I recently attended a meeting that many would consider anachronistic: Standards Night, an annual gathering for Mormon youth and their parents encouraging chaste and porn-free living. Some call this ritual and others like it nothing more than a chance to shame and stigmatize normal adolescent behavior. Admittedly, the baby (teaching moral standards) has sometimes been immersed in bathwater (messaging that leaves kids guilt-ridden and hopeless about measuring up). Many a memoir or critically acclaimed novel covers this coming-of-age territory well.
But this Standards Night—as I imagine similar gatherings play out, in Evangelical or Catholic circles—acknowledged the likelihood that some youth had already fallen short in the pornography and sexual-activity arenas. The messaging included a heavy dose of forgiveness terminology, which emphasized yet another anachronism, repentance, assuring those who'd messed up that they could try again. And again. And again.
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