Family Home Evening Lesson -- Modesty and Respecting Our Bodies

Tammy’s Family Home Evening Lesson

October 5, 2014

Modesty and Respecting Our Bodies

From For the Strength of Youth pamphlet:

Dress and Appearance

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? … The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” -- 1 Corinthians 3:16–17

“Your body is sacred. Respect it and do not defile it in any way. Through your dress and appearance, you can show that you know how precious your body is. You can show that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ and that you love Him.

“Prophets of God have continually counseled His children to dress modestly. When you are well groomed and modestly dressed, you invite the companionship of the Spirit and you can be a good influence on others. Your dress and grooming influence the way you and others act.

“Never lower your standards of dress. Do not use a special occasion as an excuse to be immodest. When you dress immodestly, you send a message that is contrary to your identity as a son or daughter of God. You also send the message that you are using your body to get attention and approval.

“Immodest clothing is any clothing that is tight, sheer, or revealing in any other manner. Young women should avoid short shorts and short skirts, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and clothing that does not cover the shoulders or is low-cut in the front or the back. Young men should also maintain modesty in their appearance. Young men and young women should be neat and clean and avoid being extreme or inappropriately casual in clothing, hairstyle, and behavior. They should choose appropriately modest apparel when participating in sports. The fashions of the world will change, but the Lord’s standards will not change.

“Do not disfigure yourself with tattoos or body piercings. Young women, if you desire to have your ears pierced, wear only one pair of earrings.

“Show respect for the Lord and yourself by dressing appropriately for Church meetings and activities. This is especially important when attending sacrament services. Young men should dress with dignity when officiating in the ordinance of the sacrament.

“If you are not sure what is appropriate to wear, study the words of the prophets, pray for guidance, and ask your parents or leaders for help. Your dress and appearance now will help you prepare for the time when you will go to the temple to make sacred covenants with God. Ask yourself, “Would I feel comfortable with my appearance if I were in the Lord’s presence?” --For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet

From the teachings of President Joseph Fielding Smith: (Pardon the typos)

“We are living in an evil and wicked world. But while we are in the world,we are not of the world. We are expected to overcome the world and tolive as becometh saints. … We have greater light than the world has, andthe Lord expects more of us than he does of them.5

“If we are living the religion which the Lord has revealed and which wehave received, we do not belong to the world. We should have no part inall its foolishness. We should not partake of its sins and its errors—errorsof philosophy and errors of doctrine, errors in regard to government, orwhatever those errors may be—we have no part in it.

“The only part we have is the keeping of the commandments of God. Thatis all, being true to every covenant and every obligation that we haveentered into and taken upon ourselves.6 

“Do not get the impression from what I have said that I feel that we shouldkeep aloof from everybody outside of the Church and not associate withthem. I have not said that, but I do want us to be consistent Latter-daySaints, and if the people of the world walk in darkness and sin andcontrary to the will of the Lord, there is the place for us to draw the line.7 

“When we join the Church … , we are expected to forsake many of theways of the world and live as becometh saints. We are no longer to dressor speak or act or even think as others too often do. Many in the worlduse tea, coffee, tobacco, and liquor, and are involved in the use of drugs.Many profane and are vulgar and indecent, immoral and unclean in theirlives, but all these things should be foreign to us. We are the Saints of theMost High. …

“I call upon the Church and all its members to forsake the evils of theworld. We must shun unchastity and every form of immorality as wewould a plague …”

Dressing modestly and keeping the law of chastity

“The Latter- day Saints should not follow the fashions and the immodestyof the world. We are the people of the Lord. He expects us to live clean,virtuous lives, to keep our thoughts clean and minds pure and faithful inthe observance of all his other commandments. Why should we follow theworld, why can we not be modest, why can’t we do the things the Lordwould have us do?17 

“As I walk along the streets on my way to or from the Church OfficeBuilding, I see both young and older women, many of them “daughters ofZion,” who are immodestly dressed [see Isaiah 3:16–24]. I realize thattimes and fashions do change. … [But] the principle of modesty andpropriety is still the same. … The standards expressed by the GeneralAuthorities of the Church are that women, as well as men, should dressmodestly. They are taught proper deportment and modesty at all times.

“It is, in my judgment, a sad reflection on the “daughters of Zion” whenthey dress immodestly. Moreover, this remark pertains to the men as wellas to the women. The Lord gave commandments to ancient Israel thatboth men and women should cover their bodies and observe the law ofchastity at all times.

“I am making a plea for modesty and chastity and for all the members ofthe Church, male and female alike, to be chaste, clean in their lives, andobedient to the covenants and commandments the Lord has given us. …

“… The wearing of immodest clothing, which may seem like a smallmatter, take[s] something away from our young women or young men inthe Church. It simply makes it more difficult to keep those eternalprinciples by which we all have to live if we are to return to the presenceof our Father in heaven.”

n  Chapter 19: In the World but Not of the World, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, (2013), 240–51

From a talk given by President Gordon B. Hinckley --November 12, 2000:

“What creation is more magnificent than the human body? What a wondrous thing it is as the crowning work of the Almighty.

“Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, said: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

“If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Cor. 3:16–17).

“Did you ever think that your body is holy? You are a child of God. Your body is His creation. Would you disfigure that creation with portrayals of people, animals, and words painted into your skin?

“I promise you that the time will come, if you have tattoos, that you will regret your actions. They cannot be washed off. They are permanent. Only by an expensive and painful process can they be removed. If you are tattooed, then probably for the remainder of your life you will carry it with you. I believe the time will come when it will be an embarrassment to you. Avoid it. We, as your Brethren who love you, plead with you not to become so disrespectful of the body which the Lord has given you.

“May I mention earrings and rings placed in other parts of the body. These are not manly. They are not attractive. You young men look better without them, and I believe you will feel better without them. As for the young women, you do not need to drape rings up and down your ears. One modest pair of earrings is sufficient.

“I mention these things because again they concern your bodies.

“How truly beautiful is a well-groomed young woman who is clean in body and mind. She is a daughter of God in whom her Eternal Father can take pride. How handsome is a young man who is well groomed. He is a son of God, deemed worthy of holding the holy priesthood of God. He does not need tattoos or earrings on or in his body. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve are all united in counseling against these things.”—January 2001 Ensign, a prophet’s counsel and prayer for youth, President Gordon B. Hinckley

From Susan W. Tanner, Young Women General President--October 2005 General conference, The Sanctity of the Body

“In the premortal realm we learned that the body was part of God’s great plan of happiness for us. As it states in the family proclamation: “Spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). In fact, we “shouted for joy” (Job 38:7) to be part of this plan.

“Why were we so excited? We understood eternal truths about our bodies. We knew that our bodies would be in the image of God. We knew that our bodies would house our spirits. We also understood that our bodies would be subject to pain, illness, disabilities, and temptation. But we were willing, even eager, to accept these challenges because we knew that only with spirit and element inseparably connected could we progress to become like our Heavenly Father (see D&C 130:22) and “receive a fulness of joy” (D&C 93:33).

…

“Satan learned these same eternal truths about the body, and yet his punishment is that he does not have one. Therefore he tries to do everything he can to get us to abuse or misuse this precious gift. He has filled the world with lies and deceptions about the body. He tempts many to defile this great gift of the body through unchastity, immodesty, self-indulgence, and addictions. He seduces some to despise their bodies; others he tempts to worship their bodies. In either case, he entices the world to regard the body merely as an object. In the face of so many satanic falsehoods about the body, I want to raise my voice today in support of the sanctity of the body. I testify that the body is a gift to be treated with gratitude and respect.

“The scriptures declare that the body is a temple. It was Jesus Himself who first compared His body to a temple (see John 2:21). Later Paul admonished the people of Corinth, a wicked city teeming with all manner of lasciviousness and indecency: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Cor. 3:16–17).

“What would happen if we truly treated our bodies as temples? The result would be a dramatic increase in chastity, modesty, observance of the Word of Wisdom, and a similar decrease in the problems of pornography and abuse, for we would regard the body, like the temple, as a sacred sanctuary of the Spirit. Just as no unclean thing may enter the temple, we would be vigilant to keep impurity of any sort from entering the temple of our bodies.

“Likewise, we would keep the outside of our bodily temples looking clean and beautiful to reflect the sacred and holy nature of what is inside, just as the Church does with its temples. We should dress and act in ways that reflect the sacred spirit inside us.

…

” In For the Strength of Youth it says: “Your body is God’s sacred creation. Respect it as a gift from God, and do not defile it in any way. Through your dress and appearance, you can show the Lord that you know how precious your body is. … The way you dress is a reflection of what you are on the inside” ([2001], 14–15).

“Modesty is more than a matter of avoiding revealing attire. It describes not only the altitude of hemlines and necklines but the attitude of our hearts. The word modesty means “measured.” It is related to moderate. It implies “decency, and propriety … in thought, language, dress, and behavior” (in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. [1992], 2:932).

“Moderation and appropriateness should govern all of our physical desires.

…
“The pleasures of the body can become an obsession for some; so too can the attention we give to our outward appearance. Sometimes there is a selfish excess of exercising, dieting, makeovers, and spending money on the latest fashions (see Alma 1:27).

“I am troubled by the practice of extreme makeovers. Happiness comes from accepting the bodies we have been given as divine gifts and enhancing our natural attributes, not from remaking our bodies after the image of the world. “ – Susan W. Tanner, Young Women General President, October 2005 General Conference, The Sanctity of the Body.

Link to a story I shared: LDS Olympian faces modesty challenge