(Also see: Standards, Morality, Procreation,
For the Strength of Youth, Choice & Accountability , Activities )

                             Modeling an image
Of
       Deity in
    Every
          Situation
    That
                   You may be in

ACTIVITIES:

 Mall Seek and Find by Susan Staus
Modesty Fashion Show from Jen Magazine
Modesty Mall Activity by Ashley Howe
Newspaper Modesty
Pockets of Resistance by Barbara Olsen
Project Runway: Modesty Activity and Printables
Red Carpet Fashion Extravaganza by Amy Gregson
Shopping Modestly by Melanie Litton
 Skirt Extenders by Barbara
 Swishing by Lorraine Carter
Wacky Fashion Show by Susan Nuttall and Zelma Adams
We did a pretty typical modesty presentation at a stake activity several years ago with examples of modest clothing and what would not be modest.  But we also took a poll of young men and men in the ward and even the other ward and told them that we would be addressing the young women regarding modesty and what issues would they want us to share.  I must say, even for having a 19 year old son at the time, that I was surprised that the biggest issue was low cut tops - the bending over, for some even the bending over and putting a hand there to cover up made them (the men or young men) uncomfortable, because they felt like the female thought they were looking down their shirt (new perspective for me!).  The other really big issue was underwear showing when young women were sitting down.  The young men thought it was gross.  There was a young woman there who was somewhat big chested who wore rather low cut tops, but in all other ways she was a great young woman.  I think it was ignorance on her part, and she was so surprised when this topic was brought up, and I did not see her wear low cut tops again.  The girls seemed to respond better when it came from the mouths of young men than just from us as leaders.  Also, I think helping them to see that we all have different body types.  A shirt on one smaller busted young woman is going to fit much differently on someone who is larger chested. (Credit Unknown)

CANDY BAR WRAPPER:

Modesty Candy Bar Wrapper by Megan Duckett

FAMILY HOME EVENING LESSONS:

FHE Lesson from My Mix of Six
LDS Living - Modesty
 Valuing the inside by caring for the outside - Sharing time that could be adapted for a FHE

FOR THE STRENGTH OF YOUTH:

Click here to go to my "For the Strength of Youth" page.

HANDOUT:

 Brain Things - handout idea 
Get those fireball candies and on the wrapper draw a smiley face with a sharpie marker (so the fireball is the head), then you draw the face on the wrapper.  Then attach your saying, "LET it go to your head - Modest is the hottest!"
Hands Off, Please!
How about getting packages of Pop Rocks and making a little tag to go with them that says, "Modest Girls Rock!".  Any hot little treat with a Modest is the Hottest tag: Little mini boxes of Hot Tamales, a baggie of "spicy" crackers, cinnamon suckers.  A couple of other ideas: cinnamon bears with a note that says, You can look un"bearably" hot when you are modest! Or gummy cinnamon lips (I can get those in bulk at my grocery store) with something about being modest in dress AND words.  (Ideas by Stephanie Colvin / ga07112007)
 Modest is Hottest bookmarks
Modesty Candy Bar Wrapper by Megan Duckett
Modesty Measurement Card by Stacy Hutchinson
"Pre-Pear" to be an Eternal Companion
Regrettio's : No virtue added! - Label to put around a can of spaghettios.

LESSON HELPS:

For our modesty lesson I gave each of the girls a piece of poster board and we cut it in half. On one I had them cut out pictures from magazines and catalogs of clothes that are modest and the other clothes that were not modest. Then I had them each explain what they liked about the modest clothes and disliked the immodest clothes. I tied it in with the Dress and Appearance section from for the Strength of the Youth booklet. It was very surprising to see that most of the girls didn't like the immodest clothes. (Idea by Becky)
For this lesson, I brought a full length mirror from home and put it in front of the girls and asked them to pretend their Sunday School teacher had asked them to look up a scripture. Then had them bend over to pick up their scriptures from the floor and I had them pause during this action and look up in the mirror to see what their classmates and teacher could see. There was a flurry of hands up to hide cleavage! We also talked about how some of their skirts which are a little on the short side when standing become much shorter when sitting and exactly what one can see sitting from the opposite side of a room. It was an effective lesson without me having to be preachy.  We discussed at length how Satan is waging war on women because he knows that if he get to the woman, he can get to her family. I also showed them the video about dating limits on the Church's website. (Idea by Karen from LDS YW Yahoo Group)
I brought in three items of clothing that I own but which the girls have never seen me wear because they aren't modest (something I didn't realize when the clothes were bought). They included a top which had capped sleeves but they weren't quite long enough to cover G's, a skirt which had a split in it which shows G's when you walk and another skirt which is see through if worn without a slip underneath. I held each item up and asked the girls what they thought of the items. Most of them thought they were okay, but as I highlighted the problems and the fact that they'd never actually seen me wear them they got the message the "nearly modest is not modest enough". If it's nearly long enough, or nearly loose enough etc then it's just not good enough.  We were trying to tackle one girl in particular without it looking targeted at her and I heard from her mum that she went home and sorted through her clothes and even sewed up a skirt with a split in it which was too high.  We also have a drink driving campaign happening over here in Australia which is pretty hard hitting by saying things like "only a little bit dead" or "only a little bit drunk" and I used the same example by saying that "only a little bit immodest is still immodest". (Idea by Melanie in Australia)
I will never forget what one of my Laurels said in a lesson taught by a member of our Young Women presidency. The teacher asked the girls to define modesty, and she said something to the effect of the following: "modesty is dressing and acting in a way that tells those around you that you know that you are a daughter of God."  It's the best definition I've ever heard. (Ellen in North Carolina)
Many Great Lesson Helps for Teaching Modesty
Modesty: More Than Just A Standard
One Sunday in our ward we had the girls stand and sing "head, shoulders, knees and toes"....they had to just sing and do the motions....(they had no idea why they had to sing) we then asked how many had skin showing while doing this song....tummy, back, etc...If they were touching skin or had skin show they were not dressed according to the dress standards.  Now we just say "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" and they know that they need to dress differently in the future.  This was something we saw on a poster at BYU at Women's Conference and decided if it was good enough for BYU it was good enough for our girls. (Deanna Holdsworth)
 Some modesty lesson helps by Kristen Hudson
Three tips regarding modesty

MODEST CLOTHING AND DRESSES FOR PURCHASE:

Beautifully Modest
Hannah Lise
Kate's Camisoles
Mikarose
Modbe
Modest Swimsuits and Swimwear
Shabby Apple
Simply Elegant
Totally Modest

MORMON AD POSTERS:

Measure Up - You Will Never Outgrow Your Need for Standards. (Oct 2008 New Era)
Stand Firm - Our standards are determined by the Lord, not by the direction of the wind. (Jan 2008 New Era)
Dress for Success - Dress appropriately. Don’t let a bad choice trip you up. (Feb 2007 New Era)
Are Your Standards Shrinking? - If it’s too tight, too short, or too revealing, it doesn’t fit Church standards. Don’t stretch your standards to fit the world’s. (Jan 2006 New Era)
Shelter from the Storm - There’s comfort and safety in the standards, and they cover everyone.  (Jan 2001 New Era)
Be Your Best - Be Grateful • Be True • Be Smart • Be Humble • Be Clean • Be Prayerful - President Gordon B. Hinckley  (Mar 2001 New Era)
Put It On - The enemy’s aiming at you. Protect yourself. (Jun 2001 New Era)
Don’t Be a Dummy - A mannequin wears whatever the world is selling. Your standards are higher than that. (Jul 2001 New Era)
Don’t Shortchange Yourself - The way you dress advertises your standards. Send the right message. (Aug 2000 New Era)
Don’t Give Mixed Signals - Make your standards clear so those who follow you won’t get lost.  (Nov 1996 New Era)
Don’t Fall for It. Stand firm - Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t make it right.  (Oct 1981 New Era)

MUSIC:

(Shared by Lori Farnsworth) Here a song sang by one of our stake presidency members sang at stake conference a couple of years ago. Sang to the tune "if you chance to  meet a frown":

"If you lift your hands up high
And you tummy shows
quickly put your hands back down
and go and change your clothes."

Modesty Song (Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes)

OBJECT LESSON:

Brown Egg Yolk
Not what you expected... by Kietra Stokes
FHE/Object Lesson from My Mix of Six
Resisting Sin

ONLINE VIDEO CLIPS:

 195 Dresses
 A Guy's View on Modesty

OTHER:

Logo for Shirt, "Modest is hottest"
Modesty checks - An idea for helping YW leaders to address modesty problem in YW

QUOTES:

One Liners
Quick Quotes
Quotes on Dress and Appearance from W.O.O.L.

SHARING TIME IDEAS:

 I will dress modestly by Annie Fisher
 Modest Molly Sharing Time
 Modesty Sharing Time by Talana Wilhite 
 Valuing the inside by caring for the outside by Trista Nilsson 
 What is your wardrobe saying about you? by Sarah Boniface

SKITS:

Modesty Matters Skit

SINGING TIME IDEAS:

 Ropin' Songs by Jocelyn Williams - Singing Time about our body being a temple

STANDARDS NIGHT IDEAS:

A Great and Marvelous Work: Selected Stories from the lives of LDS Women
Follow the Heavenly Road
Plan a Standard's Night only have the roles reversed.  Have the youth portray parents and have them give talks on the important ides their children (the parents) should be taught.  In the program develop subjects such as the following: a-building understanding between parents and youth, b-the need for chastity in today's world, c-establishing values, d-honoring the priesthood and womanhood, e-developing self-discipline and f-preparing for a temple marriage.  This will help the youth understand the difficulty in teaching them correct principles. (Credit Unknown)
Temple Night Activity
Wacky Fashion Show

STORIES:

A short story told by Gordon B. Hinckley of a young man who faced ridicule because of his morals
Marcie Matthews Story
More than a hero - a story told by Muhammad Ali's daughter
The Monkey Story by President Kimball
Tragedy in Rayad by Ardeth G. Kapp