Sexual Purity
...our thoughts just enough that it makes us think that it’s okay to break the commandments that are bound with those gifts. Satan may tempt us to rationalize or justify that sexual intimacy is okay before marriage. This is far from being true. In God’s sight, sexual sins are extremely serious because it defiles the power God has given us to create new life. by President Ezra Taft Benson (New Era) Do not be misled by Satan’s lies. There is no lasting happiness in immorality. There is no joy to be found in breaking the law of chastity. Just the opposite is true. There may be momentary pleasure. For a time it may seem like everything is wonderful. But quickly the relationship will sour. Guilt and shame set in. We become fearful that our sins will be discovered. We must sneak and hide, lie and cheat. Love begins to die. Bitterness, jealousy, anger, and even hate begin to grow. All of these are the natural results of sin and transgression. On the other hand, when we obey the law of chastity and keep ourselves morally clean, we will experience the blessings of increased love and peace, greater trust and respect for our marital partners, deeper commitment to each other, and therefore a deep and significant sense of joy and happiness. In ALMA 39:5,it reads. Alma teaches that sexual sins are more serious than any other sins except for murder or denying the Holy Ghost. It is a power that we shouldn’t take lightly Many youth of today are getting caught up in their temporal lives here on earth and have forgotten the real reason we are here. It is very easy to give-in to temporal desires. The temporal world/Satan would like us to believe that it is okay to dress in a way that causes impure thoughts, or to talk to the opposite sex in an improper sexually way. These are things that we experience every day, whether at movie, or on TV or on the radio. Once these thoughts and feelings get into our heads, it is difficult to get them out. Sheldon F. Child, “Words of Jesus: Chastity,” Ensign, Jan. 2003, 44 Everything, even our eternal destiny, begins with a thought. Pure thoughts lead to pure acts, pure acts lead to pure habits, pure habits lead to pure character, and pure character leads to eternal life. 1 Thoughts may seem like little things, but in reality they are crucial to our eternal salvation. Lofty thoughts lead us into light and to the Savior. Evil thoughts lead us into darkness, along the path that Satan would have us go. These truths form the central theme of the Savior’s teachings on chastity and moral cleanliness. He said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). The pure in heart are those who love the Lord, who seek to follow Him and keep His commandments, who are striving to live virtuous lives and endure faithfully to the end. The pure in heart are those who control their thoughts to keep themselves free from immoral fantasies and deeds…. Satan is out to destroy us, and he knows that it can all begin with a simple thought. He will use every method and medium to rob us of that greatest of all gifts—eternal life. It is so very important to keep our minds sweet and pure—to read books that edify, listen to music that uplifts, and treasure up in our minds those things that will lead us to Christ. As the Savior explained, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). By treasuring that which is pure and uplifting, our thoughts and our hearts become pure. Testify When we obey God’s commandment to be sexually pure, we prepare ourselves to build a strong marriage and to bring children into this world as part of a loving family. We protect ourselves from the emotional damage that ALWAYS comes from sharing physical intimacies with someone outside of marriage. The Lord has provided a lot of help for the youth to be able to better prepare themselves to be able to keep their lives and their marriages pure and happy. He has given us scriptures, Council of Modern day prophets, bishops, and...