Question regarding marital intimacy?

[MaryV]

Hello! I have a question regarding marital intimacy. Is it permissible to be intimate with your spouse without consummating? Even if it causes arousal? Like kissing, cuddling and touching (no stimulating though! I understand that’s permissible only if you will continue to consummate!) For example My husband and I were cuddling this early morning and he was being rather affectionate and touching me and this caused arousal. I asked if he wanted to continue, and he said no and fell asleep. It left me feeling somewhat worried that because we were aroused by cuddling and touching, I had the thought that because we had both felt this way, we should have continued to consummate, and not doing so possibly sinned? (I am rather newly married.)

 

[TheLittleLady]

As long as neither you we’re so aroused that you sinned (masturbation, porn, an affair), it is simply imprudent. Why get your spouse all steamy only to roll over and go to sleep.

We’re it me, we’d have a talk this evening and say “it made me uncomfortable that we started something that you had no intention of finishing. Can we not do that again?”

 

[MaryV]

As long as neither you we’re so aroused that you sinned (masturbation, porn, an affair), it is simply imprudent. Why get your spouse all steamy only to roll over and go to sleep.

Makes sense! I’m rather newly married, less than a year, and I just want to be able to understand and follow all the Church’s teachings and rules on sexuality! In the past I sometimes thought, “ok both are aroused and ready,better get to it or it it could be a sin!” I didn’t have much of a problem with it because were newlyweds and both want babies! Haha. It’s just that “in between” like today that sometimes I worry about. Thank you for responding!