People tend to take this philosophy and use it to justify any and all impulsive, sensual behavior. However, because of the truths I've learned as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I believe that we only live forever once (so.... YOLFO, I guess).
Why is this an important distinction?
Does this imply that we have an unlimited amount of time to "get it right"?
If so, what incentive is there for working so hard to avoid mistakes that often appear to be so pleasurable?
I specifically have sexual purity on my mind today. Why do I want to save physical intimacy for marriage?
Thesis: Because God's work and glory is to bring to pass the "immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39) through the family unit, the true joy that can be experienced through physical intimacy can only be experienced when we exercise this gift in harmony with God's purpose.
It is essential to understand our purpose if we are to understand the purpose of physical intimacy.
Our ability to create life is truly a gift and great responsibility given to us from God. To have a body capable of procreation is a miraculous ability that comes after and increases intimacy between two people. Intimacy and sex are not the same thing. Charles, a single, 28 year-old man, is used to exemplify this in Lauer's "Marriage and Family". Charles was living up his single, promiscuous lifestyle when he realized this and tried to change:
"I'm in a kind of limbo right now. I have dated some women, and I am starting to develop a relationship with one that I think may lead to what I need. In any case, I know that I can't let sex be a deterrent to intimacy anymore. I know what I need. And I know that I can't get it in a one-night stand."Physical intimacy is the ultimate "physical touch" (see RAM post). It is the ultimate physical commitment to someone. Then why should it proceed the promise to be with someone for life and for eternity? Commitment and self-control are lacking in pre-marital sex. God cannot bless us with divine joy under such conditions. We deny ourselves of joy, contentment, peace, and satisfaction when we refuse to deny ourselves of this "pleasure" prematurely.
This, I believe, is the difference between physical intimacy outside of marriage and within marriage: pleasure vs. joy
President Spencer W. Kimball, the 12th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, further explained the organization and purpose of marriage saying, “The Lord organized the whole program in the beginning with a father who procreates, provides, and loves and directs, and a mother who conceives and bears and nurtures and feeds and trains. The Lord could have organized it otherwise but chose to have a unit with responsibility and purposeful associations.”
Men and Women were designed to work together from the beginning. Our work is based on the Lord's plan for the family-- His plan for our happiness and salvation. In uniting ourselves with that perfect plan, we come to understand the sanctity of our procreative powers as well as the joy that those powers bring when they are used appropriately.
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