MODESTY: “Immodest clothing is any clothing that is tight, sheer, or revealing in any other manner. Young women should avoid short shorts and short skirts, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and clothing that does not cover the shoulders or is low-cut in the front or the back. Young men should also maintain modesty in their appearance. Young men and young women should be neat and clean and avoid being extreme or inappropriately casual in clothing, hairstyle, and behavior. They should choose appropriately modest apparel when participating in sports. The fashions of the world will change, but the Lord’s standards will not change. Do not disfigure yourself with tattoos or body piercings. Young women, if you desire to have your ears pierced, wear only one pair of earrings.” –from the “Dress and Appearance” section of the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. [source]
COMMENTARY: Your body is your own. It was created for you. It belongs to no one else. It isn’t God’s. It isn’t your father’s. It isn’t your husband’s. It doesn’t belong to your children, either. There is nobody else who will spend as much time with your body as you will. Do not accept the opinions of others about your body. Do what works for you. If you want a tattoo, don’t let the opinions of eighty-year-old men prevent you from getting one. Likewise, if you don’t want one, don’t let the desires of your peers influence you. Want a nose piercing? The only permission you need is your own. An extra set of earrings? Go for it, if doing so makes you happy. It’s your body, after all. Wear that cute skirt that your mom thinks is a little too short. Go ahead; put on that adorable cami. Don’t let other people limit your choices or your ability to feel good in your own skin, and more especially if those other people are a group of men all born before 1950. But what do I know? I’m just another apostate.
