Let's put aside modesty for a second, the good, the bad, and the contentious.
Here are some things on my mind. Last weekend I went to a Taylor Swift concert with my 11 year old daughter. I loved the costuming. When she came down to the stage by us, she was in a great French styled blue and white striped T and high waisted red shorts. Her look was impeccable. I'm not saying that in her life she has never done anything foolish, that she has never posed in a come hither fashion, or that she has never made choices that made me shudder (ahem.... John Mayer). Through out the show, Taylor Swift was a role model for all of these little girls that adore her. She spoke to the girls about falling in and out of love. She spoke to them about being who you are and loving yourself. She says the same things over and over at every show so they might seem trite, but I think she means them.
Now back track a couple of weeks to the train wreck that has become Miley Cyrus. Didn't see it, didn't need to see it. Heard enough people shuddering to know that society has lost another of its young stars to the grasping clutches of desperation and debauchery as she paraded around in a nude colored bikini and allowed lewdness to be her byword.
The uniform matters.
You think it doesn't?
Why does a site like "People of Walmart" have any kind of traction? "Awkward Family Photos" ring any bells? These websites that allow us to mock others for their clothing are exactly what I am talking about. See something shocking? See a woman's bosom hanging out of the sides of her low slung tank top or her bottom escaping from the bounds of her shorts? Take a sneaky picture of her and post it for the world to see and to mock. See a man with chest hair frothing over the open v of his shirt which is conversely stretched over his gut while his skinny legs are encased in garish leggings? By all means, post that too, because mockery knows no gender disparity. If it wasn't such a big deal what we wear, it wouldn't be the problem that it is.
And yes. You can tell a book by it's cover. That's why there is cover art. A lusty wench clutched in the arms of a muscle bound pirate. You know what the book is about and what you can find within the first chapter.
The uniform matters.
That is why the General Authorities dress the way that they do. That is why missionaries dress the way that they do. Outside of the church, in any profession, that is why they dress the way they do. They represent something. Here and now.
When we are baptized we make covenants and become changed people. We become representatives of Christ. The uniform matters, but this one goes down deeper than the clothing on our backs. It matters how we carry ourselves and how we think about others. It matters in our countenances and how we treat others. We should wear our Christianity like a mantle. It should be apparent. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Modesty of spirit is reflected in how we dress. Modesty never yells out to get attention, it quietly goes about it's business serving others and becoming more Christ-like. Modesty doesn't conform to current trends nor does it cost a lot of money to fit in. Modesty is its own uniform, no matter how covered a body is.
I know I'm kind of talking in circles. Is it imperative to keep the body covered or not?! I'll look to the prophets and apostles for this. I'll follow their counsel to the best of my ability. I think, old men or not, that they have a pretty good grip on the pulse of what Heavenly Father wants from us. They know what modesty is at its heart. They also know the Lord's way of expressing it and they have been very free with this information. Here. Today. For us.
Because the uniform matters.
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