Sex-spread disease and the Law of Chastity

In Provo, Utah's Daily Herald of Friday 18 November 2011, we read on page A6 in full:

Cases of some common sexually spread diseases continue to increase in the United States, but the syphilis rate dropped last year for the first time in a decade.

Health officials on Thursday released their annual report on sexually transmitted disease, and found chlamydia and gonorrhea rates continued to grow last year.

More than 1.3 million cases of chlamydia were reported last year - the largest number ever reported in one year for any condition.  The number of new gonorrhea cases surpassed 300,000.

Bluntly Stated

When will the people learn that the Law of Chastity is put in force by God for a reason?  Thus saith the Lord, "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14).  I like the words of President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  He bluntly stated, "We are free to ignore the counsels and commandments of the scriptures, but when the revelations speak in such blunt terms, such as 'thou shalt not,' we had better pay attention" (Boyd K. Packer, "The Fountain of Life", Eternal Marriage Student Manual).  The Savior stated succinctly, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matt. 5:27-28).  How can it be stated more plainly than that?

Lastly, the Prophet Alma stated, 

Know ye not, my son, that these things are 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? . . . But behold, ye cannot hide your crimes from God; and except ye repent they will stand as a testimony against you at the last day.  Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but cross yourself in all these things; for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God (Alma 39:5, 8-9).

"Hope Which Thou Desirest"

For those who have fallen into the snare of premarital or extramarital relations, there is hope.  The Redeemer saith, "Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me" (3 Nephi 9:14).  Also in another place He urgeth, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30).

I know the Son of God's mercy covereth the whole Earth, and he who cries out to God in sincerity will be answered by a most benevolent God.  I know the Savior is real, and the laws He proclaims through His servant the Prophets - whether ancient or modern - are immutable.  I know if they are followed happiness will also, and in no other way.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mormon Theology no. 28 - The Law of Chastity

Mormons neither drink coffee, tea, smoke tobacco (or anything else, for that matter), nor do drugs.  The starkest contrast, in my opinion, between Mormons and the rest of the Gentile world is that Mormons are told not to have sex before marriage, and to be completely faithful after marriage.  What is the basis for the Law of Chastity, and what does it entail?

The Lord told Moses in simplicity, "Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Ex. 20:14)"  The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith a similar command, when he said, "Thou shalt . . .  not . . . commit adultery, nor do anything like unto it. (D&C 59:6)"  Alma the Younger gave us the reason why.  He taught his wayward son Corianton, "Know ye not, my son, that these things are 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)"

As we have heretofore enunciated the tenants of this doctrine as to what it is, we will now answer the question:  why be morally clean?

The Case for Sexual Morality
The Lord told the ancient Israelites in the simplest of terms, "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. (Lev. 19:2)"

That seems simple enough to reason with any man.  David expounds slightly on why we should be holy, namely because "Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever. (Ps. 93:5)"  Only the Latter-day Saints understand the true purposes of the House of the Lord, and as David says, it is used to make men holy.  Since no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God, this uncleanliness the Lord speaks of must include sexual immorality; and that sexual immorality must be purged from within us.

What Rests Under the Sexual Immorality Title?
King Benjamen taught that almost everything we do could lead to sexual immorality, and that we must be ever watchful so as to not be ensnared thereby.  He taught, "But this much I can tell you, that if ye do no watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not. (Mosiah 4:30, emphasis added)"  President David O. McKay remarked, "The kind of life you live, your disposition, your very nature, will be determined by your thoughts, of which your acts are but the outward expression. Thought is the seed of action. (Treasures of Life, comp. Clare Middlemiss (1962), p. 200)"

Also included within sexual immorality is pornography.  Said President Gordon B. Hinckley,

Sin it is. It is devilish. It is totally inconsistent with the spirit of the gospel, with personal testimony of the things of God, and with the life of one who has been ordained to the holy priesthood. . . . all who are involved become victims. Children are exploited, and their lives are severely damaged. The minds of youth become warped with false concepts. Continued exposure leads to addiction that is almost impossible to break. Men, so very many, find they cannot leave it alone. Their energies and their interests are consumed in their dead-end pursuit of this raw and sleazy fare. . . . It leads to fantasies that are destructive of self-respect. It leads to illicit relationships, often to disease, and to abusive criminal activity. ("A Tragic Evil Among Us", November 2004 Liahona)

I know that if we as a nation are sexually pure, faithful entirely to our spouses, and chaste in thought and deed, the Spirit of the Lord will be with us more; the nations of the earth would prosper, both temporally and spiritually; crime would diminish; and love of God and of man will increase and peace reign supreme.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen!