It's Time to Fortify and Teach our Children

It's time to fortify and teach our children
Of God's salvation and being soulfully driven
For we came to earth prepared and ready
To receive and function with a body

We came to love, learn, and merit blessings
To direct and control all types of passions
Here we are tried as we strive to be productive
Using our systems... from the nervous to the reproductive

As our hormones change, it is wholesome and good
To bridle feelings and be modest as we should
There to be patient and value purity
Grateful for our lives and chastity

Not all will find courtship and this deepest form of love
Thus we must not cheapen this sweetest blessing from above
Grown from planted seeds of virtue and integrity
Love flourishes and is proven in abstinence and fidelity

For he who abuses the soul and key to life
Thinks not of the Atonement and Jesus Christ
He who exploits another also desecrates
The divine design and trust to procreate

Satan would that we experiment and self-gratify
That impulses of pleasure should be satisfied
He without body would we yield to natural instincts
To eat, drink, and be merry; not caring what God thinks

And in his greatest attempts to gain power and control
He knows that pornography is a sensual trap to unfold
He lies and whispers that we are strong enough
To try it for awhile for the enjoyment thereof

Once the mind and body is desensitized to true intimacy
He begins the patterns of addiction at its infancy
For with these actions comes a need to conceal
And his victim becomes isolated in a hold that is real

Oft this escalates to actions that are extreme
But, it's not as hopeless as he'd make it seem
For that self hatred is actually but divine guilt
As our true origins are spiritually built

And in the grip of things that will only get worse
One seeks for rescue with pleas in rehearse
Wanting more than anything to believe in a Savior
To confess and progress and find a life of favor

Then filled with a burning need to avoid sinful exposure
Ever wanting self-esteem at any cost... even self-disclosure
There to find in the cycle of repentance- joy that is bright
For the burden of sin is taken, and darkness is replaced with light

Let us each hope for a love that is united
There to feel complete, happy, and delighted
While being supportive so each can fulfill their dreams
And treat one another with the utmost of esteem

As we are different may each woman find commitment
Financial security, connection, and more... fulfillment
May each find a man that's faithful from the start
There to lead the family as she nurtures from her heart

Let the woman admire the man as he is needed more than ever today
May he be an example and a strength to be obeyed
May he find domestic support and together pursue recreation
There to stay attracted as they enjoy the path of procreation

Let each marriage seek to glorify God in heaven
And learn to define love by what's spiritually given
May we practice compassion and give mercy freely
Strengthened by our Savior and patterning like Him fully

thoughts from President Herr's talk about teaching our family about intimacy at the age of eight and the need to strengthen marriage and define what a woman and a man needs in marriage.