The status of women in Mormonism has been a source of public debate since before the death of Joseph Smith in 1844. Various denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement have taken different paths on the subject of women and their role in the church and in society. Views range from the full equal status and ordination of women to the priesthood, as practiced by the Community of Christ, to a patriarchal system practiced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to the ultra-patriarchal plural marriage system practiced by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and other Mormon fundamentalist groups.
The Ensign of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly shortened to Ensign, is an official periodical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The magazine was first issued in January 1971, along with the correlated New Era and the Friend. Each of these magazines replaced the older church publications Improvement Era, Relief Society Magazine, The Instructor, and the Millennial Star. Unlike some of its predecessors, the Ensign contains no advertisements.
The law of chastity is a moral code defined by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to the church, chastity means that "sexual relations are proper only between a man and a woman who are legally and lawfully wedded as husband and wife." Therefore, abstinence from sexual relations before marriage, and complete fidelity to one's spouse during marriage, are required. As part of the law of chastity, the church teaches its members to abstain from adultery and fornication.
The Young Fabians is the under age 31 section of the Fabian Society, a socialist society in the United Kingdom that is affiliated to the Labour Party. The Young Fabians operate as a membership-driven think tank that organises policy debates, research projects, publications, conferences, and international delegations. The organisation holds no collective position on policy.
Especially For Youth is a week-long youth-oriented seminar focused on fellowship and teaching the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is run by Brigham Young University's (BYU) Continuing Education (CE) and is the largest church-oriented summer camp, attracting over 50,000 attendees every year at locations around the world.
New Era is an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. First published in January 1971 along with the Ensign and the Friend, the New Era's intended audience has always been the church's youth. The magazine replaced the similarly themed The Improvement Era, a periodical published from 1897 to 1970.
"For the Strength of Youth" is a pamphlet distributed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that "summarizes standards from scripture and from the writings and teachings of Church leaders." The pamphlet's target audience is young men and young women of the LDS Church, although its principles are applicable to all age groups and non-church-members alike. It is available on the Internet and in print form. The pamphlet was first published in 1965, and its 9th and most recent edition was released in 2011. The pamphlet was meant to be put "in the hands of every young person in each ward".
Sexuality has a prominent role within the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which teaches that gender is defined in the premortal existence, and that part of the purpose of mortal life is for men and women to be sealed together, forming bonds that allow them to progress eternally together in the afterlife. It also teaches that sexual relations within the framework of opposite-sex marriage is healthy, necessary, and ordained of God. In contrast with some orthodox Christian movements, sexuality in the Church's theology is neither a product of original sin nor a "necessary evil". In accordance with the law of chastity, LDS Church doctrine bars sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage.
Mike Yaconelli was a writer, theologian, church leader and satirist. Co-Founder of Youth Specialties, a training organization for Christian youth leaders, and The Wittenburg Door, a satirical magazine, Yaconelli was also the pastor of a small church in Yreka, California - "the slowest growing church in America" as he called it. He and wife Karla used to share their time between Yreka and the Youth Specialties offices in El Cajon, California.
The Young Women is a youth organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The purpose of the Young Women organization is to help each young woman "be worthy to make and keep sacred covenants and receive the ordinances of the temple."
The Young Men is a youth organization and official program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its purpose is to assist the church's Aaronic priesthood-aged young men in their the growth and development. The organization serves young men from the year they turn 12 until they are 18.
The Romanian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is Romania's seventh-largest religious body. At the 2011 census, 85,902 Romanians declared themselves to be Seventh-Day Adventists. The church put its own membership at 64,224 in 2018. Ethnically, in 2002, they were 83.5% Romanians, 9.7% Hungarians, 4.9% Roma, 1.4% Ukrainians and 0.5% belonged to other groups. The denomination has 1,185 church buildings and some 340 pastors. It originates in the 19th century and is divided into six local conferences, standing for and named after some of the country's main historical regions: Banat, Northern Transylvania, Southern Transylvania, Moldavia, Muntenia and Oltenia.
Generation of Youth for Christ, formerly the General Youth Conference, is an annual conference and expression of Adventist theology and 28 Fundamental Beliefs, which organizes and coordinates Bible studies, online sermons, regional youth conferences, mission trips, global networking opportunities for young people, week of prayers and youth camp meetings. It began with a small group of Korean students studying their Bibles together all night. It developed through middle-of-the-night text-messaging between two university students, one in Massachusetts, the other in California. They decided to call people together for a small conference in the woods of California. At that first conference, held in 2002, 200 people were invited; 400 attended. Since then, the popularity of the conventions has grown, and even the President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ted N. C. Wilson has attended and praise the conventions. It has sermons that have been published in hardcover and the 2010 convention registered 5,100 participants.
George Storrs was a Christian teacher and writer in the United States.
Youth of the Nation was an annual Christian Youth Conference held for 15 years in Wanganui, New Zealand. Unlike many other Christian conferences, YOTN was not held by one specific church or denomination. Youth of the Nation conferences and events were hosted by The Youth Of The Nation Trust in collaboration with other churches from around New Zealand. For the first 8 years the conferences were hosted by the Wanganui Christian Youth Workers collective, a group of Christian youth pastors & workers from different denominations & churches across the city of Wanganui. This collective included representatives from Anglican, Apostolic, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Open Brethren, Catholic, Incedo, Presbyterian, Christian Outreach Centre—now known as International Network of Churches—, Elim, Salvation Army, & non-denominational. From 2012 until 2018, the YOTN Trust partnered with churches, not only in Wanganui, but from across New Zealand to host events in different cities.
"To Young Men Only" is a sermon delivered by Mormon apostle Boyd K. Packer on October 2, 1976, at the priesthood session of the 146th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The sermon is addressed to young men of the Aaronic priesthood and discusses issues of human sexuality, puberty, and morality. From 1980 to 2016, the sermon was published as a pamphlet by the LDS Church. It has been criticized in several publications that it encourages violence against homosexuals. In 2016, the church discontinued the pamphlet.
Catholic Organizations for Youth in Asia (COYA) is a network of Catholic youth organizations in Asia.
On many occasions spanning over a century, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have taught that adherents should not masturbate as part of obedience to the code of conduct known as the law of chastity. The LDS Church places great emphasis on the law of chastity. Commitment to live the law of chastity is required for baptism, and adherence is required to receive a temple recommend, and is part of the temple endowment ceremony covenants devout participants promise by oath to keep. While serving as church president, Spencer W. Kimball taught that the law of chastity includes "masturbation ... and every hidden and secret sin and all unholy and impure thoughts and practices." Before serving full-time missions, young adults are required to abandon the practice as it is believed to be a gateway sin that dulls sensitivity to the guidance of the Holy Ghost. The first recorded public mention of masturbation by a general church leader to a broad audience was in 1952 by apostle J. Reuben Clark, and recent notable mentions include ones in 2013, 2016, and a 2019 update to the Missionary Handbook.
