Even though this is "real," it is here for the
purpose of ridiculing the
Mormon religion and encouraging people to stay away from it.
STEPS IN OVERCOMING MASTURBATION
Mark E. Petersen Council of the 12 Apostles
Be assured that you can be cured of your difficulty. Many have
been, both
male and female, and you can be also if you determine that it
must be so.
This determination is the first step. That is where we begin. You
must
decide that you will end this practice, and when you make that
decision,
the problem will be greatly reduced at once.
But it must be more than a hope or a wish, more than knowing that
it is
good for you. It must be actually a DECISION. If you truly make
up your
mind that you will be cured, then you will have the strength to
resist any
tendencies which you may have and any temptations which may come
to you.
After you have made this decision, then observe the following
specific
guidelines:
A Guide to Self-Control:
1. Never touch the intimate parts of your body except during
normal toilet
processes.
2. Avoid being alone as much as possible. Find good company and
stay in
this good company.
3. If you are associated with other persons having this same
problem, YOU
MUST BREAK OFF THEIR FRIENDSHIP. Never associate with other
people having
the same weakness. Don't suppose that two of you will quit
together, you
never will. You must get away from people of that kind. Just to
be in
their presence will keep your problem foremost in your mind. The
problem
must be taken OUT OF YOUR MIND for that is where it really
exists. Your
mind must be on other and more wholesome things.
4. When you bathe, do not admire yourself in a mirror. Never stay
in the
bath more than five or six minutes -- just long enough to bathe
and dry and
dress AND THEN GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM into a room where you will
have some
member of your family present.
5. When in bed, if that is where you have your problem for the
most part,
dress yourself for the night so securely that you cannot easily
touch your
vital parts, and so that it would be difficult and time consuming
for you
to remove those clothes. By the time you started to remove
protective
clothing you would have sufficiently controlled your thinking
that the
temptation would leave you.
6. If the temptation seems overpowering while you are in bed, GET
OUT OF
BED AND GO INTO THE KITCHEN AND FIX YOURSELF A SNACK, even if it
is in the
middle of the night, and even if you are not hungry, and despite
your fears
of gaining weight. The purpose behind this suggestion is that you
GET YOUR
MIND ON SOMETHING ELSE. You are the subject of your thoughts, so
to speak.
7. Never read pornographic material. Never read about your
problem. Keep it
out of mind. Remember -- "First a thought, then an
act."
The thought pattern must be changed. You must not allow this
problem to
remain in your mind. When you accomplish that, you soon will be
free of the
act.
8. Put wholesome thoughts into your mind at all times. Read good
books --
Church books -- Scriptures -- Sermons of the Brethern [sic,
Cistern too?].
Make a daily habit of reading at least one chapter of Scripture,
preferably
from one of the four Gospels in the New Testament, or the Book of
Mormon.
The four Gospels -- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John -- above
anything else in
the Bible can be helpful because of their uplifting qualities.
9. Pray. But when you pray, don't pray about this problem, for
that will
tend to keep [it] in your mind more than ever. Pray for faith,
pray for
understanding of the Scriptures, pray for the Missionaries, the
General
Authorities, your friends, your families, BUT KEEP THE PROBLEM
OUT OF YOUR
MIND BY NOT MENTIONING IT EVER -- NOT IN CONVERSATION WITH
OTHERS, NOT IN
YOUR PRAYERS. KEEP IT _OUT_ of your mind! The attitude of a
person toward
his problem has an affect on how easy it is to overcome.
It is essential that a firm commitment be made to control the
habit. As a
person understands his reasons for the behavior, and is sensitive
to the
conditions or situations that may trigger a desire for the act,
he develops
the power to control it.
As one meets with his Priesthood Leader, a program for overcoming
masturbation can be implemented using some of these suggestions.
Remember
it is essential that a regular report program be agreed on, so
progress can
be recognized and failures understood and eliminated.
Suggestions:
1. Pray daily, ask for the gifts of the Spirit, that which will
strengthen
you against temptation. Pray fervently and out loud when the
temptations
are the strongest.
2. Follow a program of vigorous daily exercise. The exercises
reduce
emotional tension and depression and are absolutely basic to the
solution
of this problem. Double your physical activity when you feel
stress
increasing.
3. When the temptation to masturbate is strong, yell STOP to
those thoughts
as loudly as you can in your mind and then recite a prechosen
Scripture or
sing an inspirational hymn. It is important to turn your thoughts
away from
the selfish need to indulge.
4. Set goals of abstinence, begin with a day, then a week, month,
year and
finally commit to never doing it again. Until you commit yourself
to never
again you will always be open to temptation.
5. Change in behavior and attitude is most easily achieved
through a
changed self-image. Spend time every day imagining yourself
strong and in
control, easily overcoming tempting situations.
6. Begin to work daily on a self-improvement program. Relate this
plan to
improving your Church service, to improving your relationships
with your
family, God and others. Strive to enhance your strengths and
talents.
7. Be outgoing and friendly. Force yourself to be with others and
learn to
enjoy working and talking to them. Use principles of developing
friendships
found in books such as How to Win Friends and Influence People by
Dale
Carnegie.
8. Be aware of situations that depress you or that cause you to
feel
lonely, bored, frustrated or discouraged. These emotional states
can
trigger the desire to masturbate as a way of escape. Plan in
advance to
counter these low periods through various activities, such as
reading a
book, visiting a friend, doing something athletic, etc.
9. Make a pocket calendar for a month on a small card. Carry it
with you,
but show it to no one. If you have a lapse of self control, color
the day
black. Your goal will be to have no black days. The calendar
becomes a
strong visual reminder of self control and should be looked at
when you are
tempted to add another black day. Keep your calendar up until you
have at
least three clear months.
10. A careful study will indicate you have had the problem at
certain times
and under certain conditions. Try and recall, in detail, what
your
particular times and conditions were. Now that you understand how
it
happens, plan to break the pattern through counter activities.
11. In the field of psychotherapy there is a very effective
technique
called aversion therapy. When we associate or think of something
very
distasteful with something which has been pleasurable, but
undesirable, the
distasteful thought and feeling will begin to cancel out that
which was
pleasurable. If you associate something very distasteful with
your loss of
self-control it will help you to stop the act. For example, if
you are
tempted to masturbate, think of having to bathe in a tub of
worms, and eat
several of them as you do the act.
12. During your toileting and shower activities leave the
bathroom door or
shower curtain partly open, to discourage being alone in total
privacy.
Take cool brief showers.
13. Arise immediately in the mornings. Do not lie in bed awake,
no matter
what time of day it is. Get up and do something. Start each day
with an
enthusiastic activity.
14. Keep your bladder empty. Refrain from drinking large amounts
of fluids
before retiring.
15. Reduce the amount of spices and condiments in your food. Eat
as lightly
as possible at night.
16. Wear pajamas that are difficult to open, yet loose and not
binding.
17. Avoid people, situations, pictures or reading materials that
might
create sexual excitement.
18. It is sometimes helpful to have a physical object to use in
overcoming
this problem. A Book of Mormon, firmly held in hand, even in bed
at night
has proven helpful in extreme cases.
19. In very severe cases it may be necessary to tie a hand to the
bed frame
with a tie in order that the habit of masturbating in a
semi-sleep
condition can be broken. This can also be accomplished by wearing
several
layers of clothing which would be difficult to remove while half
asleep.
20. Set up a reward system for your successes. It does not have
to be a big
reward. A quarter in a receptacle each time you overcome or reach
a goal.
Spend it on something which delights you and will be a continuing
reminder
of your progress.
21. Do not let yourself return to any past habit or attitude
patterns which
were part of your problem. Satan Never Gives Up. Be calmly and
confidently
on guard. Keep a positive mental attitude. You can win this
fight! The joy
and strength you will feel when you do will give your whole life
a radiant
and spiritual glow of satisfaction and fulfillment.
The cowboy was walking in the woods one day and he comes to a
clearing.
There on a blanket was a naked Indian with an erection.
"What are you doing?" the cowboy asks.
The Indian answers, "Me tell time."
"OK. If you are so good, what time is it?"
The Indian looks down at his penis and the shadow it made and
said,
"It 2o'clock."
The cowboy looks at his watch and says, "By Golly, you are
right!"
The cowboy starts walking again and comes upon another naked
Indian
laying on a blanket. "Don't tell me.... You telling time
also?"
The Indian looks up at him and says, "Yes, me telling
time."
"Okay smartass, what time is it?"
The Indian looks up at the sun and down at his penis and says,
"It 4
o'clock."
The cowboy is amazed at the Indian.
He keeps walking and hours later he comes upon an Indian on a
blanket,
masturbating. "Don't tell me you are telling time!!??"
Indian looks up at him and says, "No, me winding
watch!"
Sue and Sally meet at their 30th class reunion, and they
haven't seen each other since graduation. They begin to talk
and bring each other up to date. The conversation covers their
husbands, their children, homes, etc and finally gets around to
their sex lives.
Sue says "It's OK. We get it on every week or so but it's no
big adventure, how's yours?"
Sally replies "It's just great, ever since we got into
S&M."
Sue is aghast. "Really Sally, I never would have quessed
that
you would go for that."
"Oh, sure," says Sally, "He snores while I
masturbate.
Links around
this site:
Click here to go see baby pictures and other
exciting stuff to make you wet yourself.
Sign My Guestbook
View My Guestbook
