Week 11: Fidelity and Physical Intimacy

Can you imagine standing before God at the judgement bar? He will ask us if we've fulfilled our stewardships in mortality. I have to admit, I've never pictured Him saying, "So, Misty? How was your sex life on earth? Did you fulfill your sexual stewardship with your husband?"

In Fulfilling the Sexual Stewardship in Marriage, Sean Brotherson compares intimacy between a husband and wife with the temple:

“In our spiritual lives, we are counseled to return to the temple often after we have received our personal temple blessings to give of ourselves in service to others and be reminded of the great and powerful meanings of the standards that we have committed ourselves to live. Likewise, in our marital lives, a frequent return as a couple to the union of sexual intimacy makes it possible to give of ourselves in service to each other and be reminded of the commitment we have made to unity and fidelity and love to our marital companion.”

What a different perspective it provides, viewing our physical relationship with our spouse as something pure as the temple. As I read the above quote, a few parallels between the temple and intimacy popped out at me. First, the temple is a holy and sacred place, and we have to have a recommend to be admitted. Likewise, the sexual relationship between legally wedded husband and wife is also holy and sacred – and the marriage ceremony is the recommend to enter. We also have to come away from the world to participate in both (hopefully). Going to the temple brings us closer to our Father in Heaven, and though I can’t say I’ve believed this before now, that physical relationship brings us closer together as husband and wife, which hopefully brings us closer to God as well.

It’s really tough viewing sex this way, something akin to the purity of the temple, because the world has made such a mess out of it. Even the word ‘sex’ feels dirty because of how it’s been twisted by the adversary. It saddens me that most of the world doesn’t see that relationship as something sacred and special. I personally don’t understand how anyone could make themselves that vulnerable with someone they didn’t absolutely know and trust.

On the other hand, I feel that perhaps we only assume that majority of the world devalues this relationship. We base our opinion of the world’s views mostly on what we see and hear through the media. This is erroneous, because we all know that what is presented in the media has nothing to do with reality! But by flooding us with depictions of immodest and immoral behavior, and presenting those behaviors as generally acceptable, Satan creates a mirage of reality, preventing us from seeing things as they really are. I would bet that if asked, a good portion of people in the world would say that they personally regard the sexual relationship as something important and perhaps even special.