The Sanctity of Our Bodies
A primary purpose for our experience here on earth is to obtain bodies. The Family: A Proclamation to the World states that in the premortal life each of us accepted Heavenly Father’s plan which would enable us to obtain bodies and have experiences allowing us to progress. Our bodies, therefore, are an integral part of our eternal progression. As spirits living with our Heavenly Father, our ability to grow and advance was limited; however, as embodied spirits, we have the opportunity to grow in ways that our existence without a body did not allow. With such a gift, we have been given warnings. Satan is fully aware of the gift that he lacks and will never have – a body. He, therefore, tempts us to abuse, misuse, or neglect the temples we have been given. If we provide our bodies with the spiritual and physical care they need, we are promised health, strength, wisdom, the unfolding of mysteries to us, and, most importantly, the guiding companionship of the Holy Ghost. If I take care of my body through exercise, proper nutrition, proper sleep, and spiritual nourishment, my body should not only function as it has been designed to do but will also serve as a godly temple.
1. IN THE PREMORTAL REALM, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped 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 their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. – “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”
2. But we diminish the importance of our bodies and jeopardize our physical well-being by going to unusual and dangerous extremes searching for an ever-greater and more exhilarating adrenaline “rush.” We may rationalize that surely nothing is wrong with such seemingly innocent exploits and adventures. However, putting at risk the very instrument God has given us to receive the learning experiences of mortality—merely to pursue a thrill or some supposed fun, to bolster ego, or to gain acceptance—truly minimizes the importance of our physical bodies. – Elder David A. Bednar, “Things As They Really Are,” CES Fireside at BYU-Idaho, 3 May 2009
3. If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. . – Elder David A. Bednar, “Things As They Really Are,” CES Fireside at BYU-Idaho, 3 May 2009
4. Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity of experience that simply could not be obtained in our premortal existence. – Elder David A. Bednar (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/we-believe-in-being-chaste?lang=eng)
5. Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through our physical bodies. - Elder David A. Bednar (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/we-believe-in-being-chaste?lang=eng)
6. The family is the center of that plan. The family depends on the worthy use of those life-giving powers that are in your body. – Elder Boyd K. Packer (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/counsel-to-youth?lang=eng)
7. Our physical body is the instrument of our spirit. In that marvelous revelation, the Word of Wisdom, we are told how to keep our bodies free from impurities which might dull, even destroy, those delicate physical senses which have to do with spiritual communication. – Elder Boyd K. Packer (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/10/revelation-in-a-changing-world?lang=eng)
8. If having a body is not only not needed but not desirable by Deity, why did the Redeemer of mankind redeem His body, redeeming it from the grasp of death and the grave, guaranteeing it would never again be separated from His spirit in time or eternity? – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng)
9. Our understanding of life begins with a council in heaven. There the spirit children of God were taught his eternal plan for their destiny. We had progressed as far as we could without a physical body and an experience in mortality. – Elder Dallin H. Oaks (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1993/10/the-great-plan-of-happiness?lang=eng)
10. The very purpose of creation was to provide bodies, to enable these eagerly awaiting spirits to enjoy mortal life and experiences. – Elder Russell M. Nelson (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1987/10/lessons-from-eve?lang=eng)
2. But we diminish the importance of our bodies and jeopardize our physical well-being by going to unusual and dangerous extremes searching for an ever-greater and more exhilarating adrenaline “rush.” We may rationalize that surely nothing is wrong with such seemingly innocent exploits and adventures. However, putting at risk the very instrument God has given us to receive the learning experiences of mortality—merely to pursue a thrill or some supposed fun, to bolster ego, or to gain acceptance—truly minimizes the importance of our physical bodies. – Elder David A. Bednar, “Things As They Really Are,” CES Fireside at BYU-Idaho, 3 May 2009
3. If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. . – Elder David A. Bednar, “Things As They Really Are,” CES Fireside at BYU-Idaho, 3 May 2009
4. Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity of experience that simply could not be obtained in our premortal existence. – Elder David A. Bednar (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/we-believe-in-being-chaste?lang=eng)
5. Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through our physical bodies. - Elder David A. Bednar (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/we-believe-in-being-chaste?lang=eng)
6. The family is the center of that plan. The family depends on the worthy use of those life-giving powers that are in your body. – Elder Boyd K. Packer (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/counsel-to-youth?lang=eng)
7. Our physical body is the instrument of our spirit. In that marvelous revelation, the Word of Wisdom, we are told how to keep our bodies free from impurities which might dull, even destroy, those delicate physical senses which have to do with spiritual communication. – Elder Boyd K. Packer (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/10/revelation-in-a-changing-world?lang=eng)
8. If having a body is not only not needed but not desirable by Deity, why did the Redeemer of mankind redeem His body, redeeming it from the grasp of death and the grave, guaranteeing it would never again be separated from His spirit in time or eternity? – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng)
9. Our understanding of life begins with a council in heaven. There the spirit children of God were taught his eternal plan for their destiny. We had progressed as far as we could without a physical body and an experience in mortality. – Elder Dallin H. Oaks (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1993/10/the-great-plan-of-happiness?lang=eng)
10. The very purpose of creation was to provide bodies, to enable these eagerly awaiting spirits to enjoy mortal life and experiences. – Elder Russell M. Nelson (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1987/10/lessons-from-eve?lang=eng)