Ok Folks....

"Teach your children self-respect. Teach them that their bodies are the creation of the Almighty. What a miraculous, wonderful, and beautiful thing is the human body.

As has been said here tonight, Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, declared: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

"If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" (1 Cor. 3:16-17)... The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve have declared that we discourage tattoos and also "the piercing of the body for other than medical purposes." We do not, however, take any position "on the minimal piercing of the ears by women for one pair of earrings"--one pair."

This is What Pres Gordon B Hinckley, Former Pres. of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said.

Let's hit on the KEY topic here. Teaching our Children Self Respect and taking proper care of our bodies. I have been advised by some (people who are NOT Leaders of the Church) to get my tattoo removed. Talk about defiling and painfully disfiguring my body! That would be flat out desecration to have a procedure that would take something that is artistic and pleasing and turn it into a horrible scar. Talk about Graffiti! Taking a piece of artwork on my "Temple" and disfiguring it!

Not to mention the fact that my tattoo is less of a sign of not taking care of my body than the fact that I am overweight.

Obesity is prominent in our society. People who would NEVER get a tattoo are taking HORRIBLE care of their bodies. So maybe you need to understand the SPIRIT of what was said, and get over the tattoo issue.

Let's move on to how strong of an emphasis is being put on Tattoos. The Leaders of the Church DISCOURAGE Tattoos and Piercings. It is no more a commandment that not drinking caffeine or not watching R rated movies.

So, those of you who drink you Diet Coke every day, you have ZERO room to tell me that getting a Tattoo is wrong. It is no more against what the Prophets have said than what you do on a daily basis. Pres Hinckley has said "We do NOT drink caffeine."

Then there's the topic of R rated movies. Those of you who watch R rated movies again, have NO room to talk on how wrong my tattoo is.

My Tattoo does not make me unworthy to hold a Temple Recommend. It does not affect my standing in the Church. So, get off your High Horse, Follow the Words of Our Savior who said “Judge NOT, that you be not judged” and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' And LET IT GO!

I will be judged someday. But what will keep me from eternal Glory will NOT be that I got a tattoo. It will be whether I paid my tithing, Kept my Covenants, and how I treated people. If I continue to live my life in accordance with the Covenants I have made in the Temple, Obey the Commandments ( the ones that say "Thou Shalt..."/ affect my ability to enter the Temple), and Follow Jesus Christ, my tattoo will do nothing to keep me from being "Saved."