This week we have been learning about sexual intimacy in marriage. I found it very helpful to discuss the topic of marital intimacy in the context that it was taught in, which was a classroom in a safe environment, where we could openly discuss sex and ask questions, but we could discuss it as guided from a religious standpoint and we could and did incorporate the gospel perspective into our discussion. I found this very helpful and in a way, very refreshing, because the message that I got from this week's classes was a message that was in such stark contrast to how the media and how the world portrays sexual intimacy. I found it nice to hear the message that sexual intimacy is good and even commanded when done in the proper bounds that the Lord has set, which is a man and woman legally and lawfully being married as a husband and wife. In these bounds sexual intimacy is wonderful and good and something that was ordained to strengthen the bond between husband and wife in marriage and to bring them closer together physically, emotionally, and spiritually and it was also ordained for the creation of children. When sexual intimacy takes place in the Lord's way and within his bounds, this is a good thing, but if it takes place in any other way that the Lord has not commanded, then sexual intimacy becomes a very serious sin.

Something else I found helpful from the discussions that we had as a class is the idea that sexual intimacy does not have to take place fast or right away when a man and woman are married. It is something that can be taken slowly, at the speed that both the husband and wife are ready for, and then when the sexual intimacy does take place, it is something where both partners in the marriage need to be sensitive towards the needs of their spouse. Both the husband and wife also need to also need to communicate well with each other and be respectful to the other person. If these things take place in the marriage, prior to and during sexual intimacy, sex can allow the couple to be "one" on many levels and to gain skills that will be useful for them in other aspects of their marriage.