BDSM and the Book of Mormon

[_Darth J]

The following is an excerpt from a lecture by Professor Darth J in his Cassius University course, Book of Mormon Exegesis 402.

"Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness." Alma 38:12

Both critics of the Book of Mormon and those who follow popular folk beliefs about the Book of Mormon tend to impose a fundamentalist, literalist meaning on the text. Critics do this to suit their agenda; the folk Mormon reading seems to have more to do with reading one's pre-conceived beliefs into the text. In Alma 38 and 39 in particular, this fundamentalist, literalist interpretation has been imposed on Alma the Younger's discussion of sexuality with this sons Shiblon and Coriantion. It is much easier to find proponents of the literalist folk interpretation than a more allegorical, symbolic meaning of Alma the Younger explaining the ins and outs of kink to his sons. An example of the former school of thought can be found in the personal opinion of Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve:

"Marriage is both a commandment and an exalting principle of the gospel. Because it is ordained of God, the intimate physical expressions of married love are sacred. Yet all too commonly, these divine gifts are desecrated. If a couple allows lewd language or pornography to corrupt their intimacy, they offend their Creator while they degrade and diminish their own divine gifts."
-"Nurturing Marriage," April 2006 General Conference

Likewise, here is the opinion of Sister Wendy Watson, the current second spouse of Elder Nelson, who as a female has absolutely no authority to declare the position of the Church:

"As you strive and work with your loved ones for an increasingly intimate relationship that is blessed by the presence of the Spirit, the distinction between the Lord's truth about intimacy and the adversary's lies will become increasingly clear. For truly, if there is anything impure, defiling, of an illicit nature, or obscene, the adversary seeks to generate these things and seeks to convince us that these things are normal, good, and part of intimacy. They are not!"
-"Personal Purity and Intimacy," 1999 BYU Women's Conference

Compare these fundamentalist views with those of other commentators on LDS doctrine. For example, Why Me has stated:

"One more thing about a Mormon lay. When the man touches a woman with her clothes on, depending on the material, (it should be light cotton) it produces a good sensation on the woman's skin. She becomes excited and sexually heated. The man too shares in the excitement. But again, one must not lose control. Such was Mormon life in NYC in the 70's." viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16212&p=398407&hilit=petting#p398407

Another commentator on this issue is liz3564, whose thoughts can be found in the Telestial Forum.

With this disagreement among LDS commentators as to how dirty and perverted we should be in our sexuality, how are we to interpret the text of Alma 38 and 39? A careful reading of the text suggests clues that we can use to get to the correct meaning, while refraining from imposing our own judgments and preconceptions.

One of these keys is context. Let us return to the verse quoted previously, when Alma the Younger is talking to Shiblon:

"Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness." Alma 38:12

"Boldness but not overbearance" is a fair summary of accepted norms within what is known as the "BDSM" community. BDSM (Bondage and Discipline/Sadism and Masochism) "may encompass practices such as erotic spanking, flagellation, such as flogging...whipping....paddling, or medical submission[.]" http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/BDSM#Various_practices One of the key tenets of experienced BDSM practitioners is "safe, sane, and consensual." Indeed, an important component of most BDSM relationships is the use of a safeword, indicating that the receptive partner is approaching or exceeding her limits of tolerance (pain or emotional). "In the actual BDSM lifestyle, a dominant who acquires a reputation for ignoring safewords will experience increasing difficulty finding BDSM partners." http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/BDSM#Safety Small wonder, then, that Alma would advise his son to use boldness, but not overbearance in his role as a top.

We can further understand that "safe, sane, and consensual" is indeed the message of Alma 38:12 when we consider the reference to a "bridle." We must be careful not to engage in presentism when we interpret this verse. Horses did not exist in the pre-Columbian Americas, and it is well-established that the word "horse" in the Book of Mormon is the result of loan-shifting, not a literal reference to Equus ferus. Although some literalist readers have interpreted "bridle all your passions" as a metaphor, that interpretation incorrectly assumes that either Alma or Shiblon would have pictured the kind of bridle you put on a horse, which of course is impossible because they would never have seen a horse. However, human beings were abundant in the Book of Mormon, and there are in fact bridles that are sometimes used on humans---otherwise known as bit gags:



The only way this verse makes sense is if we realize that it was not referencing a horse bridle, but a "people" bridle. This realization brings Alma's admonition about "boldness but not overbearance" into full context, because a personal who is gagged cannot use a safeword, but must rely on some non-verbal signal to indicate when she is reaching her limits. "In situations where the submissive's mouth is gagged, or the submissive is otherwise incapable of speaking without violating the fetish scenario, a non-verbal signal is used instead of a safeword. Typically this might be dropping a bell or ball, or uttering three loud grunts in quick succession." http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/BDSM#Safety "Passions" clearly refers to one's partner in a BDSM scene. With this careful reading of the text, we come to realize that Alma was advising his son to pay careful attention to his partner in BDSM scenes where a gag is used. Shiblon is told that by doing so, he will be filled with love, indicating that bondage should be practiced in a loving, consensual relationship. He is also told to refrain from idleness, referencing the attention that a top should give to the needs and limitations of the submissive partner.

This prophetic advise is still relevant to our time, and another sign that the Book of Mormon was written for our day.

[_Bob Loblaw]

Here's the difference: BDSM is fun and enjoyable. Not so Mormonism.

[_Darth J]

Moving on to Alma 39, we again see an unfortunate tendency to impose a literalist, fundamentalist interpretation on the text. In this chapter, Alma the Younger's son, Corianton, has taken time off his mission to associate with the harlot Isabel. Alma juxtaposes Corianton's liaison with Isabel with "shedding innocent blood." Critics have read their own interpretation into this verse to suggest that the LDS Church advocates a repressive view of sexuality. But as we see in this actual quote from the February 1994 Ensign, "Once more: the truth is not that worldly gratifications are too satisfying, but that they are not satisfying enough" (emphasis in original).

Unfortunately, some church leaders have also publicly expressed their personal opinions that Alma 39 means sexuality is next to murder as a serious sin. An example of this school of thought is Ezra Taft Benson:

"In the category of sins, the Book of Mormon places unchastity next to murder. (See Alma 39:5.)"
--"Cleansing the Inner Vessel," May 1986 Ensign

Contrasting President Benson's personal opinion is the commentary by noted theologian Mike Ash, who suggests that Alma 39 does not say that sexual liberties are almost as bad as murdering someone. https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/pdf/143-34-43.pdf

In light of the recognition that Alma was giving Shiblon advice on how to have a loving, consensual BDSM relationship in Alma 38, we can gain further insight on what the text of Alma 39 actually means by giving it a careful reading instead of imposing our own prejudices with a literalist, fundamentalist reading.

It is worth noting that this chapter is one of the very few times when a female is mentioned by name: Isabel. Isabel is a French name. It is worth noting that this presents an interesting parallel with BDSM practices. "Sadism" takes its name from the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), who was famous for taking pleasure in causing physical pain to others. As the Prophet Joseph Smith was given an understanding of what was written on the golden plates and left to formulate his own words to express those concepts, it is interesting that he phrased this Lamanite female's name as a French one. Given that the Marquis de Sade lived prior to the translation of the Book of Mormon, it is probable that the Prophet was aware that the French had an association with BDSM.

Alma describes what Corinaton did with Isabel as "abominable." This is consistent with the psychological factors at work in a BDSM relationship. "Motivations for engaging in submissive behaviour may include relief from responsibility, being the object of attention and affection, gaining a sense of security, showing off endurance, and working through issues of shame" http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/BDSM#S ... _behaviour (emphasis added). Indeed, submissive partners sometimes engage in BDSM practices to feel they have been punished for real-life mistakes or wrongs. Thus, an allusion to "sin" and guilt is exactly where we would expect to find it if the Book of Mormon is giving instruction about the parameters of dominance and submission in a BDSM setting.

Alma also refers to "wicked harlots" in verse 11. The idea of "wickedness" or "naughtiness" is a common trope in BDSM practices. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... nkTheCutie. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that Alma suggests that Isabel is "wicked"---why else would Corianton need to punish her?

While Alma indicates that "shedding innocent blood" is the next step up from what Corianton was doing with Isabel, a careful reading of Alma 39 shows that Alma never actually said that Corianton committed murder, nor that Corianton was no longer eligible to fulfill his mission to the Lamanites:

5 Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost?

6 For behold, if ye deny the Holy Ghost when it once has had place in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a sin which is unpardonable; yea, and whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness; yea, I say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain a forgiveness.

7 And now, my son, I would to God that ye had not been guilty of so great a crime. I would not dwell upon your crimes, to harrow up your soul, if it were not for your good.

Given that Corianton never actually killed anyone, nor was he sent home from his mission, these verses only make sense when we realize that Alma was explaining that the next step up from regular BDSM is "edgeplay."

"Edgeplay may involve the risk of serious, even permanent, harm, or death, exemplified by activities such as breathplay (erotic asphyxiation), fire play, knife play, and gunplay, as well as the increased risk of spreading disease, as with cutting, bloodplay, or barebacking." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgeplay

This observation fits perfectly with the Book of Mormon narrative, where Corianton's sessions with Isabel are contrasted with the shedding of innocent blood, which Alma observes is more serious than the BDSM activities Corianton had been engaging in.

Note also that rather than "crucify" himself, in verse 9, Alma twice tells Corianton to "cross" himself:

Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but cross yourself in all these things; for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Oh, remember, and take it upon you, and cross yourself in these things.

It had been long prophesied among the Nephites that Jesus would be crucified, so if Alma was talking about the abandonment of sin, Corianton doubtlessly would have recognized the metaphor of "crucifying" himself. But a careful reading of the text shows that Alma deliberately chose his words as "cross." A compelling parallel to this phrasing is found in modern BDSM practices, where a Saint Andrew's Cross is a piece of furniture used for bondage, and occasionally S&M, activities:



Clearly, the ancient Nephites employed similar devices in their own practices.

When reading the Book of Mormon, it is of crucial importance that we not impose our own preconceived notions of sexuality---be they the fundamentalist caricature of critics of the literalist interpretations of folk Mormonism--on the text. We should not look for the Book of Mormon in BDSM. Rather, we should look for BDSM in the Book of Mormon.