Modesty

I've had a lot of thoughts about modesty and the sanctity of the body lately. I wanted to articulate and record them here.

I believe in being modest in the way you dress and here are four of the big reasons.

1. It's a reminder of Jesus' love for us. Just like I learned about Come Follow Me, wearing the garment at all times is a chance to be literally wrapped in Jesus' love for us. My goal is to become holy, to become sanctified. Not to be comfortable, not to feel like I fit in. "And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him" (Ex. 40:13). Wearing the Holy garments is to become sanctified and holy, not to follow a rule. A reminder that the power of God is with me always and forever. Wearing the holy garments is how I am able to have that reminder. I guess you could say "I can remember God without wearing it" so then, why do you wear it all? The garment, and being obedient in the way you wear it, is a chance to have Heavenly Father dwell with you "throughout all your journeys" (Ex. 40:38). It's a garment of priesthood, not just God dwelling with you, but also God's power. It's a symbol of reconciliation, consecration, and atonement (Lev. 8). A daily reminder of Jesus giving his life for us, our need for a Savior, and our covenant to give our All to Him in return. Yet often, if I am trying to decide if I need to wear my garments in a certain instance, my mind shifts to a place of convenience, or comfort, or if it's really that bad to NOT wear them. Do you see what I'm saying? Jesus gave these garments as a gift to me, almost like a daily sacrament to remind me of Him. And I am taking His symbol and trivializing it to what would be comfortable or fashionable in today's world. My relationship with my Savior, my commitment to Him, is something I am willing to sacrifice comfort and cuteness for. It's a beautiful beautiful gift He's given me, and something I've covenanted to consecrate my life, to give up what I want, by always wearing the garment.

2. I covenanted to live this way. When I received my temple endowment, I covenanted that I would wear my garments as often as I could and without altering them. In this way, it's less to me about what is or isn't appropriate, and simply more about keeping a promise I made to God. I don't want to skimp on a promise I made to God or just scrape by simply because there's a piece of clothing I really want to wear or it would be more comfortable to wear garments in a shorter size, or it's less comfortable to workout with them on. We believe in a Gospel of sacrifice, and I am willing to sacrifice to keep my promise to God even if that means a little discomfort, looking less cute, or weird looks from others because I have a lot of clothes on. We have plenty of Muslims in our community who wear a lot more clothes than I do, yet everyone understands that it is important to them. Modesty, because it's a promise I made to my Heavenly Father, for that reason it is important to me.

3. It's good for me to not be so preoccupied with what others think of me. There's a lot of "body positivity" nowadays that make it seem like if you are confident in your body you are willing to show more of your body. I like the way my body looks, but that doesn't mean I have to show it to everyone. I don't know why people feel the need to show so much of their body. What is so wrong with covering your body? Really, just think about it. What's so wrong about saving your body for just one other person to see? Satan has contorted our society into thinking that showing more is normal and covering up is weird. It doesn't have to be that way, and what's way more important is how you perceive modesty as opposed to seeing it as a prison sentence. 

One thing that crosses your mind when thinking about modesty is trying to fit in. To me it feels like trading a mess of pottage for your inheritance. We are asked to be different from the world. Your temple covenants include obedience, and laying on the alter of consecration who you are. When you switch your attitude from barely keeping annoying rules to wondering what else you can give up to be closer to Him, to have more of His spirit and His love and light filling your life, it's an incredible way to live. I often think about what He could have asked us to do. You see our Amish brothers and sisters, or our Muslim, and you just think, He didn't ask that did he. When I see them I wonder if they think my shorts are immodest, or my swimsuit. And they probably do. What we are asked to live is temple standards which means wearing and covering our temple garments in the right spirit, and you realize He has really asked very little. We don't need to skimp on it. We can do it. 

Modest does not just mean hemlines. If I chose to show more skin, if I'm being honest, it would be because I want others to look at me more. Because I would want to be noticed and admired. One of the definitions of modesty is "the quality or state of being unassuming or moderate." One of the points of modesty is to draw LESS attention to yourself. The world has so much attention-seeking and one-upping each other already, one way we can combat that is by how we dress. I believe in being beautiful and wearing clothes that flatter you. But you can absolutely be beautiful without drawing attention to yourself, and you can wear flattering clothing even without showing a lot of skin.

4. My body is sacred. You can't have a discussion on modesty without talking about the sanctity of the body. Your body is a gift! Your body is a sacred temple! Just like you should take care of your health to show how grateful you are for working arms and legs and organs, you should take care to keep your body covered because it is in the sacred image of God! It's not an ornament to parade around so you can get more likes. Sacredness is the reason what we talk about in the temple is reverenced and awed. Because it's sacred. You absolutely have a beautiful body and you are right, you do look beautiful, because your beauty is God-given. But just like we don't openly talk about our private life in our bedroom, you show reverence for the incredible beauty God has given you by making it an object of reverence and respect, showing you understand the sanctity of what you have been given. The price of your body is beyond rubies, a body that your loving Brother died for just so you can have. 

Absolutely modesty is not a place to judge. It is a place to look within yourself to see why you do the things you do. These are things I've thought about in my own journey to be modest and wear my garments in the right spirit, and I wanted to write it down to better understand and solidify how I feel about my body and the way I dress. In addition, everyone needs our love and friendship. Everyone has grown up so differently and been taught different things about what is appropriate or modest. We can't judge. All we can do is love.