Second to Murder

On the way to Idaho, Tara and I talked about other religious subjects besides heaven. We also addressed how we were both taught in seminary that sex between unmarried people was a sin that was so bad it was second only to murder.

This seems so bizarre to us now that neither of us were 100% sure we were remembering correctly, and if we were remembering correctly, if it was actually doctrine. To dispel the mystery, I looked it up today. Here's what I found:

"Why is this matter of sexual relationships so severe that fire is almost always the metaphor, with passion pictured vividly in flames? What is there in all of this that prompts Alma to warn his son Corianton that sexual transgression is 'an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost'? (Alma 39:5)."
-Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, "Personal Purity," New Era, Feb. 2000, page 4
(Alma is a Mormon prophet in the Book of Mormon. The New Era is an LDS magazine for teenagers.)

This principle is not just doctrine, it's Holy Writ. This little passage and this gigantic topic have started me thinking. When I was in seminary at age 14, this idea seemed believable. I mean, shedding innocent blood is surely the worst sin, right? And then next must be defiling God's temple (i.e. myself.) This week in particular, I have been thinking about the world's sins. I have been thinking about the British journalist who was kidnapped in Gaza and videotaped with a suicide bomb belt around his waist, informing the world that if the Israelis tried to release him with force, the belt would detonate. This is pretty terrible, but apparently as long as the belt doesn't actually detonate, and he survives physically unscathed, then two unmarried adults having consensual sex would be worse. Let's also discuss how consensual sex between unmarried people is worse than the hours of heat, the incredible thirst, the humiliation, and the danger that Palestinians endure at Israeli checkpoints. As a teenager I didn't know as much about the human capacity for cruelty. If I did, I wonder if it would have made a difference.

At the same time that sex outside of marriage is a sin second only to murder, sex within marriage is a glorious celebration of life, love, and commitment. Here is an amazing quote on the subject. It's one of the LDS prophets quoting Billy Graham in the Mormon magazine designed for adults:
President Kimball has observed: “The Bible celebrates sex and its proper use, presenting it as God-created, God-ordained, God-blessed. It makes plain that God himself implanted the physical magnetism between the sexes for two reasons: for the propagation of the human race, and for the expression of that kind of love between man and wife that makes for true oneness. His commandment to the first man and woman to be ‘one flesh’ was as important as his command to ‘be fruitful and multiply.’ ” (Quoting Billy Graham, Ensign, May 1974, p. 7.) Click here for the full article.

I somehow managed to hold these dichotomous views and surely there are other people who still do. Remembering this gives me just the tiniest bit more compassion for the legislators who routinely pass bills that do things like ban sex education from public schools. I guess the real wonder is that there are enough concerned citizens to ensure that the governor vetoes those sorts of bills. It is a wonder there is a Planned Parenthood here and I have never seen anyone protesting outside. It's a wonder I survived being a teenager!