Modesty

As with most topics that the General Authorities have touched on, I stand with them on this one. They're wise, they have good logic, and what they say in General Conferences has a very good chance of being the express word of God. But recently, I heard a convincing counter-argument against strict modesty that went something like this.

People have the responsibility to control themselves. That certainly includes their actions, but it also includes their thoughts. People, especially young men because they seem to have the most trouble with this, should learn to control their thoughts, no matter what they see, no matter how others are dressed. Forcing young women to dress modestly implies that young men can't control their own thoughts and actions. The idea turns men into mindless animals and shifts all of the responsibility and the blame for any lustful thoughts or actions onto the young women who "should've dressed better."

I agree that people, all people, have the responsibility to learn to control their thoughts and actions, but that's really difficult, especially for young people who haven't yet developed enough discipline to act with maturity. And that's also, probably not coincidentally, the time in their lives when interest in physical intimacy begins to reach an all-time high. Yes, young men are ultimately responsible for the things they do and it's especially important that they restrain themselves from doing anything immoral and/or illegal, but exercising self-control is difficult, and some guys need all the help they can get.

Another thing that bothers me is that our thoughts influence our actions, but we don't have total control over our thoughts. We can drive a thought out of our mind, but we can't stop it from coming in in the first place. If a young man sees a physically attractive, scantily clad young woman, his first thought isn't going to be a good one, and it's going to enter his mind without any fault on his part. Of course, then it's his responsibility to get the thought out of his head, but that might be difficult, especially if the thought keeps coming back. If a thought enters his mind involuntarily every time he looks at how the young woman is dressed, she can't really blame him and his hormones for the thought being there.

By dressing modestly, people can help each other control their thoughts by not planting any bad ideas in each other's heads. If the ideas pop up anyway, which they probably will, then you can blame hormones and a lack of self-discipline. Ultimately, people are responsible for their own actions, no matter how other people are dressed, but if a young woman doesn't want young men to get any bad ideas about her, she shouldn't wear the kind of clothing that suggests those ideas in the first place.