Living
as a young LDS woman in today’s society can be a brutal task at times. One of
the greatest challenges we face is developing a healthy body image of ourselves.
And I think the biggest hang up in that problem is the word “body”. We have
been taught in our culture that our image of ourselves should be grounded in
how our physical self appears to the rest of the world. It becomes quite challenging to live in the
world (but not of it) when we are surrounded, bombarded, attacked, and
infiltrated by worldly ideals that do not match our religious tenets.
But
what is it that our faith teaches us about the body? We know that the body is a
house, a temple, for our spirit. We know that we have been created ultimately
by our Father in Heaven. We know that “the worth of souls is great in the sight
of God” (D&C 18:10). Notice that the scripture says “worth of souls” rather
than “worth of bodies”. Additionally, we
know that the soul is a union of the spirit and the body in mortality. God does
not judge us based on our outward appearance, but rather what we do with the
body and life we have been given.
Body
image is something I have always struggled with. At times I have felt that the
Church and gospel doctrine provide no counter examples for how I should feel about my body. The world’s
ideology on the matter is intrusive, but I had yet to feel the same way about
anything I had learned in Church. A few months ago I was pondering this situation,
unable to shake the constant thought that was consuming and flooding my mind.
As I read my scriptures one night I came upon Alma 5:19. The verse asks, “I say
unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands?
I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your
countenances?” I was astounded in that
moment to realize that my body image should have absolutely no foundation in
how my body looks in comparison to worldly standards. Our body image should
rather pertain to the image of God we carry with us. At baptism we take upon us
the name of Christ. We are thereafter to represent him in all that we do. This
will be shown in our countenances. As I contemplated more I was impressed that
should I have the image of God clearly written all over my face, displayed in
all my actions, and ingrained into my soul, my image of myself would be stronger.
I would feel empowered, motivated, impervious to the subversive whisperings of
social norms.
While
I do not believe that we should ignore our bodies in order to pursue a wholly
spiritual side of our self-image, I do believe that if we first focus on that,
it will be so much easier for us to love our bodies. We will begin to see our bodies
as vessels of our spirits; as vehicles of hope, love and change in the world. A
body image grounded in these goals will surely help us love our bodies for
their unique characteristics and their astounding capabilities.
What
experiences have you had in your life that helped you see yourself more as a
Daughter of God, understanding your self-worth beyond that of your body and the
world’s expectations?
Kobie - love this post and your thoughts! I remember once when we were in YW (either beehives or mia-maids) and you shared that you liked your body the way it was and didn't care that you weren't super skinny. I remember that because I admired it so much! I have always struggled with body-image to an extreme degree. What has always helped me has been to focus on "representing Christ" like you mentioned in the blog post. Whenever I am truly committed to caring for those around me, my own self-image and body-image issues become so much less significant. When we see ourselves as vessels of hope and light, I think we are able to take a different perspective on things. Thanks for this subject! Hope to see more!
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I love that you say to "focus on representing Christ." As a representative of Christ, we do exactly like you said, and focus on others as opposed to focusing on ourselves. Well said!
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