I've been reading a lot on this board about masterbation and addiction to porn and it's detrimental effects on young men because it is so discouraged. What is the reason behind this...is it biblical? Suppressing the 'urge' causes more harm than good to the psyche. Makes me want to corner Monson or whoever is in charge and say, WTF...don't you see what this is doing!? Thanks in advance :).



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2012 09:25PM by hope.

It's about control. These people believe they can tell other people what they can or can't do with their own bodies.

I often wondered what the scriptural baisis for this belief was, and it's not really anywhere. Bruce R. McConkie, a deceased Mormon apostle, explained this with reference to the story of Onan in Genesis in his book Mormon Doctrine. But Onan's situation was somewhat different, because he was expected to raise up seed to his brother's wife etc.

But that doesn't really matter in the Mormon mindset. Mormons consider their first presidency and quorum of the twelve to be "prophets, seers and revelators." What the current leaders say is generally considered to trump anything in scripture.

Probably as a reaction to the counter culture and sexual liberation, the LDS church sought agressively to fight the change in society rather than adapt to it. The 1990 version of the phamphlet "For the Strength of the Youth" probably played a bigger role in the religous rules of the road for youth of my era than any scriptures. It was explicit: "The Lord Specifically forbids certain behaviors, inlucing all sexual relations before marriage, petting, sex perversion (such as homosexuality, rape and incest), masturbation, or preoccupation with sex in thought, speech, or action..."

Coitus interruptus was the case that they gave him.

I see Very Little productive in Porn, I think for too many it's a form of enslavement; it's demeaning to women & exploits the actors.

M 'may be' useful when (often?) sexuality isn't compatible, or when one doesn't have a partner; but it also has the aspect of being a substitute for healthy sexuality.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2012 10:15PM by guynoirprivateeye.

I agree on porn. What i've watched is lacking in quality, 99.9% distasteful, and, IMO, a turnoff, but 'M' - yes, sexually healthy. It's a must for me, no partner.

A couple of points:

Perhaps prostitutes think porn is safer than the regular 'market'.

And maybe quite a few making porn actually are couples(!)

Those women that don't perform well in any work situation (including porn) won't last in it.
I am quite sure if the reason for taking a regular job was only money to for instance support drug addiction (or because they had been taught that because of child abuse done to them when they grew up for instance) they would not be particularly happy in any regular job either.

The more people that watch porn, and the more porn there is on the market, the less social stigma against it there would be. And also, much of the social stigma against it is because of the traditional family ideal, which is on the decline in the west at least and probably should be globally before the world population grows above say 20 billion.

If the world had regular jobs to everyone, the unpleasantness of having to be in the sex market, would more easily be avoided.

Furthermore, if sexual abuse of children, didn't exist, fewer would find it natural to play in it as adults.

And lastly, if drugs either were easily to get and legal, or the fight against it were more efficient (international cooperation, and not least other jobs available for the producers of it), then fewer will participate.

(The muslim way of solution to this problem, polygamy and strict laws against it, isn't a real and complete solution that most of us want, probably...)

I can assure you that my porn is NOT demeaning to women.


**wink**

I like to visit the webcam sites where you can chat with the women and even get a peek for free sometimes. It doesn't look to me like anyone is forcing them to be there. In fact, the ones I've chatted with do it because they like it. It fulfills their sexual needs while providing an income. Some use webcamming as their sole source of income. I just wish I had more money to give the women I chat with/look at. They are fulfilling a need/desire of mine and deserve to be paid.

hope Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've been reading a lot on this board about
> masterbation and addiction to porn and it's
> detrimental effects on young men because it is so
> discouraged. What is the reason behind this...is
> it biblical?
...

I suppose that the current Christian viewpoint is somehow
related to St. Paul's reluctant, luke-warm endorsement
of marriage, as found in his epistles.

For centuries marriage was looked upon with suspicion by
the Christian Church, as a lesser level of righteousness
than celibacy.

That early bias has slowly abated, but it has left in
its wake the ideal of "chastity, poverty and obedience"
(the life of prayer of the religious orders) as being
a holier life than the "carnal" world of human sexuality.

Once marriage was resentfully admitted as a sanctioned
lifestyle in the Church, then the vow of chastity became
a vow of faithfulness to a spouse.

My guess is that (at its base level, doctrinally speaking)
masturbation is seen as a breaking of the marriage vow.

How that relates to unmarried persons, or to married persons
whose marriage partners do not object to masturbation, I
cannot fathom.

But, if you wish to be as "holy" as a monk or a nun (as
a monk or nun is supposed to be, that is) then perhaps it
makes some sense to some people.

UD

There is nothing right about lifetime celibacy, but temporary periods of abstinence during one's life are a personal choice.

Abstinence while a partner is ill, when a young single person wants to "save him/herself for marriage or a special relationship, etc. are perfectly acceptable. But it's PERSONAL. Religious leaders should keep their snoopy noses out of people's personal business!

Masturbation is personal and one's business. You're basically having sex with yourself. Why would anyone care escept to used that to make guilt and control.

My best advise, use a good lubrication. Friction is the enemy when it comes to masturbation.

Lube: it's not just for the dudes anymore.

I've read those very confusing admonitions to the young men. If a person is supposed to talk to a leader about something they are not supposed to think or talk about, how does one talk about it, (the "M" thing), in order to resolve the problem of it, which can't because it only makes it worse, because thinking about not thinking about it, makes you want to do it.

Overall, it is healthy per many medical practitioners. It also can help a person with their lover. You become familiar with your own body and, if you are open with your lover, you can help them know what to do to please you and vise versa.

When they can't talk about it, they send their sons and $49,500 to Oxbow Academy, where they use a 'therapeutic polygraph' to find out everything about your son's life.

Then six months later, they send you a porn/masturbation free kid back...

http://oxbowacademy.net

(I believe the church is somehow connected to Oxbow, but I can't lay my finger on it, right now.)

Victorian England came up with the idea that circumcision would stop masturbation....didn't work...

Anytime you see Mormon leadership harp on anything, it's a good indication that they themselves are struggling with that very "problem".

Projection,anyone?

Ergo, our top morg leaders are masturbators and porn watchers.

You sell the idea that people have a problem and then sell them the idea that you have the solution.

Hence, you guilt people over jerking it, and then tell them that only through your church can they be forgiven.

Also, there's a 10% membership fee.

Maybe if Joseph Smith masturbated there would a lot less troubling Mormon history.

Why do you think he wasn't given the plates the first time?

The problem with not masterbating for men at least, is that after about 30 days there is a build-up that comes out in an explosive wet dream..... what a mess to clean up in our bed..
Much "cleaner" to prevent it... use some common sense, have a controlled release... easy clean-up then keep our mouth shut..
it's no bodies business...

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm still clueless, which means there is no real answer and only wish that this 'policy' (amongst many others) was not in place so that, if you choose or not choose to be Mormon, you don't grow up with a guilt complex! Breaks my heart to see people hurting.

There is no evidence that it causes hair to grow on the palms.

There is no evidence that it will cause blindness, although use of viagra might.

There is no evidence that it will cause kittens to die.

BUT if a young man has orange genitals, it is a good indication that he was watching porn while eating cheetos.

Swing at the easy pitches.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2012 10:51AM by Beth.

1. Grasp.
2. Shake.
3. Repeat.
4. Clean-up.
5. Nap.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2012 02:07PM by jaredsotherbrother.

I just read the link on the thread of "TSCC restricts sexual practices," so I basically get the 'gist' of it. Control, control, control....ugh. I've seen and heard enough.

a great 'how-to' video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tj6AskAO9s

According to current Mormon mythology:

God's greatest power is to create human life. He is sharing that power with us - it is a sacred trust and huge responsibility. To misuse it in any way is greatly offensive to God because of the trust He gives us to use such a great power.

The purpose of sex is to create life within marriage and to bond a husband and wife together. It is good if used within that context but misused in any other way. Even within marriage it must be controlled and appropriate.

To masturbate is to miss use a very sacred trust and power and thus a grave sin.

I think the reason the leaders view it as a sin is because they need there to be a lot of sins. If people aren't sinners, there wouldn't be need for churches and bishops to forgive you of your sins. If you commit any of the sins, you automatically feel guilty and need to repent or you're going to hell. It's so easy to sin that there is no possible way to stop sinning so you'll always need your bishop to forgive you. So why not pick something that most if not all young men do naturally and call it a sin? It's another one of those brain washing techniques that they use on the youth to keep them entrenched in the church. I had a buddy who masturbated and was proud of it. One time he told me the bishop asked him if he had problems with masturbation and his answer was, "nope bishop, I'm actually pretty good at it so I have no problems getting the job done." Wish I had that kid's courage when I was younger!

That biblically masturbation was bad because people thought that the man literally planted the seed of a baby into a woman. If man spilled his "seed" on the ground (or wherever), the "seed" could not grow as God instructed. That was the sin. I wonder what they thought about women masturbating back then. I'm sure once they figured that out, it became the controlling of human sexuality.