There is a very large danger in making what you feel is a hard and fast decision about not having sex, and thus taking adequate and wise precautions. I know because I was there. And even though I'll be telling on myself, I'm going to since real life experiences can't be denied and I feel you will benefit from your honest question.
I was a JW when the hormones hit and started racing around my bloodstream at very nearly the speed of light.
My girlfriend was experiencing the same phenomena.
However, as a sincere JW, I was determined not to, um, grouse in the goody until I was married. Since that was my full intention, there was no need to make any sort of preparations for our dates. We weren't going to need any condoms because we weren't going to have sex before marriage. End of discussion.
It's amazing how different things look based on where you are. In the Kingdom Hall it's easy to be determined not to have sex until you're married. It's an entirely different matter when you find yourself alone with your main squeeze.
And that's what happened to us. We found ourselves alone quite a bit. Since her father was one of those fire-breathing, inflexible, evil-eyed types who would have had a stroke if he'd caught us having a little innocent kiss in the living room, we made it our business to be alone so as to just do what was normal. And a little kissing is OK.
So there we found ourselves alone, no protection, and hotter than the proverbial firecracker - one thing having led inexorably to another. And we didn't have any protection because we believed in our cool determination to reject sexuality until we were married. Good intentions don't hold a candle to doing what comes naturally. And I'm sure you're aware that the urge to procreate is second only to the urge for self-preservation. So we did what comes naturally. And it blew up in our faces. And it still hurts these forty years later.
If I could go back and live that part of my life again, I would have purchased a package of a half-dozen condoms and would have taken them with us every time we went on a date, or expected to be alone. We had too much faith in our ability to live up to our ideals. Ideals are a great thing, but they don't hold a candle to answering the call of nature.
Be smart. Have your condoms with you always. If you can live up to your ideals you won't need them anyway. If you can't live up to your ideals, you will have shown wisdom and forethought and may avoid a world of hurt and pain that could last for years - maybe for the rest of your life.
Best of Luck to You
Francois
