Mormon Standards: What and Why?

      Mormons, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that God expects us to lead moral lives. We are expected to live our lives as closely to the way that Jesus lived his as we can. That means that we should be kind and honest, help other people, and be good examples.
      You may have noticed that most Mormons don't swear, but use clean language. They also don't typically wear sleeveless clothing or short shorts or skirts. We believe that God made the human body and that it is special to Him. Therefore, we regard our bodies as sacred, like our beautiful temples. For this reason, we feel that we need to be modest in the way that we clothe ourselves. Besides, many members wear special underwear (called "garments") that are approximately knee-length and that have sleeves. Our clothing should cover those garments.
      Mormons don't drink alcohol, coffee, or tea, and they don't smoke or chew. This is because we believe that we shouldn't do anything harmful to our bodies. It goes along with the whole "our bodies are sacred" thing. And who doesn't want to be healthy? Healthiness promotes happiness. We also believe that Joseph Smith received a revelation from God, called the Word of Wisdom, that gave some general as well as some specific guidelines about what we should and should not do to be healthy. That's where we get the "no coffee, tea, or tobacco" rule. Personally, I love having the Word of Wisdom. I live it, and I don't find it restrictive. Instead, I find that it keeps me free from addiction and free to spend my money on other things.
      As far as entertainment goes, Mormons try to pick entertainment that is consistent with our values. We're not supposed to watch R rated movies, and many PG-13 ones probably aren't clean enough for many Mormons. That's why you'll find that many Mormons, of all ages, love Disney movies and the like. When I was at BYU, we very often had parties where we would watch a Disney movie, or at least something PG or G. The purpose of our media standards is to help keep our minds clean, and to keep our actions clean thereby. We don't want to do anything that offends God. God knows our thoughts and intentions, so we don't even want to think anything that offends God.
      Mormons don't have sexual relations before marriage. We believe that God has commanded us not to. Sexual sins are the third worst kind of sin, after denying the Holy Ghost and murdering. Of course God forgives these sins, but they are so perilous to commit. One reason is that studies show that children do better in families with a married mother and father who love and trust each other. Another reason is that it can be hard to repent of a sexual sin. Mormons also believe that abortion and same-sex marriage/relations are unnatural and wrong.
      The purpose of our standards is to help us live as Jesus Christ lived. We believe that keeping God's commandments will make us happy while we live and after we die. We believe that through our faith in Jesus Christ, as we let the Atonement of Jesus Christ work in our lives to help us change our bad habits, we will become better people and will be able to live in God's presence again someday. That's why we have such high standards.