Volume 10, No. 2

In a recent essay on the Mormons, David Brion Davis observed that “their history, in relation to American history, is much like Hamlet’s play-within-the play.”[1] Although analogies have their limitations, this one may prove useful…

Parley P. Pratt once defined “union of the sexes” as “mutual comfort and assistance in this world of toil and sorrow.” In our day President Spencer W. Kimball has affirmed that an important function of…

This paper summarizes some of the major findings from an on-going, cross cultural study of premarital sex among college students begun in the late 1930s. Previous publications have developed theoretical propositions of interest to sociologists…

To test the assumption that sexual behavior is socially rather than biologically controlled, and to see if Mormon emphasis on avoiding sexual activity out of wedlock has been effective, I have, on three occasions over…

This brief note summarizes findings from two surveys taken among Mormons during 1967-1969, one in Salt Lake City and one in “Coastal City,” northern California.[1] Among the questions asked was the following:  Most of us…

Some may be surprised to learn that the stereotypical image of the hyper-virile nineteenth century Mormon male had a special appeal to the “lost manhood” sector of a thriving American patent medicine industry. There was…

One of the responsibilities facing Latter-day Saint parents today is that of teaching children about reproduction and sexual relationships. Most Mormon parents feel as Dr. Benjamin Spock does—”that sex should be taught in a frame…