If you really want to help your readers who struggle with the guilt they feel over masturbation, tell them that they need feel no more guilty about it than they do about breathing.Masturbation is as natural an act as is breathing.
It is no more wicked then breathing.
One does not need to repent of masturbation anymore than one needs to repent of breathing.
When you come down to it, the church leaders who have so ruthlessly imposed this guilt upon so many members are just men, almost all of who have been and perhaps still are masturbators themselves.
People just masturbate. It is not wicked, it is not evil, it does not need to be repented of. It is wrong of church leaders, branch presidents, mission presidents and bishops conducting personal interviews to pry or bring up the subject at all.
It kind of reminds me of what was my last personal interview, when I was serving as Elder’s Quorum President.
A man from the stake presidency came down from “The Hill” and called me in for the obligatory interview.
At a certain point, he asked, “do you have any problems with masturbation?”
“No,” I answered. “I have no problems with masturbation.”
He sat back in his chair, relaxed, let out a slow breath and said, “good! That’s the kind of man we want as Elders Quorum President!”
He also asked about the “nature” of my sexual relationship with my wife. Was it “wholesome.”
None of this was any of his business. I never submitted to such an interview again.
I just want to clarify that the official church position does not support masturbation as an “OK” practice (especially solo and even more so if married and without spousal knowledge). Now we all have the right to agree or disagree with this stance. I have spoken about my opinion on this subject on several previous occasions: Are you calling masturbation wrong behavior? and I’m confused about masturbation… among others.
I think you’re being a bit harsh on your priesthood leader. It sounds like he tried to keep his questions somewhat generic – without getting into specific details (which is the counsel they are given). Whether we like it or not, as part of our governing system in our church of having a lay leadership, certain priesthood leaders have the responsibility under their mantle to ask us about our adherence to the law of chastity. We are expected in our religion to be held accountable at some level for our sexual practices. Some of the language used may differ as to how we are approached. Hopefully we can show patience towards our leaders as part of a sometimes awkward or difficult process of questioning. After all, the purpose of this questioning is to help us become more spiritually attuned and continue the forward movement of our personal progression. I would hope that if we are uncomfortable with how things are stated or asked, that we may muster up the courage and honesty to address our leaders directly and share our concerns. And whether or not your leaders have or have not masturbated themselves has nothing to do with your personal progression.
The following two articles offer some interesting insights on masturbation. You will notice that even the article that focuses on the medical research of masturbation falling under the “normal” range of human behavior, brings up relational/emotional issues that can come up due to masturbatory practices.
Medical Issues on Masturbation
The Mormon Therapist
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