A Physical Body Is a ‘Sacred and Precious Gift,’ Teaches Young Women General Presidency

A physical body is a “sacred and precious gift,” Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman said during a discussion of the “For the Strength of Youth” guide.

In a live video on Tuesday, March 3, on the Young Women Worldwide Instagram and Facebook accounts, President Freeman and her counselors, Sister Tamara W. Runia and Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, continued the presidency’s ongoing discussion of chapters in the guide. This time, they talked about what they learned from chapter five, titled “Your body is sacred.”

President Freeman said the guide, scriptures and inspired teachings can help people know how to take care of their bodies.

“There are people who are a little ahead of us, there are scriptures, there are helps like this that are going to help us know how we take care of this sacred and precious gift and be able to have all that God has in store for us,” she said.

President Freeman invited young women to discuss these chapters with their presidencies and classes and learn from each other.

President Freeman discussed the word “virtue” with her counselors. She shared the story from Mark 5 of the woman with the issue of blood. She knew if she could touch Jesus’ clothes, she would be made whole. After she did so, verse 30 says that Jesus knew “that virtue had gone out of him.” The footnote on the word explains that virtue means power and strength.”

Meanwhile, Doctrine and Covenants 121:45 says “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly” and then “shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God,” along with other promises.

President Freeman said youth may see people all around them making choices regarding their bodies that might be different than their choices. But as they remember that their body is sacred, there is virtue, power and strength that come, and “it becomes part of who we are.”

Sister Runia said these words from the chapter “jumped off the page” for her: “Your body is an amazing gift from your Heavenly Father. Having a body gives you increased power to exercise your freedom to choose.”

Her husband, Scott, once had the opportunity to drive a race car at an official track. Before he got into the car, he was given training about how to handle the turns at high speeds. But then it started to rain, and he was taken off the track for more training and told that now he would have to slow down.

“But he thought, ‘You know what, I’m going to be just fine,’” Sister Runia said. “So they got back in the car and sure enough, I think on the second lap, he started to spin out. He said it was the scariest feeling because he just felt out of control.”

He learned about the power he had been given and how to navigate and choose carefully, she said.

Sister Spannaus said this chapter in the “For the Strength of Youth” guide has the beautiful teaching that the soul is made up of the body and the spirit.

“I love that because it says ‘for this reason, physical health and spiritual health are closely connected,’” she said. “So when we take care of our physical body, it will affect our spiritual body” and vice versa.

She pointed out some of the teachings from the Word of Wisdom in Doctrine and Covenants 89. Blessings are given to those who keep the Word of Wisdom and take care of their bodies “and, of course, our spirits,” she said.

The presidency also discussed the section of this chapter in the guide that explains how “caring for your body includes caring for your mental and emotional health.”

The chapter goes on to say that reaching out for help from a parent, a leader, doctor or professional counselor can be a blessing from a loving Heavenly Father.

Sister Runia said when physical, emotional or mental health struggles come, “sometimes it can dull or mute the connection with heaven. It doesn’t mean you are being punished for that or that God doesn’t love you. There is hope and help ahead, and I invite you to seek that help.”