Modesty

Guilty Secret asked an interesting questions that I wanted to address.

I'm really interested in how your religion / culture effects how you dress... hope this doesn't sound rude because it isn't meant to be, but how come it is ok to post un-modest pictures of yourself on the internet but not hang them in your house? Is it because it might offend elders but younger people are more relaxed about it?

So there are really two questions here I think. The first is how my religion affects the way I dress, and the second is the dichotomy I created by stating that I won't wear a strapless dress, but I seem to be posting all kinds of them on my blog :)

Let's start with the first.

In the LDS church we are taught to be respectful of our bodies. This can be translated into different things for different people (as with all religious precepts), but for me, and most other young women that means not having bare shoulders, trying to keep skirts at least fingertip length, avoiding cleavage (that so easily spills out with my overly large chest), and trying to avoid what I consider extreme things like multiple piercings, tattoos, multi-colored hair, etc. In high school I wasn't that terrible, but I did fight against these concepts a little bit as I tried to develop my own self-image. Now that I am old enough to make decisions without the help of my parents, I actually enjoy following these guidelines, and the significance that they create for me. It's all about acknowledging and enlarging your "divine worth" as we like to say.

And the second, much trickier question, is why I am not okay with wearing strapless things, but okay with posting the photos online.

As I have stated before, having sleeves on my dress is a very important part of my dress selection process. A gown that follows the modesty guidelines that we try to uphold is necessary because of the promises that I will make when I get married in October. I will go through the temple and participate in a ceremony where I make promises to God about how I will treat my body. I haven't made these promises yet and so the modesty guidelines are just that, guidelines. After the ceremony they will become something much deeper. As with all things related to religion, there is much that must be left up to interpretation. I know many girls who wore/wear bikini's and strapless dresses and then ended up making those same promises that altered the way they dressed. I had to make a choice regarding the message I want to portray and the kind of standards I want to set for myself. There are likely many in my church who would disagree with this choice, but I think what is most important is feeling comfortable and happy with the decision.

I don't want to wear something strapless for this bridal shoot in Rome because I want to be able to display these picture in my home even after these promises are made. I will also be encouraging my own daughters to one day adopt those standards, and I want to be setting a positive example for them.

I don't want this to be a religious or preachy blog, and so posts like this will be few and far between. However, my religion is an important part of who I am and affects almost all of the decisions I make daily. Hopefully this post will help you understand a little bit better who I am, and why I am creating the type of wedding that I am. If you are interested in learning a little bit more about my religion, please visit the Mormon website here.