Beauty of Mormon Women

By my BYU philosophy professor, Truman G. Madsen

My wife and I were interviewed a time ago by the very man who interviewed President
Hinckley, Mike Wallace. We were at the open house of Manhattan Temple. At some point in
our chat with him (by the way, he has great regard for President Hinckley), he said something
like this, looking at my wife, “Why are Mormon women so lovely?” We learned later that he has
not had a happy married life; he’s had four wives (not simultaneously). Before Ann could
answer, I was thinking of Parley P. Pratt, and I said, “It’s the best-kept beauty secret in the
world. It is the Spirit of God.” Parley P. Pratt says, “It contributes to beauty of face, form, and
feature.”

Then he turned to Ann, and she said, “It’s fidelity.” That’s a great answer. She had in
mind fidelity in the sense of honoring and keeping our covenants with Christ, but also honoring
our covenants with each other: fidelity in marriage. And also faithfulness in marking and
walking the path that Christ has laid out for us. That does make a difference, even in our
physical appearance.

I testify that that is so. I believe that in the Church itself not everyone is aware of how
conspicuous that beauty and that light is in the eyes and faces of the faithful, but those who have
the same spirit recognize it. Jesus said once, “My sheep know my voice and my sheep know
me” (see John 10:27) I suggest to you that the Lord’s sheep know his other sheep and recognize
when he is at work in their lives and they have the Spirit. That is a temple outcome. It comes
with worship and honoring in the sanctuary.

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