Becoming one flesh In all things… Teaching principles of healthy spiritual sexuality to my college friends

The following is an assignment I had to To do for one of my Religion classes. I thought I would share not only for future posterity, but also because I have a desire to normalize talking about these things, it’s pretty vulnerable. Want to share but I hope you enjoy.

Also I am by no means of expert in any of this

Religion 200 “ Eternal Families” 

Section 025 tymansfeild 

Sexual Intimacy FHE

I held my discussion on sexual intimacy with six people: my friends Grant, Abraham, Aspen, Carmen, and Carmen’s roommates. Originally, I wasn’t planning to do this extra credit assignment because I feel like sexual intimacy is a topic I discuss with people all the time, and I wasn’t sure how to summarize it. However, after reviewing the online template, I found it very helpful. One of the key points it emphasized was teaching doctrine and using and teaching by the Spirit.

To start our FHE (Family Home Evening), we began with a prayer( to invite the spirit )  My friend Abraham offered a very insightful prayer, expressing gratitude for me and excitement to learn more. He asked for the Spirit’s guidance to help us learn how to become more like God and exercise faith in Him. Throughout the discussion, I felt like we achieved this goal.

Then to introduce doctrine we read  Doctrine and Covenants 49:16:
"Wherefore, it is lawful that he should have one wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation."

I chose this scripture because it was suggested in the online learning template, and I felt it covered three main messages I wanted to discuss:

1. Sexual relations and intimacy should be between one man and one woman.
   This principle helped us address issues such as the importance of chastity and the dangers of masturbation and pornography.
2. Becoming "one flesh" with your spouse.
   We discussed how this involves becoming spiritually, mentally, and physically united with your spouse, as well as with God. This led to a conversation about actions we can take to strengthen our spirituality before, during, and after sexual intimacy. Aslo we talked about how the law of chastity is an office of stewardship 
3. Fulfilling the ends of creation.
   This idea opened a discussion about the purposes of sexuality and sexual intimacy, including multiplying, replenishing the earth, finding joy, and fulfilling the divine purpose of uniting two souls and bringing new life into the world.

Something we also really enjoyed discussing was the idea of the law of consecration as a governing principle under which sexuality operates. We talked about how sexuality is a stewardship. Once I explained this concept, the Spirit taught me that the reason we have the law of chastity is because God has entrusted us with a sacred stewardship. A stewardship is something God is ultimately responsible for but allows us to take part in. In this case, it is the responsibility of creating life. Of course, He would provide guiding principles to help us fulfill this responsibility in alignment with His divine will. He allows us to act as stewards over the sacred and important duty of creating life, an office that carries both great responsibility and profound spiritual significance.

Overall, this FHE taught me a lot. I came to better understand the significance of the statement that sexuality is spiritual. That’s what I’d like to focus on for the rest of this reflection.

Halfway through, I asked the group, “What ways can we increase our spiritual understanding of another person?” We discussed scripture study and prayer. I then shared a list of ideas to increase spiritual intimacy within a marriage.

The first suggestion was to engage in deep, personal scripture study about sexual intimacy and the sealing covenant before engaging in sexual activity.

 The second idea was to have a deep, personal prayer where one spouse asks to see their partner as God sees them—through a celestial lens. Following this, couples could pray together while unclothed, staying attuned to God.

When I first mentioned the last idea, there was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. One guy asked, “Did you actually just say that?” But then he paused and added, 

“You know, the world has tried so hard to separate sex from sanctity when, in reality, they are the same thing. Sex is sacred, so we should include God in it.”

This sparked a deep discussion about how, if sex is truly a divine gift, we should invite God into every aspect of it. 

I particularly loved the idea of praying naked with your spouse. 

While it might feel unnatural or out of this world, it aligns with the truth that sex isn’t dirty; it’s beautiful. We can’t fully include God in this aspect of our lives if we aren’t willing to be vulnerable—both spiritually and physically—with Him and with our eternal companion.

Ultimately, this lesson taught me that sacred doesn’t mean secret—it means being in a relationship with God. Afterward, I invited the group to read the For the Strength of Youth section on “Lawe and Chastity.” That was one of my favorite parts of the outline: it encouraged us to take action.

I definitely plan to have conversations like this with my future children.

fhe outline 

prayer : abraham 

Ask them what they think the law of chastity is 

Doctrine and Covenants 49:16

Doctrine and Covenants

16 Wherefore, it is lawful that he should have one wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation;

Teach the doctrine

• Man and woman 
• Pornography and mastribuation is selfish and not between two people 
• One flesh ( spiritually, mentally and physically ) 
• Become one flesh even with God– scripture study before hand and personal and couple prayers so you can see them as God sees them 
• Answer the end of its creation ( to multiply and replenish, find joy, and full the measure of its creation ) 
• Ways to talk about sexualtiy standards with your partner before 

Invitation- read for the strength of youth

question : how can we practise talking about sexuality with our S/o and others? 

FHE 

• Talk about the purposes of sex 
• It's not just about fulfilling the pleasure 
• Gain a testimony of the Law of Chasity of what it is 
• For your self 
•