Sister Susan W. Tanner
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
A mortal body is a valuable component of God's great plan of happiness.
In the premortal world, according to the Bible, spirits awaiting their mortal experience "shouted for joy."
"Why were we so excited? We understood eternal truths about our bodies. We knew that our bodies would be in the image of God. We knew that our bodies would house our spirits. We also understood that our bodies would be subject to pain, illness, disabilities and temptation, But we were willing, even eager, to accept these challenges because we knew that only with spirit and element inseparably connected could we progress to become like our Heavenly Father."
Satan's punishment for rebellion against God is that he was forever denied a body, so he works to tempt mortals to despise the great gift they are accorded. "He tries to do everything he can to get us to abuse or misuse this precious gift."
Respect for the body as a temple housing the spirit would result in "a dramatic increase in chastity, modesty, observance of the Word of Wisdom and a similar decrease in the problems of pornography and abuse. ...
"Modesty is more than a matter of avoiding revealing attire. It describes not only the altitude of hemlines and necklines, but the attitude of our hearts."
In the Resurrection, bodies that have seen limitations in mortality will be healed and whole and inseparably connected to their spirits, resulting in a fullness of joy.
