Sex is everywhere. On the television, on the radio, in the music that we listen to, in the jokes that we hear, it’s on billboards. Sex sells. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints view sex in a very different way than the world.

Sexual intimacy is sacred, between man and wife. As is stated in The Family: A Proclamation to the World, “The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.” These are sacred powers that God has given us, and it is so important that we save that for marriage.

It is true that our sexual relationship has a lot to do with the quality of the rest of our relationship. I believe that this works the other way around as well; the emotional and logistical portions of our marriage determine the quality of our sexual relationship.

Men and women are very different in this regard. Men physiologically need sex and sexual touch while women do not. Men and women both feel loved when they have sexually intimate moments with their spouse, however, the buildup to these moments works differently in a man’s body than in a woman’s body. Men warm up much quicker than women do, and women typically need a little extra help warming up. “Men are like microwaves and women are like crockpots.”

Women need to feel calm and secure and wanted in order to want sex while men want sex in order to feel calm and secure and wanted. Herein lies a problem in most marriages where communication is sometimes not at its best.

When a man or a woman does not feel wanted by their spouse, they tend to look elsewhere if there is a lack of skill in their communication and understanding of one another. Infidelity is of course a major topic in today’s world. Affairs, divorce, secrets, and much more that people never really wanted.

Infidelity does not need to be sexual, it can be emotional or digital as well. I think that most of these issues arise when husband and wife are not communicating in a way that they need to be. So, they vent to coworkers of the opposite sex and they feel understood and cared for. And before you know, your spouse now looks forward to going to work, he or she looks forward to lunch so that they can bond with their new ‘friend’ who they really think is only just a friend. However, this does not go unnoticed to the spouse. Clearly has something has changed in their relationship but they have been a state of bad communication that they don’t know how to bring it up. This is absolutely detrimental to a marriage and more often than not, it starts out very innocent with no intent of becoming attached or hurting anyone.

There is a special bond that husband and wife have once they are married, especially with those who save sex for marriage as well as other intimate components. There should be a shield that both of them are holding up at all times. A barbed wire fence or something that protects their marriage and relationship so that nothing can get in without them allowing it to. They are on a team, they share goals and opinions and there should never be a third party to those goals and opinions and choices other than God, our loving Heavenly Father who only wants the best for us and will never lead us astray.