, or even for whomever your partner is. What are your thoughts? Why do you think people dislike Chastity so much? (Aside from the obvious "gets in the way of fun" part I mean).