WHY SHOULD I TREAT

MY BODY LIKE A
TEMPLE?
Close your eyes and picture a temple.
What color is it? How big is it? Does it
have any windows? Are there spires?
How many?

All the temples of The Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are
different. The Salt Lake Temple in
Utah has gray granite walls and six
spires. It looks different from the
Cardston Alberta Temple in Canada,
which has stone walls but no spires.
Even though each temple looks
different, all are beautiful and are
built for the same purpose. They
are places where special
ordinances take place that are
needed for us to return to Heavenly
Father.
 YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE
FOR YOUR SPIRIT
 You are like the temple. You are dif ferent from everyone else,
but you too are a house for the Spirit of God —the Holy Ghost.
Your body is a temple for your spirit.
 WHAT IS A TEMPLE LIKE?

 Think about the temple. What is it like?

 What are some words to describe it?
Clean
Organized
Beautiful
Light
Well taken care of
Pure

How can these same

words describe us and
our bodies?
 WHEN YOU ARE CLEAN IN MIND & BODY
YOU CAN RECEIVE GREAT BLESSINGS

 Just as you treat temples with respect, you should treat your
body with respect. You can do this by obeying the Word of
Wisdom, by dressing modestly, and by keeping your body
clean. You should also keep your heart and mind clean by
reading, listening to, and watching only “things that are
pleasing to Heavenly Father” (see My Gospel Standards).
 YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE,
BOUGHT WITH A PRICE
 Our bodies were created in the image of God. They are a gift
from Heavenly Father to allow us to experience mortality and
continue to become more like Him. This knowledge influences
the way we treat our bodies and how we feel about Heavenly
Father and ourselves. When we treat our bodies as temples of
God, we obtain physical, emotional, and spiritual blessings .

 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your
own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your
body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
 “IT’S MY BODY, I CAN DO WHAT I WANT”

 “Interestingly, I have heard many people, both outside and

inside the Church, declare, “It’s my body and I can do to it
what I want.” The correct doctrinal response to such a
statement is quite simple. No, your body is not your own; it is
on loan from God. The choices we make about the use of our
personal temples will af fect us throughout all eternity. ”
Elder David Bednar
 CAREFULLY CONSIDER…

 “Our physical bodies indeed are temples of God.

Consequently, you and I must carefully consider what we take
into our temple, what we put on our temple, what we do to our
temple, and what we do with our temple. And we can learn a
number of important lessons by comparing the Church’s
temples to our physical bodies as temples .” Elder Bednar
 WHAT WE TAKE INTO OUR TEMPLE

 Word of Wisdom = Blessings

Physical Blessings:
Health and strength
Free from addictions
Alert mind

Spiritual Blessings:
Ready to receive revelation
Companionship of the Holy Ghost
 WHAT WE PUT ON OUR TEMPLE

 Do not underestimate the power of your appearance!

 “Just as the Church’s temples portray light and an inner

beauty through their outward appearance, so we must be
thoughtful and careful about how we dress and what we put
on our personal temples .” Elder Bednar

 Like it or not, other people make judgments about the

restored gospel by what they see or feel in you and me. One of
the most tragic lines in scripture was spoken by Alma to his
errant son, Corianton: “Behold, O my son, how great iniquity
ye brought upon the Zoramites; for when they saw your
conduct they would not believe in my words” (Alma 39:11) .
Elder Bednar
 WHAT WE PUT ON OUR TEMPLE:
MODEST Y

Are Your Standards

Shrinking?

If its too tight, too short, or

too revealing it doesn’t fit
church standards. Don’t
stretch your standards to fit
the worlds.
WHAT WE PUT ON OUR TEMPLE:
MODEST Y

Don’t Short Change

Yourself!

The way you dress advertises

your standards.
Send the right message!
 WHAT WE PUT ON OUR TEMPLE:
MODEST Y

Don’t Be A Dummy

A mannequin wears whatever

the world is selling.
Your standards are higher
than that.
 WHAT WE DO TO OUR TEMPLE

 “Imagine the reaction you or I might have if we saw defacing

graf fiti on the exterior of one of our Church’s temples. The very
thought of finding such inappropriate markings on a temple is
of fensive to all of us.”
 Brothers and sisters, we must be particularly careful as the fads
and fashions of the world entice us to mark or to pierce or to
otherwise deface or disfigure our personal temples.
 BUT I WANT TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL!

 True individuality is the product of spirituality and is not a

function of trinkets or ornaments attached to or hanging from
parts of our body. The spiritual basis of individuality is never
more evident to me than when I worship in the house of the
Lord and everyone is dressed in similar white clothing, looking
essentially the same. In that setting, no fads or fashion
statements are necessary.
The unity and outward sameness of
appearance in the temple permits
the individual spirit to shine through.
That, brothers and sisters, is the
only type of individuality that really
matters. Remember, our bodies are
not our own; they are on loan from
God. Elder Bednar
 WHAT WE DO WITH OUR TEMPLE

 The temples of our Church are built and dedicated to

accomplish righteous purposes . Our bodies are no dif ferent.

 “Please, never say: ‘Who does it hurt? Why not a little

freedom? I can transgress now and repent later.’ Please don’t
be so foolish and so cruel.
 WHY NOT A LITTLE FREEDOM?

 Why? Well, for one reason

because of the incalculable
suffering in both body and
spirit endured by the Savior
of the world so that we could
flee (see D&C 19:15–20).
We owe Him something for
that. Indeed, we owe Him
everything for that. ‘Ye are
not your own,’ Paul says. ‘Ye
[have been] bought with a
price: therefore glorify God
in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God’s’
 WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?

 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:

pornography and abuse

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.
 YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE

 “Of all the creations of the

Almighty, there is none more
beautiful, none more
inspiring than a lovely
daughter of God who walks in
virtue with an understanding
of why she should do so, who
honors and respects her body
as a thing sacred and divine,
who cultivates her mind and
constantly enlarges the
horizon of her understanding,
who nurtures her spirit with
everlasting truth”