Behold Your Beauty!
By Kaitlyn Livingston
Beauty. What a powerful word. Throughout the ages, men and women from all walks of life have tried to define this simple, but strikingly influential concept. In our day, obsession with a certain kind of ‘beauty’ seems to have overtaken our media, our society, and even our own thoughts. The beauty of which I speak is worldly, has forsaken its lovely innocence, and calls to all within its voice the demands to be skinny, athletic, flawless, and even seductive. Few people love themselves, as powerful and convincing lies about our divinity are shouted from the rooftops and whispered fiercely to us by minions, seen and unseen, whose purpose is to destroy our faith and happiness and replace it with fear.
Such fears of inadequacy struck my heart at a very young age. It began in elementary school as I watched the other children run and play. I shied away, embarrassed because of my less-than stellar athletic skills and my quiet nature. Then later in junior high, I began to notice other pretty girls, and comparing my body to theirs became an accidental obsession. I struggled with this until my tenth grade year when I found a love in running with the cross-country team. The lies of my inferiority, however, crept back into my mind when I became injured and quit running during my junior and senior years. Looking back now, I realize how much strength I failed to see in myself. God, knowing what my struggles and weaknesses would be, sent me to a home in which I was taught by my mother and grandmother to break the norm of society’s foolishness. Through them I have learned that there is a power, a sacred and real power inside each one of us that defines who we are and will always be. It dwells in our souls and is intricately connected with our physical bodies. While in this mortal experience, one of Satan’s deadliest temptations is masking this inner power. He will try and make us forget by replacing faith and knowledge of who we are with fear of what we are not. The key to returning to ones’ self in the midst of all the turmoil is to remember. Remember the truth of who we are, and will always be.
Remembering is different for every person. Some can recall an actual memory of when they knew their true beauty, while others recall a feeling of truth rather than a specific experience. Whatever the method, each individual will only come to the knowledge of who they are by asking the One who knows all. I did not have a specific memory in mind when I began to search for myself. I only had a hope that something more powerful than the fear inside of me existed. I began by calling to the Lord in fervent prayer, asking Him to help me find myself. I prayed for months, and struggled to overcome my now innate habit of comparing. One night, in the quiet of my bedroom, I cried to Heavenly Father. I needed answers, some kind of instruction or advice of what to do. In that moment of pain, a clear image entered into my mind. I was looking into a white room in which the Savior, Jesus Christ, stood carving a beautiful marble statue. I looked more closely only to realize the statue was I. Chills of awe ran up my spine as I realized that the Savior would help shape me, my body and my spirit, into my true form. I felt immense love and gratitude, and knew that I had received personal revelation of my divine worth.
The trial of remembering my beauty did not end that night. I have had to battle continuously for years, but I feel in myself more power than I have ever felt. I am running again, something I love that helps my body stay healthy and brings me closer to Heavenly Father. I feel beautiful once more. When temptation comes and I begin to forget who I am, I remember the Savior carving my statue, and I remember that I am a child of God. No one and nothing can change that. I am of infinite worth.
To the women of the world, I convey my personal witness of the divinity of your souls. You are so beautiful, so precious. If you have forgotten, I beg of you to take up a challenge: petition God and plead with Him to help you remember. I promise you will see miraculous changes in your body, in your spirit, and in your heart. My hope is that we, as women, may join together and abolish the lies, beholding our beauty once more.
