When I was somewhere around four years old I was the driving force behind my mom’s eradication of her Madonna tapes.

We were in church, in the meeting known as Sacrament Meeting, where the entire congregation gathers to partake of the sacrament and listen to speakers teach about different gospel principles. During a quiet moment little four year old me decided it would be a perfect time to stand up in the pew and serenade the congregation with a song I had heard playing on my mom’s radio.

Like a virgin…

touched for the very first time…

Like a vir-ir-ir-ir-gin…

My mom mas mortified and couldn’t get home fast enough to throw all of her Madonna music and other similar ditties in the trash. I’m working to learn my lesson from her mistake instead of repeating it for myself.

Once upon a time I mentioned that TH and I have specific standards for the type of media we consume. Unfortunately I brought this up to an audience that is largely unfamiliar with the full spectrum of the LDS religion, and so the idea that my husband (then boyfriend) would express dissatisfaction with what I chose to watch was pretty appalling to a lot of you. I guess I forgot that a lot of relationships in the United States aren’t built around a belief system with standards that are so rigid in so many areas. For many things in the Mormon church, certainly not all but many, a bar is set and members are told to at least meet that bar. How far past that guideline you want to aim is up to you.

The official LDS Church statement on media is this:

Whatever media we read, watch, or listen to has an effect on us. Church members are counseled to choose only entertainment and media that are uplifting. Wholesome entertainment promotes good thoughts and righteous choices and allows participants to enjoy themselves without losing the Spirit of the Lord.

Church leaders talk a lot about the care we should take in selecting what we watch. Every six months we have a worldwide weekend of meetings via satellite called General Conference and I always expect at least three speakers to mention the importance of turning a critical eye toward the ideas and images we let into our brain through the types of media we choose. While speaking to the men of the Church our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson said:

Don’t be afraid to walk out of a movie, turn off a television set, or change a radio station if what’s being presented does not meet your Heavenly Father’s standards. In short, if you have any question about whether a particular movie, book, or other form of entertainment is appropriate, don’t see it, don’t read it, don’t participate.

He was quoting from some Church material called the For The Strength of Youth pamphlet. This pamphlet is filled with information regarding the standards of the Church including statements on integrity, health, dating, and media. I used this pamphlet myself while growing up and trying to figure out what kind of life I wanted to live. A few key points from the media section:

Our Heavenly Father has counseled us as Latter-day Saints to seek after “anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy” (Articles of Faith 1:13). Whatever you read, listen to, or watch makes an impression on you. Public entertainment and the media can provide you with much positive experience. They can uplift and inspire you, teach you good and moral principles, and bring you closer to the beauty this world offers. But they can also make what is wrong and evil look normal, exciting, and acceptable.

Music can help you draw closer to your Heavenly Father. It can be used to educate, edify, inspire, and unite. However, music may be used for wicked purposes. Music can, by its tempo, beat, intensity, and lyrics, dull your spiritual sensitivity. You cannot afford to fill your minds with unworthy music. Music is an important and powerful part of life. You must consider your listening habits thoughtfully and prayerfully. You should be willing to control your listening habits and shun music that is spiritually harmful. Don’t listen to music that contains ideas that contradict principles of the gospel. Don’t listen to music that promotes Satanism or other evil practices, encourages immorality, uses foul and offensive language, or drives away the Spirit. Use careful judgment and maturity to choose the music you listen to and the level of its volume.

This is the information I heard over and over growing up, and over time I’ve worked to redefine and implement it into my life. It’s not a perfect system, but I try to use both logic and the influence of the Holy Ghost to determine the way God would want me to live. I’m going to list some of the decision I’ve made regarding media consumption in the past, and some of the standards I’m living now, but now that this is not a finite list. There are areas where I could certainly do better, and I acknowledge that. I’m weak, and I often make decisions based on what I want, not on what I think God wants for me. My own feelings about the standards God wants me to live are often markedly different than what another member of the LDS Church determines. One year from now my decisions will probably differ a bit from what I’m listing. Hopefully they will be better, but working towards perfection is hard, and I mess up a lot.

Before you read the list, you should know that I personally rate sexual content as more dangerous for my relationship with God than violence. Certainly the ideal would be to have a media diet completely free of any vulgarity, sexuality, violence, or other “bad” things, but I’m not ready to commit to such a lifestyle quite yet. So I try to keep the sexual content that I ingest to a bare minimum. We believe the sexual relationship between a man and a woman is a sacred thing. Not only because of its ability to create life, but also the way it affects a marital relationship and when treated appropriately can form a unique bond between husband and wife that is hard to replicate in any other way. I try to limit the consumption of sexual media not only because of the belief I have about the sacredness of sex, but also because of the way it affects me personally. I try to keep my thoughts clean and pure, I work to control my temptations, and when I let more and more sexual content into my life I find that to be incredibly difficult. I do not find myself being affected the same way when violence is involved, and so I am much stricter regarding sexuality than violence. That weakness of mine is what drives much of the choices I make concerning media standards.

One other thing. TH and I strive to find a balance that will eliminate a double standard when it comes to how we raise our children. When our children are teenagers we never want to say to them “Oh you can’t watch this because you aren’t old enough.” If they shouldn’t be watching it, we shouldn’t either. It’s going to be easier to eliminate things now than it will be later.

On to some of the choices I’ve made in my life regarding media consumption standards.

The most well-known standard among readers is my decision to no longer watch Friends. Grey’s Anatomy got axed from my life as well. These are shows that focus a lot on the sexual relationships between the main characters, and That Husband urged me to think about the message such storylines send, both to me and my children. I’m sure I don’t need to list all of the other shows I avoid, just think of how often people in the plot sleep together and you can get an idea for yourself. At one point in time I mentioned that I had stopped watching the shows Bones and House after TH had expressed that he wouldn’t like them in the house. Since that time we’ve actually relaxes a bit about those shows. Is that for the better? Maybe not, but like I said this is an evolving system we’re using.

I stopped reading Post Secret. I love the concept, and I certainly don’t think that some of the bad things that happen to people should be repressed. It’s wonderful that so many people have found the help they need through that site. I just didn’t get a good feeling whenever I read it.

I’ve never seen an R rated movie. I think it’s been altered as the MPAA standards have relaxed over time, but when I was growing up the Strength of Youth pamphlet stated that R rated movies were to be avoided, no questions asked. I set that goal for myself and I’ve never given in (although I have a nice list of movies that I’d really like to see if I ever change my mind). I wrote about an experience I had at BYU where I was surrounded by other members who didn’t think the same thing about movie ratings, which you can read in my Formspring response here. I use the site Kids-in-Mind whenever I’m deciding if I want to watch a PG-13 movie or not and as a family we’ve agreed that anything with a sexual content rating of 6 or more on that site is something we would like to avoid.

I don’t read steamy romantic novels, and I’m really careful about what chick lit I will read. I stay away from Glamour and other women’s magazines that feature lots of sex tips. Those are all triggers for me.

Pornography of any kind is out, out, out. This isn’t something I came up with, this is a cut and dried, no arguing about it, worldwide standard for the LDS Church. It’s talked about twice a year at General Conference and many other times throughout the year by the leadership of the Church.

I avoid music that uses extremely vulgar language or excessive amounts. I admit to letting a few “damns” and “hells” pass by without a though. I’ve never listened to the song Birthday Sex and I’m appalled that such a thing played on the radio. I purchased the song American Boy, apparently having only heard it in it’s radio edit form, and was pretty mad when I realized it swears. I busted out my audio editing softward and took that f-word right outta there.

Recently I read the book Fight Club for book club. I’m one of those “once I start reading I hate not finishing” type of people, and so I forced myself to finish. I looked up the plotline on Wikipedia because I was having such a hard time with it that I didn’t see how I was going to finish. Once I knew the big secret behind the storyline I was able to force myself to finish. Now that I look back on that I wish I had just given up. It was too violent, too crude, and I don’t feel good about reading it. Lesson learned.

As I said, this isn’t a finite thing for me. I’m constantly learning and growing and striving to determine where I should draw the line. It’s a work in progress and it takes prayer and thought and listening to the whisperings of the Holy Ghost to help me learn how I can do better than last time with each choice I make. I’ve made mistakes and been lax in the past, and from that I know that I feel better when I am working to eliminate the bad and make room for the good.

I’ve really been looking forward to writing this post because the LDS viewpoint of the role Adam and Eve played on the earth can be rather different than is often taught by other denominations of Christianity.

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God presented the Plan of Salvation, created the earth, and chose Adam and Eve to be the first spirit children to be placed on the earth and set that plan in motion. We as a body of spirit children in heaven had agreed that we wanted to follow the Father’s plan and come down to earth and gain a body to be tested, and Adam and Eve were going to be the first to do so. They would be the earthly parents of all mortals. Who else would God choose for such an important task but two of his noblest children? In the premortal life Adam was known as Michael, the archangel. His wife, Eve, would forever be known as the “mother of all living.” They were given to each other because God decreed that it was not good that the man should be alone, and they were going to share their great responsibilities in the garden and throughout life. While living in the garden, for how long we don’t know, they were taught the principles of the gospel by God. They were married and sealed under the priesthood. They were like unto little children in their ability to sin, but they were not uneducated in the truthfulness of the gospel.

The Garden of Eden was paradise, filled with everything they could possibly desire. With one small caveat: the Book of Mormon teaches us that they could not have children. How were the rest of us going to get to the earth to be tested? They were alive both physically (they had physical bodies) and spiritually (they walked in the presence of God), and could not die. A change needed to happen for the Plan of Salvation to be set in motion.

God commanded them to have children. He said, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over … every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Moses 2:28). God told them they could freely eat of every tree in the garden except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Of that tree God said, “In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Moses 3:17).

This is where things can get confusing. He told them not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but they couldn’t have children until they did so. If they did eat, they would die. I had a professor at BYU once who explained it like this:

If they wanted to stay in the garden forever and live spiritually (walk in the presence of God), they should not eat of the fruit.

They were free to eat of any tree except the tree of knowledge of fruit and evil, if they chose to eat of that tree they would experience the consequences of their actions and suffer a spiritual death, and they would eventually suffer a physical death as well. The command wasn’t not to eat the fruit, it was not to remain in the garden if they ate of it.

Certainly Satan came and tempted Eve, in fact telling her the truth! He told her that eating the fruit would make her wise like unto her Father in Heaven. He assured her that she and Adam would not die (he was right,she certainly wouldn’t experience physical death right at that moment), but that they would “be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Moses 4:11). Eve made the hard choice, to eat the fruit and be cast from the garden. She took some fruit to Adam and asked him to make the same choice, for it was not good for man to be alone.

Once Adam and Even had partaken of the fruit, they were sent from the Garden. The physical condition of their bodies changed and they were able to have children. A Savior would come to make recompense for the sins of Adam and Even and the sins of their children. The Plan of Salvation could progress and Satan had not triumphed after all.

The prophet Lehi explained:

“And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen [been cut off from the presence of God], but he would have remained in the Garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created. …

“And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.

“But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:22–25).

We can look toward the actions of our first parents with gratitude for the choice they made to do the hard thing. They chose to leave the garden and suffer the pains of mortal life that we might live. The Fall was a necessary and intended step in the Plan.

Today one of the 19 year old boys in our ward gave a talk during sacrament meeting because he is about to leave for the Spokane Washington Spanish speaking mission (there is a chance he will serve in my hometown!). He shared an absolutely beautiful story about the shepherds in Morocco, as told by Elder John R. Lasater, and I wanted to share it here today. I’ve lately been feeling the urge to make changes in my life that will draw me closer to God, and I appreciate this reminder that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father know me so intimately.

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Some years ago, it was my privilege to visit the country of Morocco as part of an official United States government delegation. As part of that visit, we were invited to travel some distance into the desert to visit some ruins. Five large black limousines moved across the beautiful Moroccan countryside at considerable speed. I was riding in the third limousine, which had lagged some distance behind the second. As we topped the brow of a hill, we noticed that the limousine in front of us had pulled off to the side of the road. As we drew nearer, I sensed that an accident had occurred and suggested to my driver that we stop. The scene before us has remained with me for these many years.

An old shepherd, in the long, flowing robes of the Savior’s day, was standing near the limousine in conversation with the driver. Nearby, I noted a small flock of sheep numbering not more than fifteen or twenty. An accident had occurred. The king’s vehicle had struck and injured one of the sheep belonging to the old shepherd. The driver of the vehicle was explaining to him the law of the land. Because the king’s vehicle had injured one of the sheep belonging to the old shepherd, he was now entitled to one hundred times its value at maturity. However, under the same law, the injured sheep must be slain and the meat divided among the people. My interpreter hastily added, “But the old shepherd will not accept the money. They never do.”

Startled, I asked him why. And he added, “Because of the love he has for each of his sheep.” It was then that I noticed the old shepherd reach down, lift the injured lamb in his arms, and place it in a large pouch on the front of his robe. He kept stroking its head, repeating the same word over and over again. When I asked the meaning of the word, I was informed, “Oh, he is calling it by name. All of his sheep have a name, for he is their shepherd, and the good shepherds know each one of their sheep by name.”

It was as my driver predicted. The money was refused, and the old shepherd with his small flock of sheep, with the injured one tucked safely in the pouch on his robe, disappeared into the beautiful deserts of Morocco.

As we continued our journey toward the ruins, my interpreter shared with me more of the traditions and practices of the shepherds of that land. Each evening at sundown, for example, the shepherds bring their small flocks of sheep to a common enclosure where they are secured against the wolves that roam the deserts of Morocco. A single shepherd then is employed to guard the gate until morning. Then the shepherds come to the enclosure one by one, enter therein, and call forth their sheep—by name. The sheep will not hearken unto the voice of a stranger but will leave the enclosure only in the care of their true shepherd, confident and secure because the shepherd knows their names and they know his voice.

The words of the Master Shepherd rang loudly in my ears:

“But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

“To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

“And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

“And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers” (John 10:2–5).

Editors Note: While composing this post I thought that I was writing about this topic in a way that would clarify what I believe the doctrine of the LDS Church to be regarding mothers working outside the home. I tried to make it clear that I do not think that these statements about the importance of being home with children apply to women who aren’t married. Even more importantly, I attempted in my first paragraph to explain that just as I believe the LDS Church has standards such as the Word of Wisdom, only the members themselves who have a personal witness of the Word of Wisdom are held accountable for choosing to live by that standard. I do not believe that the statements below by Church leaders are meant to be a condemnation on all mothers who choose to work outside the home. What I do believe is that they are statements by men called of God to be witnesses of His will during these modern times and are meant to be the guidelines for which we as believers strive to live by when plotting out the course of our lives. In simple terms, if you aren’t LDS and you don’t have a testimony of these principles I don’t believe God will hold you accountable for them, just as He wouldn’t hold you accountable for not living the standards of the Word of Wisdom or other standards of the LDS faith.

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed. The Family: A Proclamation To The World

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Several months ago I mentioned in one of my Formspring replies that I believed God intended for mothers to stay home and rear their children, that working outside the home should be the exception not the rule. What a stir this caused! I think it’s hard to hear someone say this if your own mother chose to work out of the home for reasons of personal gain or fulfillment, or if you are doing so yourself, or if you plan on doing so when you have children in the future. I cannot stress enough that a belief I have in one area does not cause me to judge you as a “bad” person for your own choices. If this were true, I would be condemning a whole lot of people who drink alcohol, use recreational drugs, or have sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage, for just as I believe God’s apostles and prophets have spoken out against mothers working outside the home for personal reasons instead of necessity, so too have they warned that the Lord does not want us using alcohol or having premarital sex. I try to seek out the teachings that I believe came from God and apply them in my own life, then work to spread the knowledge of those teachings to others, but beyond that I believe that God gave us free agency for a reason. We are all free to make the choices that guide our lives and it is up to God to mete out the consequences.

To give you an idea why I believe this about the role of mothers, a few quotes from our Church leaders, some phrases bolded by me for emphasis:

. . . I beg of you, you who could and should be bearing and rearing a family: Wives, come home from the typewriter, the laundry, the nursing, come home from the factory, the café. No career approaches in importance that of wife, homemaker, mother—cooking meals, washing dishes, making beds for one’s precious husband and children. Come home, wives, to your husbands. Make home a heaven for them. Come home wives, to your children, born and unborn. Wrap the motherly cloak about you and unembarrassed help in a major role to create the bodies for the immortal souls who anxiously wait. When you have fully complemented your husband in home life and borne the children, growing up full of faith, integrity, responsibility and goodness, then you have achieved your accomplishments supreme, without peer, and you will be the envy through time and eternity. Spencer W. Kimball

We have often said, This divine service of motherhood can be rendered only by mothers. It may not be passed to others. Nurses cannot do it; public nurseries cannot do it. Hired help cannot do it; kind relatives cannot do it. Only by mother, aided as much as may be by a loving father, brothers and sisters, and other relatives, can the full needed measure of watchful care be given. Spencer W. Kimball

In a home where there is an able-bodied husband, he is expected to be the breadwinner. Sometimes we hear of husbands who, because of economic conditions, have lost their jobs and expect the wives to go out of the home and work, even though the husband is capable of providing for his family. In these cases, we urge the husband to do all in his power to allow his wife to remain in the home caring for the children while he continues to provide for his family the best he can, even though the job he is able to secure may not be ideal and family budgeting may have to be tighter. . . . Sometimes the mother works outside of the home at the encouragement, or even insistence, of her husband. It is he who wants the items or conveniences that the extra income can buy. Not only will the family suffer in such instances, brethren, but your own spiritual growth and progression will be hampered. I say to all of you, the Lord has charged men with the responsibility to provide for their families in such a way that the wife is allowed to fulfill her role as mother in the home. . . . One apparent impact of the women’s movement has been the feelings of discontent it has created among young women who have chosen the role of wife and mother. They are often made to feel that there are more exciting and self-fulfilling roles for women than housework, diaper changing, and children calling for mother. This view loses sight of the eternal perspective that God elected women to the noble role of mother and that exaltation is eternal fatherhood and eternal motherhood. Ezra Taft Benson

It is time that the hearts of us fathers be turned to our children and the hearts of the children be turned to us fathers, or we shall both be cursed. The seeds of divorce are often sown and the blessings of children delayed by wives working outside the home. Working mothers should remember that their children usually need more of mother than of money. Ezra Taft Benson

In a personal way, I recall the experiences my dear wife and I went through after deciding the course I should take for my life’s work. I had taken some courses in pharmacy with the plan in mind of converting to a career in medicine. As many of us do, I changed my mind and engaged in another business, banking. We were blessed with steady employment, but I felt attracted toward the profession of law. This was a serious decision because I was married and had a family to support but after fasting and prayer and obtaining the facts as to the best way to proceed, I completed my undergraduate work and entered law school. I took classes at night because it was necessary to be employed during the daytime. These were not easy years for us, but desires are usually accomplished if we are willing to make a determined effort. Needless to say, I had the help and support of my wife. She remained a homemaker and cared for our children. What she gave in love, encouragement, frugality, and companionship was far in excess of any material contribution she might have made by taking employment. Our wives deserve great credit for the heavy work load they carry day in and day out within our homes. No one expends more energy than a devoted mother and wife. In the usual arrangement of things, however, it is the man to whom the Lord has assigned the breadwinner’s role. There are impelling reasons for our sisters to plan toward employment also. We want them to obtain all the education and vocational training possible before marriage. If they become widowed or divorced and need to work, we want them to have dignified and rewarding employment. If a sister does not marry, she has every right to engage in a profession that allows her to magnify her talents and gifts. Brothers and Sisters, we need to do everything necessary to adequately prepare ourselves for employment or careers. We owe it to ourselves to do our best, and we owe our best in providing for our families. Howard W. Hunter

President Benson has taught that a mother with children should be in the home. He also said, ‘We realize . . . that some of our choice sisters are widowed and divorced and that others find themselves in unusual circumstances where, out of necessity, they are required to work for a period of time. But these instances are the exception, not the rule’ (Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion [pamphlet, 1987], pp. 5–6). You in these unusual circumstances qualify for additional inspiration and strength from the Lord. Those who leave the home for lesser reasons will not. Richard G. Scott

Some years ago President Benson delivered a message to the women of the Church. He encouraged them to leave their employment and give their individual time to their children. I sustain the position which he took. Nevertheless, I recognize, as he recognized, that there are some women (it has become very many, in fact) who have to work to provide for the needs of their families. To you I say, do the very best you can. I hope that if you are employed full-time you are doing it to ensure that basic needs are met and not simply to indulge a taste for an elaborate home, fancy cars, and other luxuries. The greatest job that any mother will ever do will be in nurturing, teaching, lifting, encouraging, and rearing her children in righteousness and truth. None other can adequately take her place. It is well-nigh impossible to be a full-time homemaker and a full-time employee. I know how some of you struggle with decisions concerning this matter. I repeat, do the very best you can. You know your circumstances, and I know that you are deeply concerned for the welfare of your children. Each of you has a bishop who will counsel with you and assist you. If you feel you need to speak with an understanding woman, do not hesitate to get in touch with your Relief Society president. To the mothers of this Church, every mother who is here today, I want to say that as the years pass, you will become increasingly grateful for that which you did in molding the lives of your children in the direction of righteousness and goodness, integrity and faith. That is most likely to happen if you can spend adequate time with them. Gordon B. Hinckley

All of these quotes (plus some!) can be found here.

Now what of Jenna Cole? Isn’t it hypocritical of me to speak of all this while I’m in the midst of self-employment? First, I am flattered if anyone thinks I’m busy enough to qualify as someone you would consider to be working full-time. I’m not even sure I’m receiving enough inquiries to be considered part-time! The beauty of being self-employed is that I am able to dictate how much I work, when, and for how long. I can refer work to other photographers, quote clients longer wait times for product delivery before they book, and if at any time I felt as though I wasn’t devoting enough time to my motherly duties I can take extended breaks, or even quit altogether if I like. I don’t believe in that declaring that a mother shouldn’t work outside the home that Church leaders intend to convey the message that a mother shouldn’t work, or seek personal fulfillment through capitalizing on her talents. When speaking to my children about Jenna Cole I’ll be able to teach them lessons of self-discipline, pursuing one’s interests, improving one’s talents, prioritizing how gains are spent/invested, and working to succeed financially after an investment is made. If at any time my child needs me, I am able to stand up from the computer and meet his/her needs. I plan to shoot on the weekends as much as possible, leaving our children in the care of their father, providing them with valuable one-on-one time with dad. If he isn’t available, we’ll book a babysitter, just as we would if we were going out for date night. Counsel to stay home with children is not meant to be a sentence of house arrest.

I believe good women have been finding ways to stay home with their children and also pursue monetary gain on the side for centuries. It may have begun with acts as simple as gathering from the garden and trading with neighbors to meet their needs, churning butter and gathering up the children to sell it at the market on a Saturday afternoon, or weaving rugs and making clothes and running a small shop out of the home. Now we have Etsy and blogs and dSLRs. No matter what small business plans I might have, I’ll always be working to make sure that the needs of my children are met first.

As I believe these men to be messenger from God, I find the above quotes to be very powerful. They tell me that the most important thing I, or any other married woman, can do in this life is to seek the responsibilities of motherhood and work to fulfill that role. Though a career and the accolades of men that would accompany it would certainly be personally fulfilling, I’m more interested in pursuing the activities that I believe will garner the accolades of God.

Editors Note: Just thought I should clarify that when I typed “recreational drugs” I was personally thinking of cigarettes, but really, any drug not used for medicinal purposes would apply. And “sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage” should be read as sex with anyone except your husband, either before you are married or after, it does not refer specifically to someone who is married and has an affair.

We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

The 10th Article of Faith touches on several different events we believe will happen just prior to and at the beginning of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

Gathering of Israel and Restoration of Ten Tribes