When is it OK to kiss?

Photo illustration by Matthew Reier

Aside from counseling against “passionate kissing” before marriage (For the Strength of Youth [2011], 36), Church leaders have not given specific guidelines about when kissing is “permitted” for youth. This is one of those areas where they teach you correct principles and you govern yourself (see Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 284). The correct principles are these: “Treat others with respect, not as objects used to satisfy lustful and selfish desires. … Do not do anything … that arouses sexual feelings. … Pay attention to the promptings of the Spirit so that you can be clean and virtuous” (For the Strength of Youth, 36).

Also, kissing often implies the kind of paired-off or serious relationship you’ve been counseled to avoid as a teen (see For the Strength of Youth, 4). So, while being attracted to a person is natural, and kissing someone is a natural way of expressing affection or attraction, that’s precisely why you need to be cautious about it. If you kiss at all, or kiss too early and too often, you’re more likely to be tempted to move on to other, less-innocent activities.

So, although Church leaders haven’t specifically told you when it’s OK to kiss, if you choose to kiss, it’s probably best to be sparing with your kisses.