Modest is Hottest

Have you ever wondered why mormons dress so modestly?
Growing up I thought modesty meant wearing clothes that are covering certain parts of the body.. well that's close I guess, but only the tiniest fraction of it. Modesty is more internal than external and more spiritual than physical. I never understood the "why" of modest growing up. So today I'd like to share what I've learned about modesty. I'm not directing this soley at women, but men equally, however most quotes are directed at woman.

Accra Ghana

First to try and explain what modesty is i'll share a quote from lds.org, "Modesty is an attitude of propriety and decency in dress, grooming, language, and behavior. If we are modest, we do not draw undue attention to ourselves. Instead, we seek to “glorify God in [our] body, and in [our] spirit”"

When we know where we come from and why we are here, the fads of the world suddenly seem less important. We know that we are children of God and that our bodies are temples that our Savior Jesus Christ bought with a heavy price. One of my favorite scriptures about our bodies and how important they are is in 1Cor. 6:19 :What? know ye not that your ^abody is the ^btemple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your ^cown?

Aba Nigeria

20 For ye are ^abought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

So how can we glorify our body in God and not the world? Just like a temple of God we can keep it pure, clean, and beautiful. When we respect ourselves, others will recognize you as a disciple of Christ and a person who deserves respect. When we are truly comfortable with ourselves, we don't have to show the world everything. We can be more than an object to be looked at.

Something awesome about modesty is that you know that the people around you respect you and like you for you, not what you are wearing.. or what you're not wearing.

“… Your dress and grooming send messages about you to others and influence the way you and others act. When you are well groomed and modestly dressed, you invite the companionship of the Spirit and can exercise a good influence on those around you” ([2001], 15).

Modesty was something that I had to learn for myself. It's something that naturally happens when you truly begin to understand that you are a child of God with a divine nature. We believe that we are God's children and with that we have a big responsibility to live up to that title.
Sister Rosemary M. Wixom said, "children learn in Primary a strong message of identity: I am a child of God. It is time to start talking about the responsibilities that come with that knowledge. “Because you are a child of God, then what? With that comes the answer: ‘It is how I dress, it is how I talk, it is my relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Because I am a child of God I will reflect His will in all I do.”."

Hong Kong China

“It is a condition of the heart. It is an outward manifestation of an inner knowledge and commitment. It is an expression that we understand our identity as children of God. It is an expression that we know what He expects us to do. It is a declaration of our covenant keeping."

Sister Carole M. Stephens said, “The more we look like the world, the more we act like the world.”
She said that when a person walks out of the waters of baptism, they’ve made a covenant to “walk out of the world and into the kingdom of God.”
For me I started to ask myself questions like, "Would I feel comfortable wearing this in front of the Savior? What message am I sending to others? Am I living how the Lord would like me to live? etc."
When we have the courage to answer these questions honestly it can lead us to make changes in our lives pertaining to how we act, dress, speak, etc. When we realize how much we are worth, we can begin to magnify our inner beauty which will then radiate into our outer beauty, both men and women.

Sometimes being modest in a world of confusion can seem like a challenge, but it's totally doable! We can be our own person instead of conforming to fads of the world that come and go. We can create a style of our own that reflect our love for the Savior. If you don't know if you believe in a Savior or believe in yourself, now is a good time to do soul searching.
Like temples, we can reflect our inner beauty by our outer beauty. We are sacred and we are Christ's. And just like temples, we can look different, but equally beautiful children of God with the same purpose. We like temples are houses for the Spirit of God.

Salt Lake Utah

I know that when we love and respect ourselves, Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ that we will naturally stand on higher ground and let our light shine through our holy temples. I'm grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and all of the guidance that he brings to me in my life.