The Second Wave of Feminism grew out of "the problem with no name" as described in Betty Friedan's 1963 "The Feminine Mystique." That problem was discontent over socially imposed gender roles and real and perceived discrimination against women.

The term "gender" is distinct from the biological sex of an individual. Gender refers not only to the sex of a human being but also to socially and culturally constructed distinctions between the sexes -- often reinforced through social institutions. For instance, some societies associate hysteria, emotion, weakness or kindness with women, while strength, reason, leadership and violence are associated with men. Some of these characteristics may be true of an individual, but broadly labeling a group can be harmful; gender distinctions elaborated in law and custom can curtail the exercise of individual agency, God's great gift to mankind.

Second Wave feminists identified many unfair distinctions and sought to redress social inequities. Many good changes have been effected. However, many feminists not only associated with the radical groups of the late '60s and '70s but also held socially radical positions antithetical to the Mormon beliefs and teachings of the church.

One particularly disturbing position was the call for the "sexual liberation of women," based on the premise that sexual license was acceptable for men and ought to be equally acceptable for women. I categorize this as "the great lie."

If one thing has proven the greatest harm to women throughout history it is sexual profligacy. NOTHING good has or ever will come from widespread sexual immorality. The Lord's standard has not and will not change. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ condemned adultery, fornication and pornography. He specified: "Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

Apostles and prophets have and will consistently continue this condemnation. The apostle Paul denounced, "the works of the flesh ... which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness." Matthew taught, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications. ... These are the things which defile a man."

The truth of the 19th-century feminist movement was that the bulk of women who sought social equality for women carried a sign in one hand, "Votes for Women," and in the other, "Chastity for Men." These mostly devout Christians understood the horrors in a world where sexual license and associated evils reigned, free from all social restraint. Nineteenth-century feminists decried the sexual double standard and demanded an equal standard of sexual purity for men and women: sexual restraint outside marriage and complete fidelity within marriage.

As women in our day have fallen for the ruse of sexual license, it is evident that the sexual liberation of women is instead the "sexual enslavement of women." Does society perceive and treat sexually active women the same as sexually active men? Absolutely not. Men who are sexually active are "studs" or "pimps," slang terms that valorize such behavior. Overwhelmingly, slang terms applied to women who are sexually active carry negative, derogatory connotations.

As more women exercise moral turpitude and embrace pornography, society has come to accept and promote this venal industry. Women are increasingly perceived and treated as sexual objects. They are little more than disposable commodities, bought and sold on the open market as illustrated by the increase in prostitution and burgeoning numbers of women wholly enslaved in human sexual trafficking.

The fast track to poverty in our world is teen pregnancy. This is not a male problem. Young women are impregnated while men often walk away, leaving the woman to raise and care for a child. When a child gives birth to a child, she often forfeits the opportunity to secure even a rudimentary education -- let alone higher education -- and the result is lifelong impoverishment. Women who choose abortion are left with either the emotional scars of that decision or are desensitized to the horrors of terminating a potential life.

More often than not unmarried sexually active women have the responsibility for birth control. What many find is that while birth control might possibly prevent a pregnancy, it serves as little more than false security against STDs, AIDS and various other debilitating, destructive diseases. Sexually transmitted diseases are rampant in our world.

Women's reproductive organs are internal. Men often notice the signs of STDs and treat them. They often go unnoticed in women, and untreated they leave women scarred, infertile and sterile. Uterine cancer has also been medically linked to sexual activity and its incidence among women is skyrocketing.

Sister Elaine S. Dalton, general president of the LDS Church's Young Women organization, stated: "Virtue is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. It encompasses chastity and moral purity....Virtue is a word we don't hear often in today's society."

Church President Thomas S. Monson has counseled: "You be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone. Have the moral courage to be a light for others to follow. There is no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience, your own moral cleanliness." The Lord's standards of chastity and virtue have not changed.

To promote the sexual liberation of women is to promote a gross lie that masks the truth that sexual license leads to the degradation and enslavement of women. Sexual liberation is the antithesis of what God wants for his beloved daughters. It opposes his desire to protect and promote the safety and security of women and to enhance the position of women in today's world.