LDS Sexual Health, Mormon Mental Health, and the Research Questions We Still Haven’t Asked
By Kristy Money, PhD, LP
Only in March 2026, researchers published the first complete three-dimensional map of the clitoral nervous system.
Think about that for a moment.
For nearly three decades, medicine has had a comparable map of the nerves of the penis. But only this year did scientists produce the first detailed 3D map of the clitoris—an organ whose sole known biological function is pleasure. Researchers hope this new understanding will improve pelvic surgery, sexual function, and women’s health.
It’s an exciting scientific milestone.
It’s also a reminder of how much we still don’t know.
For decades, researchers have documented what is often called the “orgasm gap.” Women, particularly in heterosexual relationships, report substantially lower rates of orgasm than men, and modern studies continue to document that gap.
Researchers have also begun examining how cultural and religious messages influence sexuality. Studies have explored the effects of purity culture in some evangelical Christian communities, raising important questions about shame, desire, and sexual functioning.
But here’s what we don’t know.
Where is the extensive research on LDS sexual health?
Where are the large studies examining sexual functioning among Latter-day Saints? What about the long-term effects of Mormon purity culture? How do religious beliefs, family systems, and community expectations influence intimacy, body image, desire, or sexual satisfaction across the lifespan?
There are thoughtful clinicians asking these questions every day.
Many are hearing similar stories in therapy rooms across the Intermountain West and beyond.
The same is true for so many areas of Mormon mental health.
We need more research on religious trauma in LDS populations.
We need more research on faith transitions.
We need to better understand how neurodiversity is experienced within Mormon culture.
We need to explore family relationships, identity development, LGBTQ+experiences, OCD, mixed-faith marriages, sexual health, and resilience: because culture MATTERS. Good mental health research always asks how culture shapes human experience.
The Mormon Mental Health Association has long believed that clinicians, educators, and researchers have an important role to play in building that knowledge.
If you’re a researcher looking for meaningful questions, this field is full of them.
If you’re a clinician, your observations may help shape tomorrow’s research.
And if you’re both, we hope you’ll help move the conversation forward.
Join the Conversation July 30–31
At the Mormon Mental Health Association Conference on July 30–31, researchers and clinicians come together to discuss the questions that matter: from LDS mental health and religious trauma to Mormon culture, faith transitions, sexual health, neurodiversity, and the future of
research in this field.
Because the best research often starts with a question:
“Why don’t we know the answer to this yet?”
We’d love to have you join the conversation.