Reaching Heavenward

Physical Intimacy

In The Family: A Proclamation to the World, it states, “God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.” God created us to have powerful and arousing emotions so that we could express love in the most beautiful and intimate way with someone we truly love within our marriages. What a beautiful thing.

I believe that physical intimacy was created for two main purposes.

1. Becoming one as husband and wife.
2. Bring children into this world.

First, becoming “one” as husband and wife is not only just in a physical aspect but in an emotional aspect as well. We learn from Elder Jefferey R. Holland a member of twelve apostles, from his speech “Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments” that intimacy involves the soul of a person. The soul is the body and the spirit as one. That’s why it is so dangerous to sleep around with a bunch of people before getting married because you are toying with someone’s soul. Sex is a way that we physically and emotionally connect with someone on a deep personal level. Wouldn’t we want to share that part of our self with someone we want to be together with forever.

Like I said earlier intimacy is such a beautiful and sacred experience. For it to really be an expression of love there has to be a total commitment between you and your spouse. In tv and movies today, sex is portrayed in a way that is over sexualized and easy, when in reality it takes far more than just that. Love takes patience, trust, kindness, communication, practice, selflessness, emotions, and so much more. There has to be openness about it to make it work. Brent A. Barlow said, “To be able to know each other physically, couples need to talk together about the physical dimensions of their relationship. Partners who feel free to discuss finances, discipline, recreational activities, and so forth, often feel uncomfortable discussing this intimate subject. And they sometimes assume that their intimate relationship should just “naturally” work out and that to discuss it means something has gone wrong. This is simply not true. While these intimacies, because of their sacred nature, should not be discussed with friends or other relatives, it is totally appropriate to discuss them with a marriage partner.”

Second, bring children into this world. We have been given a divine gift from God. We have the power to create life here on earth. Essentially, we have been given a God-like power to procreate with our spouse to bring children into our family. Have you ever stopped to really think about that? We can create something so beautiful that it’s a gift straight from heaven.

Physical intimacy is something that is sacred because it is something that is only shared with you, your spouse and God.