Naked

The human body is beautiful. It is an exquisite creation, miraculous from every angle (at least mine is). The body has amazing capabilities, though many are realized by only those who train for years and years. Our human bodies think, speak, run, swim, procreate, cry, grow, and interact. They filter wastes and employ robust survival systems. In every way, the body is a fantastic creation, gorgeous and perfect for its purposes and full of possibilities. If the body is not sacred, then nothing is.

And because our bodies are sacred, we cover them, protect them from eyes that would judge them without understanding them. We feed, groom, and care for them. We guard them from every kind of danger. Some use the beauty of the body as an excuse to display it everywhere, but in truth, the venue of display is the difference between celebrating the sacred and profaning it.

Where between a man and wife, in privacy, or at a doctor's office, the naked human body is given the respect it deserves (if all parties are behaving appropriately), in another setting it might be mocked, injured, or used. That's why the naked human body is sacred art in some settings, and pornographic and offensive in others. It is crucial that we recognize the difference.

We live in a society that is constantly trying to turn the sacred into the everyday. Sex, pornography, and all manner of obscene and profane things are plastered all over our common forums: the internet, television, etc. We cannot lose sight of the sacred in favor of the lie that sacred things are for everyone to see. They aren't.

I hide my body from the world—not because there is anything wrong with it, or because I am ashamed, or because I am afraid. I hide my body because I know that the whole world won't understand it, or is not ready to behold its beauty. Because I will not expose my body to mockery or abuse. Because it is sacred.

I will stand naked without reserve in those places where my body is treated as the sacred, beautiful, amazing thing it is. Where no profane thought will arise because of it. Where no harm will come to it.

Similarly, many other things are sacred. The sacred must be protected, and in many instances that means keeping it hidden from mockery, abuse, profanity, and any other damages.

To the point, I write, too, about the Latter-day Saint temple ceremonies that are often abused for their secrecy. Simply, they are sacred. We are not ashamed of them or afraid. We are not trying to hide something wrong. We simply refuse to turn the sacred into the profane.