Youth often experience an identity crisis, confused about who they
really are, even though the first song they learn in Primary is usually "I
am a Child of God;" the first line of the YW theme they stand and recite
each week is "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us;"
even the Relief Society Declaration begins with an unconditional statement of
our divine nature: "We are beloved spirit daughters of God, and our lives
have meaning, purpose, and direction."
As a
daughter of God, each one of us has a soul of infinite worth! But what
exactly is "a soul?" This is definitely something we need to understand!
In D&C
88:15, we learn:
"The spirit and the body are the soul of
man."[1]
And Elder
Russell M. Nelson has stated repeatedly in various ways:
"Spirit and body, when joined
together, become a living soul of supernal worth."[2]
It sounds
simple but still, the concept of our souls is kind of complicated. I'm a very visual
thinker, so I've thought a lot about how we could diagram the soul. I think
that such a diagram could be helpful in explaining this crucial concept to the
girls in our lives.
One option
is to see the body as simply an outer shell housing the spirit.
Another
possibility is to divide the soul into equal parts body and spirit, like this.
A third
possibility might reflect more accurately how we feel on certain days, when the
body seems to overpower the spirit. I feel this way on mornings when I'd much rather
sleep in than get up to exercise, or on days when I'm fighting a losing battle against
cookies, cupcakes and candy.
Hopefully,
deep down, we know the spirit and the body are actually intertwined. Consider the
Word of Wisdom: Following the Lord's code of physical health leads to promised
blessings of wisdom to our spirits and knowledge to our minds. And listen to
what else Elder Nelson has said:
"Your spirit, by being housed in your body, is able to
develop and express [the attributes by which we shall be judged one day] in
ways that are vital to your eternal progression."[3]
So the best
diagram for the soul would be one in which body and spirit are intricately
intertwined, delicately balanced, and divinely beautiful.
Unfortunately,
our bodies and spirits often seem to be at war with each other. We need to teach our girls and ourselves that our bodies and spirits should be allies, working
together to help us be the best we can be! Let's remember that our bodies and
spirits are intricately intertwined, delicately balanced, and divinely
beautiful.
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