I Will Dress Modestly
by Shauna Gibby

If you are well groomed and modestly dressed, you invite the companionship of the Spirit of our Father in Heaven and exercise a wholesome influence upon those around you. . . . Dress and groom to show the Lord that you know how precious your body is.

I will dress modestly to show respect for Heavenly Father and myself.

(Faith in God guidebooks, backcover)

Thought:

If you are well groomed and modestly dressed, you invite the companionship of the Spirit of our Father in Heaven and exercise a wholesome influence upon those around you. . . . Dress and groom to show the Lord that you know how precious your body is.

(Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, November 2000, page 72)

Song:

“Choose the Right Way,” Children’s Songbook, p. 160.

Lesson:

Close your eyes and picture a temple. What color is it? How big is it? Does it have any windows? Are there spires? How many?

The temples of The Church of Latter-day Saints are unique. The Salt Lake Temple in Utah has gray granite walls and six spires. It looks different from the Cardston Alberta Temple in Canada, which has natural stone walls and no spires. Even though each temple looks different, all are beautiful and are built for the same purpose. They are places where special ordinances take place that are needed for us to return to Heavenly Father. Temples are also places where Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father can come.

You are like the temple. You are different from everyone else, but you, too, are a house for the Spirit of God (the Holy Ghost). The Apostle Paul said: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? . . . For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Cor. 3:16-17). Your body is a temple.

Just as you treat temples with respect, you should treat your own body with respect. You can do this by dressing modestly.

(Vicki F. Matsumori, “Sharing Time: Ye Are the Temple of God,” Friend, May 2002, 44)

Story:

Modesty—It’s Always in Style

(Joy Saunders Lundberg)

[One day] my daughter came home from school and discovered a box of hand-me- down clothes some friends had sent us. The girls in that family were older than my daughter, and they had thoughtfully sent boxes of clothes before. Our daughter loved the designer fashions they would discard because they had grown out of them. This time she saw a swimsuit in the box. She needed a new one. With delight she held up the skimpy piece of fabric and said, “Mom. Look, a swimming suit!” I said, “Where is it?”

Indignantly she retorted, “It’s right here, and I like it.” I didn’t want her to like it. There were things about it that just weren’t modest. But I didn’t want to be the bad guy who says, “No! You can’t have it!” I hate saying no to my kids. I know, you think parents stay up nights just thinking of ways to say no. Well, we don’t. It’s much more fun to say yes, because you seem to like us so much more when we do.

Just then I had an ingenious idea, so good it had to come from the Holy Ghost. I knew what to tell my daughter, and it wasn’t no.

“Honey,” I said, “this modesty business is not my idea. I go along with it, but it’s not my idea.” Then, pointing upward, I said, “It’s his. Heavenly Father’s the one who told the prophet to tell us to be modest. Not me. So if you have a problem with that, maybe you should talk it over with him.” Then I suggested she go to her room, shut the door, put on the swimming suit, and kneel down and ask Heavenly Father if it was okay to wear.

With slightly more arrogance and confidence than usual, she said, “I’ll do it!”

As soon as her door shut I began to pray. Oh, how I wanted her to make the right choice. Ten minutes later she came out, tossed the swimsuit to me and, somewhat humbled, said, “Give it to Deseret Industries.”

I don’t know what happened in her room, but whatever it was she came away knowing that she shouldn’t wear that suit.

(Randal A. Wright, Why Say No When the World Says Yes? Resisting Temptation in an Immoral World, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1993].)

Activity:

Play “Suitcase relay.” Divide the family into two teams. A suitcase for each team is at the goal line filled with articles of clothing. The players must run to the suitcase, open it, and put on some article of clothing. They then run back and tag the next player. The team finishing first wins.

(Alma Heaton, The LDS Game Book, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968], p. 202.)

Refreshment:

Key Lime Pie

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1 ½ cups sugar

7 tablespoons cornstarch

3 egg yolks

2 cups water

½ cup lime juice

2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

1 drop green food coloring

In a 9-inch pie pan, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Use a fork and level well, then press firmly into bottom of sides of pan. Set aside.

Mix together sugar and cornstarch and place in top of a double boiler not yet on the pan of water

Place egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until well mixed. Slowly pour half of the water into egg yolks while whisking together. Pour in remaining water. Add egg mixture to sugar mixture in saucepan. Add lime juice and mix well.

Place on top of double boiler. Turn heat on high and cook, stirring every 6 to 7 minutes for 30 to 40 minutes until mixture is clear and thick. (It is important to stir often or the cornstarch will make large lumps.) Cut butter into pieces and add to filling. Add food coloring and stir until well blended. Pour into graham cracker crust. Chill. Makes 8 servings.

(Lion House Weddings, [Salt Lake City: Eagle Gate, 2003], p. 85.)