Why Should I Treat My Body Like a Temple?

Our bodies are in the image of God! But why is it so important that we have a body?

"Have we ever really considered why having a physical body is so important? Now, I know we can all say the right words when answering the question about why we are here on the earth, but do we really understand why a body is so central to the Father’s plan of happiness? Do we perhaps recite this answer so frequently and routinely that we fail to recognize its true importance?"

1. It's an essential step in becoming like Heavenly Father
2. Our bodies give us the ability to create
3. Our bodies allow us to be tested

--Elder Bednar



Modesty in Thought and Deed

What does it mean to be modest?

Why should you be modest?

How does being modest make you happy?

What does Chastity have to do with my body being a Temple of God?
https://www.lds.org/youth/learn/yw/plan-of-salvation/sacred?lang=eng#video=chastity-what-are-the-limits



Taking Care of Your Body

What can you do to take care of your body?

Why is it important?
* "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”
--Sister Susan Tanner





Do it for Yourself and Others
Do it for you! You are happier when your body is healthy and taken care of.

Do it for those you love. Think about how you feel when someone you love doesn't care for their body. How do you think Heavenly Father feels?

Do it for Heavenly Father. Your body is a gift from Him. One of the greatest of His gifts!



In the end....

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.

--Sister Tanner

Sources

Genesis 39:1–21; Daniel 1:3–21 (Joseph and Daniel show respect for their bodies)

1 Corinthians 6:19–20; D&C 93:33–35 (We are the temple of God)

D&C 88:15–16 (The spirit and body are the soul of man)

D&C 130:22; Moses 6:9 (We are created in the image of God)

Gordon B. Hinckley, “Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2000, 50–53

David A. Bednar, “Ye Are the Temple of God,” Ensign, Sept. 2001, 18

Susan W. Tanner, “The Sanctity of the Body,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2005, 13–15

“Virtue,” Young Women Personal Progress (2009), 69–72