When Life Is More Than a Soap Opera

Julianne Morris says abstinence is one role she won't negotiate.

Julianne Morris, soap star who promotes marriage between a man and wife as the Bible teaches.

Julianne Morris' first role in a daytime soap was as a 16-year-old on The Young and the Restless. The storyline took a turn that challenged her faith as a Christian. It called for her character to lose her virginity.

"I was mortified," Julianne says. "That is such a horrible message."

She tried to reason with the producers and writers.

"I did not go in like a bull in a china shop. I tried to be humble and kind and loving and backed it with facts [about teen pregnancy]," she said.

But the producers had their way, and her character was unable to remain a virgin.

"They were very nice about it and agreed to add several scenes-several days of me just crying and saying [the pregnancy] was the biggest mistake I'd ever made, that I wanted to wait until I was married.

"But there are a lot of situations where girls lose their virginity and then realize they made a big mistake," Julianne adds. "So there was a message in it."

Julianne, who is single and left Days of Our Lives this spring, clearly advocates sexual abstinence before marriage.

"I am waiting. It is not always easy, but it is the right thing to do," she says.

The Days star has a strong message for all singles, especially teens. "I believe marriage is ordained by God," she says. "The Bible teaches quite explicitly that the romantic attachment between a husband and a wife is a parallel to our relationship to God. There could be no stronger indication of its importance.

"The idea of waiting until you are married to have sex is simply an acknowledgment of the power of sex and its unique status. Christians understand exactly how exalted and life changing it is, which is why we don't advocate treating it as cavalier as getting a manicure.

Reprinted with permission from Charisma, (May 2002). ? Strang Communications Co., USA. All rights reserved. www.charismamag.com

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