Sexual sins next to murder II

[justaname]

I read through the other thread and thought Id start up another topic that I thought was relevant.

Do you feel that the circumstances surrounding sexual sin are taken into consideration by our Heavenly Father? Under what circumstances is forgiveness found easier?

There are so many ways that people get into trouble with this stuff, and so many ways that one can commit sexual sin. I find a hard time believing that each of these circumstances are 'next to murder'. Consider the following scenarios:

1. A young man/woman begins to masturbate and develops a bad habit. It is sexual sin, but how bad is it?

2. The engaged couple who slip up a couple of times before they talk to the bishop.

3. A man who wants as many notches on his belt as possible.

4. A woman who has no sense of self worth, except for when she is deceived by a man who gives her attention.

5. A husband or wife who cheats and keeps it from their spouse.

6. Anyone seeking a prostitute.

7. A young man/woman who has received little or no education on the gravity of the sin, or of the sin itself.

8. A divorced or widowed individual with an honorable past who makes a mistake because they long for the intimacy that comes with a relationship.

9. A horny man/woman who just wants to 'get some'.

10. A married man addicted to pornography and is no longer satisfied with viewing.

I guess thats enough. Im not attempting to excuse any of those scenarios, but some seem far worse than others. Are there factors that make these sins more excusable?

[James_Fryman]

1. A young man/woman begins to masturbate and develops a bad habit. It is sexual sin, but how bad is it?
I know from personal experence that this one is bad, its an addiction not a bad habit and your using things for stuff other than what they were intended for. There could be worse stuff but dont do it.

2. The engaged couple who slip up a couple of times before they talk to the bishop.
They arent married.

3. A man who wants as many notches on his belt as possible.
Thats just plain wrong and your taking advantage over others

4. A woman who has no sense of self worth, except for when she is deceived by a man who gives her attention.
Its still a sin.

5. A husband or wife who cheats and keeps it from their spouse.
This is worse than not being married and doing it because there breaking a solem vow with someone

6. Anyone seeking a prostitute.
why even ask?

7. A young man/woman who has received little or no education on the gravity of the sin, or of the sin itself.
Its a sin but If they dont know then they cant be punished as much, that not an excuse though

8. A divorced or widowed individual with an honorable past who makes a mistake because they long for the intimacy that comes with a relationship.
Its still a sin just try and remarry paul says to remarry if you cant contain yourself in the New Testiment

9. A horny man/woman who just wants to 'get some'.
Its a sin, That wont be an excuse on judgment day

10. A married man addicted to pornography and is no longer satisfied with viewing.
Porn is an addiction and is a sin in its self and its still not an excuse.

Pretty much everything you said up there is next to murder except for masturbation, That however will escalate to things much worse if you dont controll it, Simply the best thing to say is dont do it its still a sin.
Plus we are told to keep the commandments, not pick and choose or try but to keep them, you cant go around and say this isnt as bad as that because of some different circumstance, its still a sin no matter how you look at it.

[justaname]

Like I said, Im not trying to justify anything. I totally agree that all of them are sins. But I dont think they are equal either.

you keep referring to these situations as not being excuses on judgement day, but correct me if i'm wrong, we won't be held accountable for those sins if we repent no?

[RipplecutBuddha]

Absolutely. Each of those scenarios are sufficient to force the Spirit to withdraw from us, and as such, is a sin. The seriousness of the sin is irrelevant. Sin is sin, and just one is sufficient to keep us from the presence of our heavenly father.

When I read these threads "How serious is this sin..." I still get the sense of someone seeking to discover how close to the edge they can get before they go off the cliff. If we truly understand the gospel, we will remember that the goal is not to get as close to the edge as possible, but to stay as far away from it as possible.

Having said that, it is also important to realize that each of these scenarios are such that repentance is absolutely possible, and essential. However, in order for repentance to have full effect, regarless of the sin, one must develop a true sorrow for the act (not sorrow for being caught at it, or sorrow for the fact that it's a sin in the first place.), and a complete and sincere desire to turn away from such behavior.

These kinds of sins are very difficult to overcome, but it can be done, and great blessings are in store for those who do conquer them.

[Just_A_Guy]

you keep referring to these situations as not being excuses on judgement day, but correct me if i'm wrong, we won't be held accountable for those sins if we repent no?

Genuine repentance is incompatible with arguing "but what I did really wasn't that bad".

[annamaureen]

Sin is sin, and I don't think you can hash out in detail which sin is "worse" than another. However, I do believe that Heavenly Father knows us intimately and takes all circumstances into account.

[justaname]

I agree with what you are all saying. I like the comment about each situation being irrelevant if the person has repented. How true that is!

I dont however agree with the concept of "sin being sin". We have different levels of exaltation, and even different levels within each kingdom. Is this not related to the level of sin we commit AND to which level we have repented? Of course there are some things that are worse than others. If I drop a bad word on the golf course, am I equally as damned if I were to murder someone because they looked at me funny? According to your logic, "sin is sin" and both are equal because they both keep us from our Heavenly Father. Right? If that were true, wouldnt we just have a heaven and a hell? (Lets not get into the definition of hell. You know what Im talking about).

In all of the scenarios I listed, lets assume that none of them repented in this life. What Im trying to discuss is the concept of them all breaking the same commandment. . .the LoC. But all of them did it under different circumstances. Do the circumstances matter?

[Honor]

It seems like so often people talk about sin like it drags down our Eternal GPA. Points off for certain sins - more for some, less for others. The whole point of commandments is to condition us to live a celestial law. I don't believe any of us can figure out a scale, because none of us have the perspective to judge different scenarios. THANK GOODNESS our Heavenly Father does. The Plan of Happiness is for our happiness - not for our punnishment. I fully believe we are going to end up in whatever kingdom we are the most comfortable in. To be comfortable in the Celestial Kingdom, we need to be working toward living a Celestial Law, not counting up how many sin points, repentance exemptions, or written excuses we have so we can slip by hoping we're graded on a curve.

[hordak]

Originally Posted by justaname

. What Im trying to discuss is the concept of them all breaking the same commandment. . .the LoC. But all of them did it under different circumstances. Do the circumstances matter?

I would say yes, as evident by the fact Bishops take into account the circumstances.

Bishop Jones has someone come to him for issue 6 ( seeking a prostitute.) then issue 5 (who cheats and keeps it from their spouse.) then issue 1 (begins to masturbate and develops a bad habit). Chance are he will receive different revelation on what needs to be done in each situation. I don't see why it would be different