Brightening My Light

graphic by Ivan Prole Because we hear the modesty talk at church and related activities, we are well aware of the spiritual blessings of being modest. But there are other subtle ways in which the Lord blesses us for keeping this commandment. Better Skin When you get older you won’t have sun-damaged skin on your chest, shoulders, back, and thighs. Your skin is better protected from the sun’s rays and therefore will not show signs of aging as quickly or as severely as it would if exposed. More Flattering Figure Women who dress to their body types modestly look more flattering. Wearing clothes that fit and cover allows your body to look its best (just watch What Not to Wear for examples). More Outfits With all the t-shirts, camisoles, cardigans, and other layering devices in your wardrobe, you can mix and match to make numerous outfits and easily dress up or down an outfit as well. More Comfort You won’t experience the pain and discomfort from super ...

model of sister-missionary wear on lds.org Some girls take modesty to the extreme and wear circus tents as clothes. Although that is not necessarily bad, they don’t look their best and take pride (the good kind) in the glorious gift of their bodies. Do you make these mistakes as you try to look modest? Dressing like a Nun It is a fact that humans are visual creatures. In the Church we tend to focus on how that can be a bad quality, especially for men. But there is opposition in all things ( 2 Nephi 2:11 ), meaning the quality is good too. We are supposed to appreciate beauty, and hiding it under a tent will make it harder for you to attract a guy, even a righteous one. A man wants to be attracted to his wife, and a woman wants to know her husband finds her beautiful. You can show your beauty and still be modest. Dressing like a Man My patriarchal blessing specifically advises me to dress in a feminine manner. It is important that we look and dress like women. That doe...

Zion --lds.org Moses 7:18 describes a Zion people as being of "one heart and one mind." And Mosiah 18:21 shares that when organizing the church, Alma commanded the people to "look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism." All this talk of oneness leads some people to believe that we are all supposed to be the same in thought and personality. That belief can scare away people from accepting the gospel. President Uchtdorf set the record straight in his talk during the priesthood session of the April 2013 General Conference: But while the Atonement is meant to help us all become more like Christ, it is not meant to make us all the same. Sometimes we confuse differences in personality with sin. We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads some to believe that the Church wants to create every member from a single mold—that each one...

We all know that modest dress helps men respect us, but they are not the only ones whose respect we receive. Girls : We girls tend to be haters, especially against immodest women. When you dress modestly, girls will respect you too. Parents : Your parents, and your date's parents, most likely will trust you more when you are modest, because modest dress positively influences behavior. Wives & Mothers : You are more likely to get babysitting jobs when you are dressed modestly. Wives and mothers will trust you because you are dressed for the job, not for their husbands or sons. Teachers : Showing up to class dressed modestly shows that you are there to gain knowledge, and your teachers--both male and female--will take you more seriously and appreciate you not distracting them or other classmates. Employers : In a professional setting, your boss will appreciate your sophisticated modesty as you represent the company, including at casual workplaces. I used to...