“The body that has been given to us was for the purpose of allowing the spirit to exalt itself to a nobler condition. The lightning that is seen flashing from cloud to cloud, from mountain top to mountain top, is an electrical force that may tear down buildings, set fire to property, and destroy life. Conduct electricity through the dynamo wire, and motor, and behold its wonderful results working for the service of man, accomplishing something under the control of a physical instrument, it thus becomes a power for good. So with steam, if allowed to evaporate freely it does little good, but restrain it in the boiler, send it through the engine, and under its power you may travel across the continent or sail from shore to shore. And so, too, with this highest, most potent of all spiritual forces, the intelligence that is in man; enshrine it in a spiritual body, that it may have the experiences of spiritual life; and then give it a physical body, that it may enter into and obtain the joy and experiences of physical life, and you have enlarged its powers immeasurably” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1912, 107).One of the most important, and unique doctrines of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is the understanding of the everlasting significance of our bodies. It is widely misunderstood in mainstream Christianity that the body is evil, and a reward of heaven is that we get to discard these worthless tabernacles of sin. That couldn't be more wrong. Hence, why it is such an incredible blessing to have the truth explained and revealed to us in our modern age through living prophets of God.
A very potent truth that emphasizes the importance of our bodies is the fact that our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ both have bodies of flesh and bone-- a point that Christ himself went to great lengths to prove. When the risen Lord appeared to his chosen Apostles he said, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 39:24) and he drove the point home by eating in front of them fish and a honeycomb.
When our Savior appeared to the people living in the Americas, he bid them to know for themselves that he truly had a body of flesh and bone when he invited them saying, "Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world." (3 Nephi 11:14)
And we learn that Christ will keep his body and will never again be seperated from it in Romans 6:9 when it says, "Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him."Having a body is necessary for our eternal growth and development. If it wasn't so then Christ would not have been resurrected with a body. In fact, getting a body was part of the very purpose of our mortal existance. And when you combine the body and the spirit of a man you have his soul, the complete whole of who that invidual is. When we are absent of either half we are very much incomplete. The loss of our spirit is the loss of our essence, while the loss of our body is the loss of our substance. Or as Boyd K. Packer put it, "Your body really is the instrument of your mind and the foundation of your character." (2000, October General Conference)
Our spirits are of God and are perfect, but our bodies are of the dust and are subject to many imperfections. God communicates and influences man through our spirits, while Satan attempts to make us subject to the bonds of misery through the misuse of our bodies. In order for us to achieve our potential and get the most out of our mortal existence we must let our spirit take over. Such is the nature of the advice of Jesus to Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:5-6)
We must let our spirits take control just as a jockey must take control of his horse. If we let Satan convince us to misuse our bodies it is like a jockey who cannot take care of his horse, and that Jockey will never collect a first place trophy. In order to let our spirits take over we must do what Alma tells his son Shiblon, that is to, "bridle all [our] passions." (Alma 38:12) When we bridle all our passions we turn those wild unbroken mustangs into thorough bred stallions. That comes from have a healthy diet and exercising regularly. It comes from keeping ourselves well groomed thus showing respect for the temples that God has given us. All of that and more is why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has standards for health (Word of Wisdom) and well being (Law of Chastity). These standards that we given to us by God have always existed and are intended to help us live our lives at a higher, happier level. I know that living this way will strengthen us spiritually and help us reach our fullest potential. Just as the music from a well-maintained instrument is beautiful in contrast to the horrific noise that comes from an out-of-tune, worn-out windpipe, so will it be with our lives if we maintain the instrument of our spirits. I know these things to be true and say them in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Picture/video Sources: (from top)
1: https://tunessence.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Electric_guitar_477101105.jpg
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3: http://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/magazine/neweralp.nfo:o:979.jpg
4: http://azracing.gov/Site/images/whatsnew.jpg
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