Question about chastity

[lines]

HI I am wondering what the current teaching in the LDS church regarding the law of chastity. I am not a member of LDS but I started practicing mormon spirituality after receiving a book of mormon.

So basically my question is this: does the LDS church still teach that: masturbation, fornication, and adultery is bad? And does the LDS church make a point of communicating that to people in a clear way enough times to where people see it as an integral part of mormon life?

In India they place a great deal of value on chastity. Indian wrestlers for example believe that through avoiding sexuality they retain a degree of strength by "holding in the seed as opposed to spilling it on the ground"... if you catch what I am saying. Also meditator in India believe that through chastity they are helped with their meditation.

Due to having studied these things that the hindus believe I came to be intrigued with mormon doctrines on chastity and started studying some of the pronouncements made by church authorities.

"Like many bodily diseases, sexual crime drags with itself a train of other ills. As the physical effects of drunkenness entail the deterioration of tissue, and disturbance of vital functions, and so render the body receptive of any distemper to which it may be exposed, and at the same time lower the powers of resistance even to fatal deficiency..."

Law of Chastity - Mormonism, The Mormon Church, Beliefs, & Religion - MormonWiki

The sexual degradation that has overtaken mankind today is directly due to the fact that people have assumed that there is a natural "sexual instinct" in human beings. It is not so. The natural instinct is the procreative one. The Mother Nature has bestowed the power of reproduction to all the creatures (flora and fauna) for continuation of the race. Sex is not an entertainment. If a man leads a life of chastity even in householder's life and has copulation for the sake of progeny only...

In hindu thought the preservation of vital fluid through avoidance of the sex act is very important. A householder in hinduism is someone who follows the mormon law of chastity. On the one hand they respect the significance of the vital fluid and do not treat sex as entertainment but on the other hand they also engage in sex to reproduce.

Another quote from where I got that from:

These bad practices and bad habits of masturbation or excessive sexual intercourse drain the energy enormously. There appears boils on the body, acne or eruptions on the face, blue lines around the eyes, sunken eyes, pale face with anaemia, loss of memory, loss of eye sight...

The sceret of eternal youth

Above is a link to a hindu pamphlet on the importance of chastity.

[Seminarysnoozer]

Yes, sexual impurity is a physically destructive force - just like heroine, or LSD, or other chemically mind-altering drugs.... here are a few of the chemicals that are involved with sex:

Oxytocin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Recent studies have begun to investigate oxytocin's role in various behaviors, including orgasm, social recognition, pair bonding, anxiety, and maternal behaviors.[2] For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the "love hormone".[3]"

Vasopressin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vasopressin is a peptide hormone that controls the reabsorption of molecules in the tubules of the kidneys by affecting the tissue's permeability. It also increases peripheral vascular resistance, which in turn increases arterial blood pressure. It plays a key role in homeostasis, and the regulation of water, glucose, and salts in the blood. It is derived from a preprohormone precursor that is synthesized in the hypothalamus and stored in vesicles at the posterior pituitary. Most of it is stored in the posterior pituitary to be released into the bloodstream; however, some AVP is also released directly into the brain, where it plays an important role in social behavior and bonding.

There are some interesting new studies out which look at misuse of the above chemicals, and at what is called "pair bonding" - our ability to form monogamous relationships is tied up in our bodies production and use of chemicals such as Vasopressin and oxytocin. When we engage in sexual thoughts/actions we release these chemicals, and train our bodies to be chemically dependent/addicted to whatever triggers the release of these chemicals. Infidelity/pornography/adultery/masturbation etc. etc. chemically impairs the ability to form pair bonds -

Pornography - Liahona May 2005

"Pornography impairs one’s ability to enjoy a normal emotional, romantic, and spiritual relationship with a person of the opposite sex"

The above goes not only for pornography, but in any activity that releases chemicals like vasopressin and oxytocin with someone/something other than your spouse. So yes, chastity issues are physically destructive to yourself, to your family, and to your ability to correctly interact with everyone around you.

That said, I think the LDS church tends to encourage married couples to be very sexually active within marriage - with your spouse. Pair bonds are healthy (non-pair bonds are not healthy). One of the best ways to combat the temptations that assault us at work/media/school etc. etc. is to get married, and have a healthy sexual relationship with your spouse. Our bodes are designed for intimacy - those instincts are going to be there, so it's best to satisfy them in a wholesome, loving way. Sex within marriage is a wonderful thing to form healthy strong pair bonds, and create a close family unit.

- It's kind of like food, our bodies need food (our bodies seem to need sex too) so, do you eat unhealthy food and polute your body? do you try and fast/go without food? or do you eat healthy food? Same goes for sex - our bodes seem to need it - but we don't need junk-sex, or no sex (see issues with Catholic priests as an example of issues which happen to those who try to go without), what everyone needs is just good, healthy, monogamous, sex within marriage.

I understand your point but I take a little issue with the idea that oxytocin and vasopressin are toxic or destructive in nature. (I have a degree in neuroanatomy) I agree that those might be common pathways used in the reinforcing feedback that comes from sexual activity and have direct effect on sexual function but to say that they in and of themselves are physically destructive is not true and has not been shown scientifically. In fact, if anything married couples have more sex on average than those that are not married. So, I don't see how that, in and of itself, could be destructive, or like heroin etc.

Like you are suggesting towards the end of your post, it is the "activity that releases chemicals" (probably not vasopressin or oxytocin but before that step) that results in a change in primitive drives of the hypothalamus that causes the dependency like reaction. It comes from the "hard wiring" effect on those systems with those kinds of repeated exposures. The idea is right, there is a physical effect. I think though those two chemicals are part of the final common pathway for the functions associated with sexual drives and not the actual neuroanatomy of sexual drive. The premise is right though.

Even with drugs like heroin etc. it is not the chemical itself that is the problem physically (unless overdosed or withdrawing from it) it is the neuroanatomy, the neuronal "hard wiring" effect over time that causes problems, changing the balance of normal function that leads to a "need" for more of the same chemical. In other words, the brain changes its "set points" of these normally existing chemicals over time with a counterbalance in inhibitory or excitatory inputs, whatever the case may be. Then there is a drive to maintain that balance, to keep sexual arousal going or to keep the heroin going etc. It doesn't "physically destroy", it changes the amount and the focus of the carnal, primitive drives. If one reacts to those drives in a wrong way, that can be destructive physically such as overdosing or engaging in deviant behaviors etc.

... just defending the married couples who are more sexually active than singles as a whole. :)

[ryanh]

Lest this thread derail completely without directly answering the basic questions asked . . .

So basically my question is this: does the LDS church still teach that: masturbation, fornication, and adultery is bad?

Absolutely.

And does the LDS church make a point of communicating that to people in a clear way enough times to where people see it as an integral part of mormon life?

Yes. Rarely is there a semi-annual general conference where the church leadership does not touch upon moral purity at least a couple times. It is included in standard Sunday school lesson plans, and an integral part of teachings for our youth.