Going Beyond the Mark

“Why are Mormons so hot?”  This is the question that popped up in the suggested search bar from Google as one of our team members typed the word “why” into the search bar.  We got a good laugh out of it, but that question prompted me to start pondering on the subject.  Why would it be that people not of our faith would think that we are “hot”?  There are so many beautiful people in the world, right?  There are so many people that expose their bodies, right?  There are so many more people that would be considered “hot” in the world’s standards.  WRONG!!  Although there are many people who solicit their bodies, I believe that in terms of percentage, there are a lot fewer “hot” people than we think there are.  Why is this the case? Because the world’s perception of beauty is completely and utterly false.  The world portrays the “perfect body” to be slim, tall, and with good curves for girls, and with a broad chest and shoulders with a slim waist and toned muscles for guys.  This brings us back to the question, why would the world see Mormons as “hot” in these standards.  To answer this, we must take a look at the doctrine of our church.  We are taught to strive to be perfect, but that we will never be in this life.   We are taught to be better, to achieve more, to be more educated and always be improving.  I believe this doctrine has caused a unique inner striving of perfectionism amongst many Mormons.  We are bred to be perfectionists, always striving to be better and thus causing us to want to be better than our fellow men.  We as humans, as imperfect as we are, need to feel that we are progressing and improving by comparing ourselves to our peers and judging whether we are ahead or not.  This is completely normal.  That being said, the media feeds girls and boys the ideal of the “perfect” body and we being perfectionists, strive to achieve it even if it is not realistic.  This explains why Salt Lake City ranked number one amongst cities where women are interested in breast implants, and number eight in plastic surgeons per capita according to realself.com.  Girls and boys alike at BYU are trying to fit into that “perfect” body.  Dr. Adams, a counselor at BYU, said that he works with many girls who feel that they aren’t good enough when they come to Utah, but feel completely adequate outside of Utah.  The prophet Jacob, when speaking to the Nephites, spoke of how the Jews had a blindness which “came by looking beyond the mark” (Jacob 4:14).  The Jews, zealous of keeping the law, looked beyond the mark and took the Law of Moses so far that they completely overlooked Christ.  Christ was the mark.  Today, I believe some BYU students have looked beyond the mark in that we have changed our view of perfection to be the way we look.  While our physical appearance is important, the emphasis that we give to it puts it beyond many attributes that are much more important.  Remember that Christ is the mark and consider this scripture in Isaiah, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2).  The most perfect man to every live on earth had “no beauty that we should desire him.”  Let us not look beyond the mark and make our physical appearance the aim of our perfection.  Now, I am not saying that you should never shower, put on deodorant, brush your teeth, or take care of your body, but rather not make your physical appearance too high of a priority.  Accept who you are and the way you look.  There is no such thing as a “perfect” body.  Christ was perfect, and he had no such thing.