Respect

All these people are talking about the whole protest for girls wearing pants to church......

Everyone is saying, "equality", "fairness", etc.

I honestly feel like they don't understand. 

You want to protest by wearing pants to church?  Will you also protest  against going to prom in dresses?  Will you wear pants to your wedding?  Because society tells you you have to wear dresses on those occasions as well, and I don't see anyone making a stink about it.

Here's the thing.  People are more willing to dress up for a high school dance then for church.  Equality has nothing to do with it. 

How you dress reflects how you FEEL about the situation.  Most people want to look nice on special occasions.  And for women, yeah - that usually means a skirt or a dress.  I'm not talking to the people who don't own dresses, can't afford them, etc.  But to the people who have forgotten what "Sunday Best"  is all about. 

Church is weekly, yes.  Perhaps some think it is commonplace, but that is where the issue lies. As a girl, I remember wearing the same dress every week because it was the only one I had.  I understand not everyone will be in the position to have a bunch of dresses on hand, but I can tell you one will work.  Again, it's not about the wardrobe.

Christ died for you.  He died for me.  He took upon him all the sins of the world and suffered in Gethsemane.  The most selfless act in the history of time.  This is why we go to church.  Each Sunday we take upon us his name.  To do as He would do.  To be like Him.

Now ask yourself, would he come to a place of worship and protest that he could not wear pants?

I don't see that happening.  

Why?  Because the Savior has always been spiritually focused.  Always in a mindset of doing His Father's work.  When we take the sacrament and promise to be like Him, we are becoming disciples of his.

  How can we, as we try to become selfless like Him, focus on something so superficial?  If you understand the significance of the sacrament - the sacrifice that was made specifically for YOU.  Take the time to think about what he has done for each of us, and the eternal importance of this event.  Perhaps then, it would seem special.  Perhaps it would even surpass the importance of a high school dance, and then maybe you could understand why we ask for Sunday best.

The Atonement is eternal.  It is the one thing that you will want very much to understand and use in this life, because it is one of the few things that will matter in the end.  Why don't we shift our focus to what is important, and show the respect that this selfless saving act deserves.  Church is not a place for bickering, not a place for fighting, but a place of worship.  This debate has taken spiritual things and reduced them to superficial fights.  The main point should be this: As a representative of Christ, don't you want to look your best?  For him?

So you want to go against the norm? be outspoken? fight for your rights? - that is still in the mindset of earthly things.   Go ahead, if you must, but I wish you would stop and consider.  Before you race around asking "WHY NOT!"  reflect inward and first ask "why?"  Seek to understand Sunday dress before you seek to protest it.

 It's not a matter of equality.  It is a matter of  respect.