Mormon Naturists
From the FAQ at LDS Skinny Dipping Connection: Question:
How can you be a nudist and respect your Temple garments at the same time?
Answer:
As members of the Church, our commitment to our Temple covenants comes before any other interest - or at least it should. Our garments play an important part in those covenants. As such, Mormon nudists will be more frequently covered than non-Mormon nudists. We are naked any time that it makes sense NOT to be wearing our Temple garments. Swimming is an indisputable time to NOT wear garments, and therefore skinny-dipping is the central naturist activity for our family (and also the impetus for the name of this web site.) Many Church members participate in various athletic activities without their garments (Church basketball, for example) - it would seem equally appropriate to do so in a naturist environment. As members of the Church it is vital that we NOT look for extra opportunities to be separated from our garments. If you don't like to swim or play sports, then your naturist leanings may remain purely mental (or spiritual.) It's an attitude more than an action anyway, and it need not be manifest in any particular activity.
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Question:
Does "Body-Acceptance" place the flesh above the Spirit?
Answer:
LDS members believe that all humans were literally created in the image of God, possessing a physical body after the pattern of His own. More than most religions, we acknowledge the divine nature of our bodies. No one mortal body should be deemed more or less perfect (or divinely patterned) than that of another person. Physical perfection is not an aspect of our trial on Earth - ALL bodies are mortal and imperfect. Regardless of their conditions or abilities, our bodies are adequate to the task and purpose that our Heavenly Father intends for us. Body-acceptance asserts that fact. Despising our own flesh does not elevate our spirit. Denying the DESIRES of the flesh allows us to be more spiritually minded. Body-acceptance also helps us overcome our natural tendency to covet the physical attributes of another person, or to elevate a person merely because of their physical features. It is based on the idea that the worth of a person's soul is not derived from the body that they were dealt (or have even worked to attain.) Accepting the body we are given, respecting its functions and properties, caring for it wisely (Word of Wisdom, etc.), displaying it only in humility, comporting ourselves with modest behavior - by doing all of this, we become MORE spiritually minded, not less. It's also important to mention that Body-acceptance should never be a euphemism for physical neglect, as that would also come into conflict with the Word of Wisdom.
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Swimsuits and skimpy clothing create "hot zones" - calling attention to the "forbidden fruits" of the body... When naked, there are no more hot zones - just bodies, with all their parts esteemed equally. The "forbidden" zones are still forbidden from touch - but there is no great mystery made of them. They are simply part of a complete body.
Calling naturism "more an attitude than an action" which "need not be manifest in any particular activity" is a bit like being against "homosexual acts" but not homosexuals. Maybe they're Schrödinger's nudists; they both support and oppose removing their clothes. It just happens to be the case that every time they're observed the probability wave collapses to the second option.
They acknowledge the divine nature of their bodies but believe that denying desires of the flesh (which are, ipso facto, divine desires) is the proper way of spirituality. Nobody said Mormons were the most logically consistent folks, but I think it's great that some people recognize some opportunities to be stark naked in Utah's stark landscape.
How can you be a nudist and respect your Temple garments at the same time?
Answer:
As members of the Church, our commitment to our Temple covenants comes before any other interest - or at least it should. Our garments play an important part in those covenants. As such, Mormon nudists will be more frequently covered than non-Mormon nudists. We are naked any time that it makes sense NOT to be wearing our Temple garments. Swimming is an indisputable time to NOT wear garments, and therefore skinny-dipping is the central naturist activity for our family (and also the impetus for the name of this web site.) Many Church members participate in various athletic activities without their garments (Church basketball, for example) - it would seem equally appropriate to do so in a naturist environment. As members of the Church it is vital that we NOT look for extra opportunities to be separated from our garments. If you don't like to swim or play sports, then your naturist leanings may remain purely mental (or spiritual.) It's an attitude more than an action anyway, and it need not be manifest in any particular activity.
...
Question:
Does "Body-Acceptance" place the flesh above the Spirit?
Answer:
LDS members believe that all humans were literally created in the image of God, possessing a physical body after the pattern of His own. More than most religions, we acknowledge the divine nature of our bodies. No one mortal body should be deemed more or less perfect (or divinely patterned) than that of another person. Physical perfection is not an aspect of our trial on Earth - ALL bodies are mortal and imperfect. Regardless of their conditions or abilities, our bodies are adequate to the task and purpose that our Heavenly Father intends for us. Body-acceptance asserts that fact. Despising our own flesh does not elevate our spirit. Denying the DESIRES of the flesh allows us to be more spiritually minded. Body-acceptance also helps us overcome our natural tendency to covet the physical attributes of another person, or to elevate a person merely because of their physical features. It is based on the idea that the worth of a person's soul is not derived from the body that they were dealt (or have even worked to attain.) Accepting the body we are given, respecting its functions and properties, caring for it wisely (Word of Wisdom, etc.), displaying it only in humility, comporting ourselves with modest behavior - by doing all of this, we become MORE spiritually minded, not less. It's also important to mention that Body-acceptance should never be a euphemism for physical neglect, as that would also come into conflict with the Word of Wisdom.
...
Swimsuits and skimpy clothing create "hot zones" - calling attention to the "forbidden fruits" of the body... When naked, there are no more hot zones - just bodies, with all their parts esteemed equally. The "forbidden" zones are still forbidden from touch - but there is no great mystery made of them. They are simply part of a complete body.
Calling naturism "more an attitude than an action" which "need not be manifest in any particular activity" is a bit like being against "homosexual acts" but not homosexuals. Maybe they're Schrödinger's nudists; they both support and oppose removing their clothes. It just happens to be the case that every time they're observed the probability wave collapses to the second option.
They acknowledge the divine nature of their bodies but believe that denying desires of the flesh (which are, ipso facto, divine desires) is the proper way of spirituality. Nobody said Mormons were the most logically consistent folks, but I think it's great that some people recognize some opportunities to be stark naked in Utah's stark landscape.