Do the clothes make the man?

Clothing can say a number of things. It can indicate rank, position, class, status, allegiance, job, preference etc. We wear different clothing according to what roll we are playing. Clothing always sends some sort of message- formal or casual, day time/ night time, beliefs or body (as I read in an article once.) The clothing we put on also sends an internal message as well as an external one. It effects the actions and attitudes of the wearer.

Studies show that when business men dress down for casual Fridays their job performance tends to be casual as well. As a mom I feel more awake and ready to do work when I put on my mom-clothes than when I'm still in my pajamas. When a police officer fasten his badge he has donned the mantel of authority and now represents someone who is supposed to uphold the law. When we dress for church we put on our "Sunday best". This shows God that we would give Him our best and that we will act our best in His house. It also serves as a personal reminder that the Sabbath is a holy day and that we are dressed for worship. When we enter the temple we dress in white to symbolize the purity required to stand in the presence of the Lord. It is a physical reminder as we dress ourselves and a visual reminder as we sit among a sea of similarly dressed individuals. It represents not only purity but unity since all the other messages that clothing send have been erased. No rich, no poor, no doctor, no fast food worker, no fashionable, no unfashionable- all the same in the eyes of God.

All this is leading up to what I read in Exodus 28 about the clothing that the priests were adorned in before serving in the tabernacle. They are clothed in gold and fine cloth almost like royalty with a mitre and crown on their head. (The mitre is a cap that is put on the head before a crown is placed on it.) There is no king in Israel at this time and the only leadership serves as both secular and religious roles in this theocracy.

There is also an item called an ephod placed upon the priest. The priest is wearing a golden breastplate with precious stones set in it. Inside the breastplate is a urium and thummin. "for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial." (Ex. 28:12) It symbolizes his calling to care for the 12 tribes of Israel. The urium and thummin are instruments of revelation indicating to me that he is entitled to revelation in this sacred calling. This breastplate is a burden to wear but also a privilege. It weighs upon the sholders but it also covers the heart.

I liken this to any calling we have in the church, including parenthood- a burden but also a sacred privilege in which we are entitled to revelation from God to fulfill. We wear it upon our shoulders and our hearts. There are many other symbols about the clothing that the priests wear which we’ll save for another time but I’ll end with a quote I came across in Relief Society about a month ago.

“Where do parents draw the line? That is a matter of parental wisdom guided by the inspiratioin of the Lord. There is no area of parental action that is more needful of heavenly guidance or more likely to receive it than the decisions of parents in raising their children and governing their families. This is the work of eternity.”

Elder Dallin Oaks

I am eternally greatful for the three jewels in my breastplate.