"To Young Men Only" (also known as "Message to Young Men") is a sermon delivered by Latter-day Saint

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

Boyd K. Packer on October 2, 1976, at the priesthood session of the 146th Semiannual General Conference of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). The sermon is addressed to young men of the Aaronic priesthood (ages 12 to 18) and discusses issues of

human sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

puberty Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a bo ...

, and morality. From 1980 to 2016, the sermon was published as a pamphlet by the LDS Church. It has been criticized in several publications for allegedly encouraging violence against homosexuals. In 2016, the church discontinued the pamphlet.

Peggy Fletcher Stack Peggy Fletcher Stack is an American journalist, editor, and author. Stack has been the lead religion writer for '' The Salt Lake Tribune'' since 1991. She and five other journalists at the ''Salt Lake Tribune'' won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Loca ...

"LDS Church 'retires' Mormon apostle's 'little factory' pamphlet"
'' The Salt Lake Tribune'', November 14, 2016.

Content

Packer described his remarks as matters that "fathers should discuss with their sons." Packer stated that "because some young men do not have fathers and because some fathers (and some bishops) do not know how to proceed", he would be addressing sensitive subjects. The sermon compares the

male reproductive system The male reproductive system consists of a number of sex organs that play a role in the process of human reproduction. These organs are located on the outside of the body and within the pelvis. The main male sex organs are the penis and the te ...

to a "little factory" and teaches that masturbation, use of pornography, and homosexual activities are immoral and forbidden by God. It encourages young male Latter-day Saints to "vigorously resist" homosexual advances, even with violence, if necessary. Packer teaches that

nocturnal emission A nocturnal emission, informally known as a wet dream, sex dream, nightfall or sleep orgasm, is a spontaneous orgasm during sleep that includes ejaculation for a male, or vaginal wetness or an orgasm (or both) for a female. Nocturnal emissions ...

is natural and designed by God and that young men "should not feel guilty" when it happens. The sermon also offers suggestions on how to control one's thoughts and resist temptation.

Publication

Unlike most general conference sermons, "Message to Young Men" was not published in the church's official magazine, '' The Ensign.'' Instead, the sermon was published in 1980 as a 14-page pamphlet, entitled "To Young Men Only", that was available for church leaders to distribute to members. In 2016, the pamphlet was discontinued and it was removed from the LDS Church's website. The video of the sermon is no longer available on the LDS Church's website as of August 2019.

Criticism

One controversial part of the sermon states that some men entice others to join them in sexual behaviors and gives an example of a missionary who punched ("floored") his gay companion, to which Packer responded, "Somebody had to do it". Packer then continued “I am not recommending that course to you, but I am not omitting it. You must protect yourself.” In the original broadcast, the audience is heard laughing after the statement "somebody had to do it". In 2001, gay

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

historian D. Michael Quinn described the sermon as " e low point in the Mormon hierarchy's homophobia since the 1950s"; D. Michael Quinn, ''Same-sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth-century Americans: A Mormon Example'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2001) p. 382. Quinn argued that Packer's words constituted an endorsement of

gay bashing Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). It includes both violence against LGBT people and LGBT bullying. The term covers vio ...

and that the church itself endorsed such behavior by continuing to publish Packer's speech. D. Michael Quinn
"Prelude to the National 'Defense of Marriage' Campaign: Civil Discrimination Against Feared or Despised Minorities"
'' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' vol. 33 no. 3 (Fall 2000) pp. 1–52. In 2000 and 2001, David E. Hardy, a

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

lawyer who is the father of a gay son, criticized the sermon for "demoniz ng gays and implying that "

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

is a matter of choice". In 2014, Samantha Allen, a columnist for ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'', wrote that the sermon "typifies organized religion’s approach to curtailing male masturbation", calling it "deeply paternalistic" and criticizing it for employing "a noxious mixture of condescension and euphemism".Samantha Allen
"Tim Ferriss Is Bro Culture's Anti-Masturbation Crusader"
''

'', August 1, 2014.

References

{{reflist

External links

"To Young Men Only"
official HTML version, lds.org (archived version).
"To Young Men Only"
official PDF version, lds.org (archived version).
"Message to Young Men"
lds.org, video of original sermon (archived version). 1976 speeches 1976 in Christianity 1980 non-fiction books Violence against LGBT people Mormonism and violence Works about LGBT and Mormonism The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints texts Latter Day Saint sermons Works by Boyd K. Packer Young Men (organization) Sexuality and Mormonism Pamphlets Religious works for children 1976 in LGBT history Opposition to masturbation Works by apostles (LDS Church)

Content

Publication

Criticism

See also

References

External links