Afraid Of The Dark? Toward Healthy Communication With Teenagers About Sex Most Latter-day Saint parents would rather talk about anything with their children other than sexual desire. Is it because we have only one context in which to put the experience of sexual feelings outside marriage: sin? We recognize the potency of our drives and the complex consequences that follow from sexual activity before a person is ready, so it’s natural that we are hesitant to let teenagers loose in such a charged area. But are there healthy ways to talk with our teenagers and young adult children about sex? Does Mormonism have resources for a better framing of intense sexual interest than its being Satan’s most effective means of leading people carefully into hell? Dante only got to heaven by first journeying into hell. How can we be better Virgil’s, better guides for our teenagers as they negotiate the difficult terrain of sexual desire?

Jake Zollinger, Moderator; Stephen Carter, M.F.A., Glen Lambert, L.C.S.W., M.S.W.A.C., Bill Gardiner, L.C.S.W., Anne Arnold, H. Wayne Schow, Ph.D., Panelists