Come, Follow Me
Why should I treat my body like a temple?

Why should I treat my body like a temple?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

Our bodies were created in the image of God. They are a gift from Heavenly Father to allow us to experience mortality and continue to become more like Him. This knowledge influences the way we treat our bodies and how we feel about Heavenly Father and ourselves. When we treat our bodies as temples of God, we obtain physical, emotional, and spiritual blessings.

Resources to Help You Prepare

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

Questions to Ponder before You Teach

What blessings have you received as you have treated your body as a temple of God? How has your understanding of the sacredness of your body grown as you have experienced life and watched the lives of others?

What challenges do the young women face as they strive to treat their bodies as sacred gifts from God? How can you help them understand the importance of their bodies in the plan of salvation?

What can the young women do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Teaching in the Savior’s Way

The Savior loved those He taught. He knew who they were and who they could become. He found unique ways for them to grow—ways meant just for them. When they struggled, He did not give up on them but continued to love them and minister to them. What can you do to love and serve the young women as the Savior does?

Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

  • Our class: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?

  • Our responsibilities: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?

  • Our lives: Remind the class of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a class presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the class; approximately 25–35 minutes

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help class members understand the doctrine.

  • Assign each young woman one of the scripture passages in this outline. Invite her to study the passage and summarize in a sentence what she learns about why our bodies are sacred. Ask the young women to think of ways in which Satan tries to deceive young women regarding these truths. What can they do to support each other as they try to keep their bodies sacred?

  • As a class, read, watch, or listen to portions of one of the talks suggested in this outline. Ask the young women to think of someone they know who would benefit from these messages about the sacredness of the body (remind them not to talk about individuals in class). What parts of the talk would be most helpful to that person? Invite them to plan ways they can share this message with the person they thought of. Encourage them to use a quotation from the talk and their own personal experiences and testimonies.

  • Divide the young women into pairs. Assign one individual in each pair to read Genesis 39:1–21 and the other to read Daniel 1:3–21 (for pictures of these stories, see Gospel Art Book [2009], nos. 11, 23). Ask them to look for ways Joseph and Daniel showed respect for their bodies and then share with each other what they find. How can they follow the examples of Joseph and Daniel?

  • Invite the young women to look at the table of contents in For the Strength of Youth and identify which of the standards relate to keeping their minds and bodies clean. Divide the young women into groups, and have them search these sections and find answers to the question “Why is my body sacred?” Invite them to share what they can do to live these standards.

  • Ask the young women to use the “Dress and Appearance” section in For the Strength of Youth to answer questions such as “What are the Lord’s standards concerning modesty?” “Why is it important to follow these standards?” “How does our modesty show respect for the sacredness of our bodies?”

3. Plan to Act

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

  • Ask the young women to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a class to apply what they have learned?

  • Give the young women a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.

  • Remind the young women that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.

Related Youth Activities

Plan a Mutual activity that will help the young women apply what they learned in this lesson.