--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No prophet or apostle has lived a…" description: "\"“No prophet or apostle has lived a celibate life is what I'd like to tell her. No one who's ever told me celibacy is a viable option has ever been celi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/nicole-hardy-22139_celibacy_no-prophet-or-apostle-has-lived-a-celiba_2755948.jpg" --- # No prophet or apostle has lived a celibate life is what… ![“No prophet or apostle has lived a celibate life is what I'd like to tell her. No one who's ever told me celibacy is a viable option has ever been celibate. They don't even use the word. They say 'abstinent,' which implies there will be an end. They don't consider what my life will be like, if I…” quote by Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/nicole-hardy-22139_celibacy_no-prophet-or-apostle-has-lived-a-celiba_2755948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/nicole-hardy-22139_celibacy_no-prophet-or-apostle-has-lived-a-celiba_2755948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/nicole-hardy-22139_celibacy_no-prophet-or-apostle-has-lived-a-celiba_2755948.jpg) > ““No prophet or apostle has lived a celibate life is what I'd like to tell her. No one who's ever told me celibacy is a viable option has ever been celibate. They don't even use the word. They say 'abstinent,' which implies there will be an end. They don't consider what my life will be like, if I never marry. Which is likely, given who I am, and the ways I'm different. People stand at the pulpit, or they come to my house, and tell me not to need what every human needs. Afterward, they go home and undress. They lie down next to the person they love most, or once did.”” [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker critiques religious advice on celibacy, highlighting its impracticality and the disconnect between doctrine and lived experience. **In simple terms:** Religious celibacy advice feels unrealistic and out of touch. Key Takeaway Question and challenge imposed celibacy expectations. Themes faith personal freedom sexuality societal norms hypocrisy Mood critical empathetic Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - marriage counseling - spiritual guidance - community support groups Key Concepts religious doctrine personal identity social pressure Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives exist for those feeling pressured? - How can religious communities address diverse life paths? A Different Perspective Not all individuals can or should follow celibacy; personal choice matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Celibacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celibacy/) [Celibate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celibate/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“If I say no, sex isn't everything--those mechanics, that act--but it affects everything, she will say, "Be faithful." If I say sex casts a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/if-i-say-no-sex-isn-t-everything-those-mechanics-that-act-but-it/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [My attitude is celibate...I don't give a f\*ck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabolous/my-attitude-is-celibate-i-don-t-give-a-f-ck/) Fabolous > [Im single right now and Ive chosen to be single because I dont have the time to get to know anybody. So its okay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/im-single-right-now-and-ive-chosen-to-be-single-because-i-dont-have/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [It's amazing how clear your mind becomes when your celibate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amazing-how-clear-your-mind-becomes-when-your-celibate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“How often do we hear from the local diocesan people—the bishop, the communications director, the victim assistance coordinator, and others—that this abuse is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-l-bailey-jr/how-often-do-we-hear-from-the-local-diocesan-people-the-bishop-the/) [Charles L. Bailey Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-l-bailey-jr/) > [the most grievous wrong of that day ... was to be found in the establishment of the celibacy of the clergy. ... This hideous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillie-devereux-blake/the-most-grievous-wrong-of-that-day-was-to-be-found-in-the/) [Lillie Devereux Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillie-devereux-blake/) > [I'm Celibate , I need somebody that can penetrate me mentally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-celibate-i-need-somebody-that-can-penetrate-me-mentally/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“AIDS would have claimed fewer lives if we had publicly recommended what I wish to call ‘The Presumption of Sickness,’ i.e., the principle that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/aids-would-have-claimed-fewer-lives-if-we-had-publicly-recommended/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Maintaining a celibate relationship is hard thats why standards must be set and God has to be centered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maintaining-a-celibate-relationship-is-hard-thats-why-standards-must/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I’m single right now and I’ve chosen to be single because I don’t have the time to get to know anybody. So it’s okay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-m-single-right-now-and-i-ve-chosen-to-be-single-because-i-don-t/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [That's why real awareness always leads you beyond sex, and celibacy happens on its own accord. Because to be in sex you have either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/that-s-why-real-awareness-always-leads-you-beyond-sex-and-celibacy/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“It is better to lock up your heart with a merciless padlock, than to fall in love with someone who doesn't know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/it-is-better-to-lock-up-your-heart-with-a-merciless-padlock-than-to/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“I'm not an advocate of promiscuity; but then I'm also not an advocate of being virginal. It's not like I put virginity or celibacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-m-not-an-advocate-of-promiscuity-but-then-i-m-also-not-an-advocate/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [I'm religiously celibate except in LA, NOLA, FLA, because there is certainly no God in any of those places. So unless you live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessicka/i-m-religiously-celibate-except-in-la-nola-fla-because-there-is/) Jessicka > [“The common mistake of the religious celibate has been to suppose that the highest spiritual life absolutely demands the renunciation of sexuality, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/the-common-mistake-of-the-religious-celibate-has-been-to-suppose-that/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) ## More by Nicole Hardy > [“The separation of young single adults from (plain old) single adults is supposedly a precaution against older men courting girls as young as eighteen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/the-separation-of-young-single-adults-from-plain-old-single-adults-is/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“That feels like the worst part: denying people hope. I don't know where I'd be if I couldn't even tell myself that any day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/that-feels-like-the-worst-part-denying-people-hope-i-don-t-know-where/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“I would, for the love of God, feel a man's hands on me before I die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/i-would-for-the-love-of-god-feel-a-man-s-hands-on-me-before-i-die/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“Sariah and Kim both nod when I say I woke up one day wondering, Whose life is this, and how did I end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/sariah-and-kim-both-nod-when-i-say-i-woke-up-one-day-wondering-whose/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“I played along, spent the next two hours searching for Mormon men who are attractive, employed, educated, no more than two inches shorter than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/i-played-along-spent-the-next-two-hours-searching-for-mormon-men-who/) [Nicole hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“If I say no, sex isn't everything--those mechanics, that act--but it affects everything, she will say, "Be faithful." If I say sex casts a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/if-i-say-no-sex-isn-t-everything-those-mechanics-that-act-but-it/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“We seem expected to put up with bad manners and bizarre behavior from LDS men, I say. Things we'd never subject ourselves to on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/we-seem-expected-to-put-up-with-bad-manners-and-bizarre-behavior-from/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“My throat closes against the words I can't swallow, not one more time. Because it's not true, what they're telling me--what they've been telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/my-throat-closes-against-the-words-i-can-t-swallow-not-one-more-time/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“Kids need information in order to make good decisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/kids-need-information-in-order-to-make-good-decisions/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“Rather than envy, anticipation, or joy, what I feel when I look at the bride is a shortness of breath. I hear the echo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/rather-than-envy-anticipation-or-joy-what-i-feel-when-i-look-at-the/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“There have to be men out there like us: committed to the Gospel, if not the culture of the church, she says. I nod…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/there-have-to-be-men-out-there-like-us-committed-to-the-gospel-if-not/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“I can't bear to look at the screen itself, the women in pastels, like so many Jordan almonds. The men in suits, wearing equally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/i-can-t-bear-to-look-at-the-screen-itself-the-women-in-pastels-like/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“For Mormon women, however, motherhood is an identity, rather than a role.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/for-mormon-women-however-motherhood-is-an-identity-rather-than-a-role/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“Five minutes later, I have in my hand a one-way ticket that will take me back to the island of Grand Cayman to live.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/five-minutes-later-i-have-in-my-hand-a-one-way-ticket-that-will-take/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [“Already I'm wondering if it will happen again, and when: that what I've been conditioned to fear, taught to avoid, will instead reveal the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/already-i-m-wondering-if-it-will-happen-again-and-when-that-what-i-ve/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) [Explore all 28 Nicole Hardy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) ## More Celibacy quotes > [“I will tell you this only once. Homosexuals have been among the best warriors in our history, the berserkers of last resort. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/i-will-tell-you-this-only-once-homosexuals-have-been-among-the-best/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“This worldly life is very difficult. Mother-in-law comes, mother of the mother-in-law comes, sister of mother-in-law comes, aunt of mother-in-law comes. How many mother-in-laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/this-worldly-life-is-very-difficult-mother-in-law-comes-mother-of-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Celibacy is the worst form of self-abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/celibacy-is-the-worst-form-of-self-abuse/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [“Masturbation is not the happiest form of sexuality, but the most advisable for him who wants to be alone and think. I detect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/masturbation-is-not-the-happiest-form-of-sexuality-but-the-most/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“Sheel (the highest state of conduct in worldly interaction) is where not even an iota of a wrong intent arises within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/sheel-the-highest-state-of-conduct-in-worldly-interaction-is-where/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Yes, hypothetically, western Catholicism could revise the theme of celibacy. ... But for the moment, I am in favor of maintaining celibacy, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/yes-hypothetically-western-catholicism-could-revise-the-theme-of/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is impossible to believe that the same God who permitted His own son to die a bachelor regards celibacy as an actual sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/it-is-impossible-to-believe-that-the-same-god-who-permitted-his-own/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Not just the celibacy thing but because he has God’s ear, a line on the mysteries. That’s impressive to girls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-elkin/not-just-the-celibacy-thing-but-because-he-has-god-s-ear-a-line-on/) [Stanley Elkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-elkin/) > [“It is better to lock up your heart with a merciless padlock, than to fall in love with someone who doesn't know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/it-is-better-to-lock-up-your-heart-with-a-merciless-padlock-than-to/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [In the name of celibacy, sex has been repressed for centuries and you have become just full of sexuality. Rather than transcending it you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/in-the-name-of-celibacy-sex-has-been-repressed-for-centuries-and-you/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“Fr. Benedict Groeschel says it in his uniquely northern New Jersey way: “Celibacy means that we belong exclusively to the Lord, from our brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-m-dolan-cardinal/fr-benedict-groeschel-says-it-in-his-uniquely-northern-new-jersey-way/) Timothy M Dolan Cardinal > [“...it is poverty only which makes celibacy contemptible to a generous public! A single woman, with a very narrow income, must be a ridiculous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-is-poverty-only-which-makes-celibacy-contemptible-to-a-generous/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Even supposing there were some spiritual advantage in celibacy, it ought to be completely voluntary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/even-supposing-there-were-some-spiritual-advantage-in-celibacy-it/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [There were the physical challenges of hitchhiking across Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan as they were quite dangerous areas. I wrote about that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/there-were-the-physical-challenges-of-hitchhiking-across-turkey-iran/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [“Though I wholeheartedly supported celibacy at the start of my seminary career, my opinion changed as I made my way toward and through priesthood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-benedict/though-i-wholeheartedly-supported-celibacy-at-the-start-of-my/) [Charles Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-benedict/) [Browse all 221 Celibacy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celibacy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“No prophet or apostle has lived a celibate life is what I'd like to tell her. No one who's ever told me celibacy is a viable option has ever been celibate. They don't even use the word. They say 'abstinent,' which implies there will be an end. They don't consider what my life will be like, if I never marry. Which is likely, given who I am, and the ways I'm different. People stand at the pulpit, or they come to my house, and tell me not to need what every human needs. Afterward, they go home and undress. 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