Parents can feel very overwhelmed when they think of speaking openly with their children about sexual intimacy. However, as children grow up their curiosity, relationships, media exposure, and biologic drives are bound to increase. As parents, it is your divine responsibility to teach your children about these topics as it states in the Doctrine and Covenants:

“You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments; and that wicked one hath power, as yet, over you, and this is the cause of your affliction” (D&C 93:42).

A video series from the Mormon Channel called “Family Conversations” explains why parents need to do this, as well as how to get over the discomfort that can come with preparing to have these discussions with their children.

Parents need to take the opportunity to talk with their children and answer questions about sexuality. The world is offering a distorted, incorrect view of this beautiful, God-given experience. Elder M. Russell Ballard said it this way:

“Too many of our young men and women are succumbing to the pressures imposed by a world saturated with evil messages and immoral behavior. Lucifer is waging a vicious war for the souls of young and old alike, and the casualty count is climbing. The standards of the world have shifted like the sands of a windblown desert. That which was once unheard of or unacceptable is now commonplace. The world’s perspective has been so dramatically altered that those who choose to adhere to traditional standards of morality are viewed as strange, almost as though they must justify their desire to keep the commandments of God” (“Like a Flame Unquenchable,” April 1999 general conference).

Kevin Theriot of LDS Family Services states: “The home is most often the ideal environment for children to be taught morality. In many cases it may be the initial and principle teacher of moral values throughout the child’s lifetime.”

Along with the videos, parents can access a newly designed family home evening lesson outline that helps them navigate how to talk about this topic with their children.

“Your ability to have these discussions with your children will have a long-lasting effect on their lives,” the lesson states. “Help your children recognize that much of what the world teaches about sex is incorrect and that Father in Heaven has given them these powerful feelings to bring them unity and joy in their marriage.”