So when a young man ventures to ask how he is to handle this sensitive area of his life he is inexplicably put off, referred to another authority, and his answer is deferred. Reminds me of law, "Justice deferred is justice denied." (Wm E. Gladstone, 1809-1898) In this case the delay could be crucial years of development. Just as well. Dad didn't get a better grounding in sexual development than you are getting and your conference with him will prove to be uncomfortable and uninformative of more than you may already know.
One courageous Christian teacher is James C. Dobson. You may find hisBringing Up Boys helpful. Girls seem to get much more guidance because they need help with physical symptoms (like monthly bleeding) but boys are somehow expected to magically grow to manhood with a complete set of tools for coping with their hormones and the playful/provocative behaviors of the opposite sex that would be enough to confound the maturity and clinical education of a mature professional.
Actually both sexes need much more guidance and some help exists at http://www.gospel.com/topics/sexual+sin. Parents may not be good role models and thus unable to set the right tone, so the Church may need to "step up to the plate" and get the family on the right path.
What do you know? They make mistakes. Society recoils in mock horror and punishes the malefactor [interesting how the very word for 'lawbreaker' includes the word 'male'] in such a way as to brand him for life as "not to be trusted". We really must do a better job of "guiding" young men and helping them over the rough spots.
This is of critical importance because men and women must trust that each understands the issues involved in order to form the strong bonds of marriage.
One courageous Christian teacher is James C. Dobson. You may find hisBringing Up Boys helpful. Girls seem to get much more guidance because they need help with physical symptoms (like monthly bleeding) but boys are somehow expected to magically grow to manhood with a complete set of tools for coping with their hormones and the playful/provocative behaviors of the opposite sex that would be enough to confound the maturity and clinical education of a mature professional.
Actually both sexes need much more guidance and some help exists at http://www.gospel.com/topics/sexual+sin. Parents may not be good role models and thus unable to set the right tone, so the Church may need to "step up to the plate" and get the family on the right path.
What do you know? They make mistakes. Society recoils in mock horror and punishes the malefactor [interesting how the very word for 'lawbreaker' includes the word 'male'] in such a way as to brand him for life as "not to be trusted". We really must do a better job of "guiding" young men and helping them over the rough spots.
This is of critical importance because men and women must trust that each understands the issues involved in order to form the strong bonds of marriage.