If you didn’t grow up Mormon—or religiously follow the rollercoasters that are MormonTok and MomTok—there’s a very high chance you don’t know what ‘soaking’ is. The obscure sex term has only recently entered the mainstream TikTok sphere and produced shock, laughter, and ridicule among netizens who were previously unaware of this absurd practice.

Soaking, docking, d*ck-warming, or marinating is known as God’s blindspot, the golden loophole, and a way for Mormons—who are required to abstain from sex before marriage—to still indulge in its glorious pleasures. So without further ado, here is a full explainer of the term that managed to stun both myself and the entire internet.

Soaking, in Mormon college culture, has nothing to do with getting stains out of clothing, as you might have already guessed by now. Instead, it refers to a man inserting his erection into a woman’s vagina or anus, and… well, not doing a whole lot more than that.

@lexie_8133

Reply to @kremdelacrop I wish I was joking #exmo #exmormon #fyp #OneSliceChallenge #ward666 #postmormon

♬ original sound - Lexie George

@exmolex

Reply to @user5465489459629 soaking #exmormon #exmormonhumor #exmormontiktok #provo #provoutah #byu #exmo #exlds #soaking #excult #cult #mormons

♬ original sound - Exmo Lex

Instead of thrusting like an individual might typically do, they stay perfectly still, like a statue. The idea is that soaking is an exception to pre-marital sex because it doesn’t involve movement or orgasm, similar to the idea that anal sex (the ‘poophole loophole’) doesn’t really count.

“Something that sounds made up but is 100 per cent real,” TikToker ExMo Lex stated when describing the practice online.

Premarital sexual intercourse infamously goes against the code of chastity of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. In response, soaking has quickly become a popular way to relieve sexual desire without feeling like one is actually participating in sex.

However, the sex hack doesn’t stop at playing statue and starfish.

Jump humping involves a third person jumping on the bed (or pushing up on the mattress from below) to create movement and friction for the soaking couple. Because the couple themselves aren’t the ones moving, this still absolves them from any guilt and shame associated with sexual acts. Forget trust falls. If your bestie is out here jump-humping for you, they’re either your literal ride or die or just really, really invested in your sex life. And honestly, both are concerning.

@thread_the_light

#soaking #freefromsin I’m a bit of a experienced jump humper myself

♬ Jump Jump - ZooFunktion

@andyliciousxx

New beds for BYU! Now you dont need a friend to jump on the bed for you and your date! #byu #mormon #lds #provo #soaking #utah #exmo #exlds #exmormon #exreligious #loophole #dating #gmm #goodmythicalmorning #bed #bouncebed #funny

♬ Is this soaking - JustAndy

The concept was crafted and developed in Mormon youth and college culture, and the institution most frequently associated with it is Brigham Young University (BYU).

A person who jump humps for their friends is actually called a ‘Provo pusher’, because BYU is based in Provo, Utah.

The church-run private research university that Urban Dictionary has defined as a “meat market,” is known as a congregation spot for marriage-eager Mormons. And they seem to have come up with this simple trick to preserve their purity while shopping for a new beau. This might be a good thing because, at BYU, students who are reported for having pre or extra-marital sex can be expelled because of the university’s firm code of conduct.

Although soaking is a uniquely Mormon term, it has long captured the attention of non-Mormons, going viral from time to time because of its salacious and hilarious nature. It’s like a little peephole into the mysterious lives of Church of Latter Day Saints members, a community shrouded in rumours and nebulous secrets…

Still, many Mormons insist that soaking is not an accurate representation of LDS teachings or typical behaviour among LSD church members, instead emphasising that it has simply been blown out of proportion by mainstream and social media.

The church in itself has maintained that it is simply “wrong to touch the private […] parts of another person’s body even if clothed” outside of a monogamous heterosexual marriage.

And that’s the lowdown on soaking, folks.