The Mormon religion is very strict about chastity.  Mormons believe that the power to have children is a sacred one that should not be abused or misused.  As they believe that procreation brings new spirits into the world, which is a wonderful and important thing in Mormon doctrine, they feel very strongly that these spirits should be brought into the world loving and wanted, in homes that strive to be stable.

Mormons are therefore very strict about following the Lord’s commandments about sexual relations and marriage.  Mormon marriages take place in a Mormon temple (sacred buildings) and are considered eternal.  Adultery and fornication (sex before marriage) can potentially lose a Mormon his or her membership in the Church.  These are seen as misuses of the sacred power of procreation and sins only below murder and denying the Holy Ghost in seriousness.  This is the law of chastity – remain faithful to your spouse and do not seek out sexual experiences before marriage, or, after marriage, with someone other than your spouse.

Mormons also see families as essential and extremely important – and to break the law of chastity can very well be to break an existing family or put great tensions on one that will exist.

From a young age, children in Mormon families are taught that their bodies are sacred gifts from God.  They are taught to respect their bodies, to treat them well, to be careful about what they do with their bodies and why.  But they are also taught that the body’s happiness, so to speak, shouldn’t come before the spiritual happiness.  What might feel good for a moment can have consequences that last far beyond a moment.

Obeying the law of chastity also means not doing anything to arouse the powerful emotions that are only to be expressed in marriage. The youth of the Mormon Church are taught to remember that careless or impulsive actions in dating can have those lasting consequences.  They’re taught to avoid any actions that will arouse the powerful sexual emotions in themselves or in another person.  For example, these young men and women are taught to avoiding passionate kissing, lying on top of another person, and touching the private, sacred parts of another person’s body.  These acts can lead quickly to breaking the law of chastity – and can break the law of chastity in themselves.  And to focus on the body in a relationship can be to poison the relationship from the beginning – the focus on lust instead of on growing together as friends and potential partners.

Mormons believe that Satan wants men and women to break the law of chastity, that he wants them to not only have the more difficulty returning to God, but to be miserable in this life.  The media is full of images of beautiful people who seem to see their bodies as tools to get what they want, who exploit themselves and are exploited.  An obsession with the body as body, with sex and physical intimacy, can reduce us to bodies, to wanting one gratification after another . . . increasingly empty.  Mormons dress modestly, covering most of their body – not because they hate the body, but out of respect for it.

Breaking the law of chastity brings severe unhappiness and is difficult to repent of. But repentance is possible – forgiveness is possible.  For those who commit sexual sins, as with all other sins, Jesus Christ has atoned and will heal.  A Mormon who wants to repent of a sexual sin must also confess to a priesthood authority like a bishop.

It is important to note that, in Mormon belief, those who were raped or sexually abused are not guilty of breaking the law of chastity.