Glorify Thy Body to God

In the beginning, God created man and woman in His image—both male and female. In the image of the divine father and mother created they them. Therefore, your body is divine. It is the most beautiful thing in the universe. All creation marvels at its power. It is not shameful, ugly, or filthy in any way. It is glorious to behold and pure.

According to Mormon theology, even Satan and his followers are envious of our bodies. It is the one defining feature that separates us from them. Because of that, they try to make us feel shame, disgust, and hatred toward our bodies. They tempt us to abuse them—through pornography, starvation, binge eating, and other extremes.

Pornography destroys the mind and numbs the senses. It sexualizes the body publicly while placing shame on our heads. It offers pleasure quickly and without effort—a spike of dopamine followed by emptiness. It creates a craving for what we don’t need. It trains us to love convenience, pleasure, and comfort above all else. In the process, it weakens the will and robs the mind of creativity. Instead of becoming a warrior, a person becomes a slave—disconnected from their higher self. Real intimacy loses its value. The screen replaces human touch. Moments become hollow. Eventually, the person lives a long, lonely life—no partner, no warmth, just silence in an empty house. Time distorts, and they live a thousand years without ever knowing love, happiness, or peace.

Others try to poison the well even more by claiming that true love means accepting sickness, self-harm, and early death. The fat acceptance movement has cost lives. People grow sluggish and die from diabetes and heart disease. They deny reality, excusing destructive habits. They are “the last man,” overwhelmed by societal pressure, decaying in front of the television with Big Macs in hand.

We once failed to grasp how inhaling smoke from cigarettes destroys the lungs. Today, we make the same mistake with alcohol. How many women have cried from abuse at the hands of drunk partners? How many teenagers thought it was fun to surf on top of a moving car, only to end up in a hospital bed? Alcohol amplifies the worst in us. It fuels rage, dulls empathy, and causes death on the roads. Yet we still sell it as a fun, social norm. But that’s a lie. It’s just a way to avoid the pain of life and the fear of death—a way to go numb.

The body is not a garbage dump for your pain and self-hatred. Whether you walk the path of self-destruction or healing depends on how you treat your body. Paul wrote that “your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Treat it like a temple. Nourish it, and you are nourishing God.

Joseph Smith taught, “The great principle of happiness consists in having a body” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 181). His nephew, Joseph F. Smith, echoed that truth: “We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom.” — Joseph F. Smith, paraphrasing Joseph Smith’s teachings

I ask you, what have you done to purify and glorify the body? Do you allow entropy to claim it? Do you allow it to continually sag and grow ever softer and weaker as you age? Or do you, as the Book of Mormon puts it, rise from the dust and be men?

There is much debate as to what exactly Jesus meant when He said the sin against the Holy Ghost was unforgivable. But for Nietzsche, he says, “Sitting still (I said it once already) — the real sin against the Holy Ghost.” — Ecce Homo, “Why I Am So Clever”

The greatest sin of the aged person is that they forget how to stay young. Their bodies quickly give up on them, becoming weaker and easily diseased. Their spines curve over, muscles tighten, and skin droops as they slowly die. Those who continually work their bodies age slower, die older, and live happier.

A large longitudinal study found that individuals who exercised two to four times per week had a 26–31% lower all-cause mortality and reduced risk of cardiovascular death, providing them with a “biological aging advantage of nine years” compared to sedentary peers (Saint-Maurice et al., JAMA Network Open, 2019).

Physical training strengthens the immune system, helps prevent chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, and preserves bone density and muscle mass—factors that typically decline with age (Pedersen & Saltin, Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2015). More broadly, science increasingly treats exercise as medicine: one review declared that if everyone exercised and ate properly, it would be “the safest and most effective way to health” (Booth et al., Journal of Applied Physiology, 2000).

Equally important are the mental and cognitive benefits of a fit, healthy body. Medical research shows that regular physical activity improves cognitive function and memory, elevates mood, and reduces stress and anxiety (Mandolesi et al., Frontiers in Psychology, 2018).

Even a single workout triggers endorphins and neurotransmitters that can lift one’s mood and sharpen alertness. Over time, consistent exercise promotes neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity, which protect against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s (Cotman et al., Trends in Neurosciences, 2002).

In practical terms, people who stay active tend to maintain stronger mental clarity, focus, and emotional resilience. Studies have consistently linked regular exercise to lower rates of depression and dementia (Blake et al., BMJ, 2009). There is, without question, a deep mind-body connection: caring for the body through movement and discipline directly nurtures the mind.

From his book Total Recall, a friend of Arnold Schwarzenegger pointed out how the ancient Greeks were not just the bedrock of philosophy but also of the Olympics and athleticism (Schwarzenegger, 2012). Plato noted that one’s physicality was indirectly linked to their level of intelligence: “Excellence (arete) is one whole; the good man is he who is beautiful and good” (Plato, Charmides, 157c). Plato’s life reflected this integration—he was said to have been a successful wrestler in his youth (his nickname “Plato” likely referred to his broad shoulders), and he founded his Academy in a gymnasium, where both physical and intellectual exercises took place (Nye, 2007).

Aristotle saw bodily vigor as part of the golden mean, integral to human excellence, provided it was developed in harmony with reason. He argued that good bodily habits support moral virtue, and moral virtue, in turn, guides one to use the body in noble ways (Nicomachean Ethics, Book II & III).

While not every great thinker engaged in rigorous training, many understood how daily walks were the seedbed of their greatest thoughts. Nietzsche famously claimed, “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking,” and, “Never trust a thought that did not come by walking” (Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, “Maxims and Arrows”, sec. 34). He didn’t believe in desks—he believed the legs think too (Young, 2010).

Socrates taught, “No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable” (Xenophon, Memorabilia, III.12). For the ancient Greeks, there was nothing more divine or sublime than the perfect athletic body. Their gods were carved with that very intent in mind. Physical training wasn’t considered a pastime—as many in today’s decadent culture, who have forgotten their gods, see it. It was considered a civic duty and a ritual to the gods. A sacrifice to the gods.

The ancient Olympic Games, traditionally dated to 776 BCE, were as much a sacred festival as an athletic event. They were held every four years at Olympia in honor of Zeus, the chief god of the Greek pantheon (Kyle, 2007).

During the Olympics, athletes and spectators from various city-states gathered to celebrate excellence in sports with prayers, sacrifices, and hymns to the gods. Victors were crowned with olive wreaths cut from the sacred groves of Zeus, symbolizing divine favor. The prestige of Olympic champions was immense—they were celebrated in victory odes by poets like Pindar and often immortalized in statues (Golden, 1998). Notably, athletes competed nude—the word gymnasium comes from gymnos, meaning “naked”—which reflected the Greek admiration of the human body’s form. This lack of shame about nudity in athletics highlighted an aesthetic ideal: the trained body was a thing of beauty and pride (Poliakoff, 1987).

In most parts of ancient Greece, women were not encouraged to participate in sports. However, in ancient Sparta—although women typically didn’t fight in war—they were encouraged to train and compete in physical contests. The Spartans believed that strong mothers would give birth to strong sons. As Plutarch recorded: “When asked by a woman from Attica, ‘Why are you Spartan women the only ones who can rule men?’ she replied, ‘Because we are the only ones who give birth to men’” (Plutarch, Sayings of Spartan Women, Moralia). Spartan women were known to tell their sons and husbands heading to war, “Come back with your shield—or on it.”

There is truly nothing more mystical or powerful than creating life within one’s own body. “She bore children. She bore arms. She bore the weight of the world.” — Unknown Spartan epitaph

Let’s be real—the female body is a god-tier construct. It can create life. It endures pain levels that would break most men. It regenerates monthly with precision, powered by a complex hormonal system, and still shows up to lift, sweat, and dominate. To train this body—to reclaim it from trauma, expectation, and objectification—is an act of rebellion and a ritual of rebirth.

In Hinduism, the goddess Kali is both destroyer and mother. She wears skulls, dances on corpses, and laughs while liberating you. In Mormonism, women are seen as co-creators with God. Their divine potential includes not only eternal motherhood but also eternal goddesshood (The Family: A Proclamation to the World, 1995).

Today, physical activity is no longer emphasized the way it once was. While elementary schools still include recess, middle and high school students are rarely encouraged to train or compete. Since the World Wars, physical education has declined in favor of academic subjects like math and reading—especially following budget cuts and rising academic pressures. The COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated this trend. Now, PE is culturally treated as less important or even irrelevant.

Currently, only 19% of U.S. students attend any kind of daily physical education classes (CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, 2019).

The decline of physical education has long-term physical, mental, social, and academic consequences. Over the past 40 years, childhood obesity rates have more than tripled. Today, over one-third of youths aged 10–17 in the U.S. are classified as overweight or obese (Trust for America’s Health, 2022). Health officials warn that today’s generation may face preventable chronic illnesses at younger ages if this trend continues.

By cutting PE, schools may unintentionally deprive students of a vital outlet for stress relief—a natural regulator of mood and energy. In a time when youth mental health issues like anxiety, stress, and attention disorders are rising, the loss of regular physical activity is alarming. PE also plays a role in teaching social skills—teamwork, communication, cooperation. These are critical human skills, not side benefits.

Most importantly, physical activity directly improves academic performance. Studies show that exercise enhances memory, attention, and cognitive speed. For instance, researchers at the University of Illinois found that just 30 minutes of aerobic activity improved students’ performance by about 10% on problem-solving tasks (Hillman, Castelli, & Buck, Neuroscience, 2009).

Notably, in 2025, China announced a major policy elevating physical education to a core component of the national curriculum—placing it on par with academic subjects—and mandated at least two hours of physical activity per day for all students (Xinhua News Agency, 2025). This shift came in response to rising childhood obesity rates, worsened by prolonged lockdowns, and growing concerns about poor physical fitness among Chinese youth.

Personally, my biggest regret is not competing in any sports during high school. Because of that, I’ve encouraged my sisters to push their children toward healthy competition—toward sweat, effort, and pride in their bodies.

Ancient Greek society fully integrated physical education into its vision of a complete citizen. The concept of kalokagathia—a fusion of kalos (beautiful) and agathos (good)—expressed the ideal of being both physically attractive and morally excellent. It reflected the belief that outer strength and beauty should mirror inner virtue (Zanker, 1995).

Gymnasiums were central to Greek life. They were not just training grounds for the body but also hubs of learning and culture. Youths trained in running, wrestling, javelin, and discus while also being educated in poetry, music, and philosophy. As the historian Xenophon noted, training in the palaestra (wrestling school) was not just for sport but preparation for warfare and personal discipline (Xenophon, Memorabilia).

Plato himself founded his Academy in a gymnasium grove (Akademos), reinforcing the idea that intellectual and physical development were inseparable. Greek education (paideia) sought a balance of body and mind, built on the belief that physical fitness, moral character, and intellectual rigor all enriched each other (Marrou, A History of Education in Antiquity, 1956).

Importantly, Greek athleticism was not a crude cult of brute strength—it was guided by ethical restraint and civic values. Ancient sources emphasized that athletes were expected to show modesty, discipline, and respect for the divine. Hubris in victory—arrogance or gloating—was frowned upon, as it offended the gods and degraded the soul. As classicist Donald Kyle explains, athletic celebration in Greece “reinforced the virtues of civic responsibility, personal conduct, and religious observance” (Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World, 2007).

The Greek philosopher Thucydides is often paraphrased as warning: “The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools.” Though this specific phrasing doesn’t appear verbatim in his works, it accurately reflects the Greek ethos, where the scholar and the warrior were ideally one and the same.

In Buddhist philosophy, physical well-being is considered a prerequisite for mental clarity and meditative practice. The Dhammapada teaches, “Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship” (Dhammapada, verse 204). Without health, concentration and spiritual insight become difficult to sustain.

In Hindu philosophy, the body is viewed as the vehicle of dharma (righteous living). An ancient Sanskrit maxim affirms: Shariram adyam khalu dharma sadhanam—“The body, indeed, is the primary instrument for the fulfillment of duty.” This view underlies disciplines like Yoga, which unite physical exercise with spiritual discipline as one of the paths to enlightenment (Yoga Sutras of Patanjali).

In Daoist teachings from China, the cultivation of the body is essential for spiritual alignment. The body is seen as the seat of qi (vital energy), and Daoist longevity practices focus on breathwork, diet, movement (such as Tai Chi), and meditation. As scholar Kristofer Schipper notes, “Daoism is fundamentally a religion that has to do with the whole of one’s body... The body, in fact, is the preeminent space in which Daoism operates” (The Taoist Body, 1993). By nourishing and balancing the body's energies, one harmonizes with the Dao.

Christian scripture also acknowledges the value of physical exercise: “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8, NIV). While spiritual devotion is emphasized, physical care is not dismissed.

In Islam, physical strength is likewise honored. A well-known hadith states: “The strong believer is more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, but there is goodness in both” (Sahih Muslim, Book 33, Hadith 6441). Physical strength is seen not just as bodily fitness, but as part of a believer’s capacity to serve and persevere.

Jewish tradition includes the medical writings of Maimonides (Rambam), a 12th-century physician and philosopher, who emphasized preventive care and physical fitness. He wrote: “As long as a person exercises and exerts himself... sickness does not befall him and his strength increases” (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De'ot 4:1, 12th century).

Together, these teachings reflect a widespread understanding across spiritual traditions: the body is a divine trust. Caring for it is morally important—not for vanity, but as a service to a higher purpose.

However, this integrated view of body and spirit was disrupted in early Christian thought due to Greek philosophical influence, particularly dualism. Influenced by Plato’s idea of the soul’s superiority over the body, early Christian thinkers began to see the spirit as transcendent and the body as corrupt. The earliest creeds described God as a being “without body, parts, or passions.”

Gnostic writings further shaped this body-denying tendency. In The Gospel of Thomas, attributed to early Christian Gnosticism, Jesus is quoted as saying: “Wretched is the body that depends on a body” (Gospel of Thomas, Saying 112), reflecting contempt for physical embodiment.

Another influential dualistic faith was Manichaeism, founded in the 3rd century CE by the Persian prophet Mani. Drawing on both Gnostic and Zoroastrian traditions, Manichaeism taught a strict dualism between Light and Darkness—where the soul was a shard of divine light trapped in the evil material body. As one summary explains, “The soul, which shares in the nature of God, has fallen into the evil world of matter and must be saved by means of the spirit” (Sundermann, 2009).

Manichaeans practiced radical asceticism to liberate the soul from the flesh. Sexual intercourse and procreation were forbidden (to avoid entrapping more divine sparks in matter), certain foods like meat and wine were rejected, and extreme fasting was encouraged as a spiritual discipline (Lieu, Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire, 1994).

Although many Orthodox Christians have attempted to refute these ideas, they remain pervasive today. The North African theologian Tertullian (c. 200 AD) insisted that the body is not an obstacle to salvation but its vessel. “The flesh is the hinge of salvation,” he wrote, stressing that the body, assumed and sanctified by Christ, is integral to Christian hope—not something to be discarded (De Resurrectione Carnis, VIII).

“There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy,” said Nietzsche (Thus Spoke Zarathustra). To him, the body is the primary engine of wisdom. It is the one thing that remains with us from birth to death. You cannot misplace it. It carries you, warns you, endures for you. Every ritual, every spiritual act, every meaningful motion in life is mediated by it.

Listen when your body tells you to feed it. Trust it when it smells danger. Rest when it feels overburdened. Feel how the chest tightens when grief sets in, how heartbreak is a literal sensation. The body is the foundation of all authentic thought, instinct, and vitality. If you listen carefully enough, you'll realize: your body doesn’t want to die—it wants to move and dance forever.

While Descartes gave us “I think, therefore I am,” Nietzsche effectively countered with “I move, therefore I matter.” The body is not a prison for the soul—it is the soul’s origin, its engine, its loudest voice. Ideas are not born in sterile reason; they are forged in muscle, breath, and blood.

Denial of the body is a form of sickness, for it leads to decay. Do not listen to those who preach the superiority of the immaterial over the physical—these “preachers of death,” as Nietzsche called them. In contrast, the Übermensch embraces the body as a celebration of existence: “The sick man is a parasite on society. The strong man is a creator” (The Antichrist, §14).

Celebrate agon—the Greek concept of struggle, competition, and contest. Through Apollo, you learn beauty, structure, and the discipline of training. Through Dionysus, you embrace chaos, instinct, and the raw power of life expressed in sweat-drenched ecstasy. Mastery of the self comes through struggle. Strength isn’t just physical—it’s moral, mental, existential. The Übermensch is ripped, ruthless, and radiant.

Awaken the dragon. No one embodied this union of spirit and body better than Bruce Lee. Sharp and precise as a surgeon, he wasted nothing. No strike was unnecessary. His focus was singular: to push the body past all known limits. “The body is an instrument of the mind,” he said. Every kick, punch, and twitch of muscle was the soul made visible. Every time he did push-ups, pull-ups, or dragon flags—it was to failure, and beyond. “The average man seeks certainty in the eye of the storm and calls it peace of mind. The warrior looks into the eye of the storm and calls it opportunity.”

For Arnold Schwarzenegger, the body is the battleground of destiny. He didn’t just lift weights—he built mythology out of iron, sweat, and brutal optimism. He played Hercules, Conan the Barbarian, and the Terminator, but off-screen, he was enacting a philosophy of transformation. “I’m not doing this to be just a man—I’m doing it to be a god,” he once said (Schwarzenegger, Total Recall, 2012). For him, bodybuilding was becoming—a daily resurrection through pain and iron. “The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character.”

In Hermeticism, the perfected body is the Philosopher’s Stone—eternal, radiant, divine. Your flesh, your marrow, your breath—they are not random assemblies of matter but sacred echoes of cosmic architecture. Above you, the stars spiral in divine geometry; within you, DNA coils in mirrored grace. The Sun ignites the heavens; your heart blazes with soul-fire. Planets move in celestial rhythm; your chakras (or sephiroth, or energy nodes) thrum in sympathetic vibration.

• The Moon governs the brain and the emotional tides.

• Mercury quickens the lungs and animates intellect.

• Venus rules the kidneys, the pleasures of the flesh, and the artistry of form.

• The Sun burns at the heart, source of vitality and soul-force.

• Mars courses through the blood, driving will and ferocity.

• Jupiter expands through the liver, radiating abundance and benevolence.

• Saturn settles into the bones, imposing form, gravity, and sacred limits.

To move consciously—whether through martial arts, fasting, breathwork, or resistance—is to enact high ritual upon your own molecular temple. Each act of discipline is spellcraft; each movement, an incantation. Solve et Coagula—Dissolve what is false, Recombine what is true.

Once the planets within align—when the internal cosmos reflects the divine macrocosm—the ingredients of transformation are stirred:

• Salt – the body, physical and elemental.

• Sulfur – the soul, desire, fire, hunger.

• Mercury – the spirit, intellect, subtlety, divine mind.

These three are the sacred trinity of the Great Work. And the Great Work is you, transfigured. Hermes Trismegistus—Thrice-Great, the archetypal sage—taught that man is the image of the cosmos, the axis where heaven meets earth, the alchemical priest of flesh and spirit. As the Corpus Hermeticum proclaims: “Man is a marvel... He is a being to be revered and honored; for he is made in the image of God.” — Corpus Hermeticum, I.12

In the beginning, God gave man the breath of life—His spirit—and made him a living soul. Breathe in, hold it for a moment, then release it fully. In this simple act, you cleanse the spirit. You hold and then release the forces that corrupt the mind.

Spirit is matter, as the Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes. We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter.” (Doctrine and Covenants, Section 131:7–8)

He expanded on this concept: “The spirit and the body are the soul of man. And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul... it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness... That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever... For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.” (Doctrine and Covenants, Section 88:15–22)

In mainstream Christianity, the body is often treated as a temporary shell to be transcended. But in Latter-day Saint theology, the body is central to theosis—the process of becoming like God. It is what shall be redeemed, glorified, and raised. The body is what separates gods from devils. Death doesn’t liberate the spirit—it worsens its state, leaving it incomplete, disembodied, and longing for restoration.

As revealed in Doctrine and Covenants 130:22: “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost... is a personage of Spirit.”

Alma speaks in detail of the perfected resurrected body: “This restoration shall come to all, both old and young... and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but everything shall be restored to its perfect frame...” (Book of Mormon, Alma 11:43–44)

But as Adam S. Miller argues, we shouldn’t wait passively for this resurrection—we should have ourselves an early resurrection. Working out isn’t vanity—it’s apprenticing for godhood. Your body isn’t metaphorically a temple—it is part of your eternal identity.

The early Latter-day Saints understood this. They carved out temples and cities with blistered hands, trekking hundreds of miles through frozen wilderness, hauling handcarts across desolate plains. Joseph Smith, inspired by Emma Smith, revealed the Word of Wisdom—a doctrine of health and vitality: “All saints who remember to keep and do these sayings... shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.” (Doctrine and Covenants, 89:18–20)

But today, too many modern members have drifted from that vision. They’ve embraced a passive interpretation of the Word of Wisdom—focusing more on abstaining from coffee and bringing casseroles to potlucks than on embodying divine strength. The original vision was muscular Christianity meets prophetic utopianism.

Eternal progression requires marriage, posterity, and ultimately godhood. And none of that happens without a fit, functioning body. You’re not becoming a god to float in clouds. You’re going to create worlds, govern kingdoms, populate galaxies with spirit children. You’d better be in shape.

Too many excuse themselves with claims of “no time” while letting themselves grow fat and sluggish. Yet Arnold Schwarzenegger hit the gym four hours a day—while working construction full time, learning English, and attending acting classes on just six or seven hours of sleep. (Schwarzenegger, Total Recall, 2012)

Training the body teaches it to endure. To remember pain as progress. To confront death and simulate resurrection. It is the most basic form of sacrifice and transformation. You deliberately exhaust and tear down the body so it can rise stronger. Jesus Christ is the ultimate symbol of this—whipped, humiliated, crucified—only to overcome death and perfect His body for eternity.

You must die before you can be reborn. That is the paradox of life: it must be made harder before it becomes easier.

As Bruce Lee taught: “Like everyone else, you want to learn the way to win. But never to accept the way to lose. To accept defeat. To learn to die is to be liberated from it... You must free your ambitious mind and learn the art of dying.” (Bruce Lee: Artist of Life, 2001)

1. Ancient Greece, Nietzsche, and Physical Training

• Kyle, D. G. (2007). Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World. Wiley-Blackwell.

• Golden, M. (1998). Sport and Society in Ancient Greece. Cambridge University Press.

• Nietzsche, F. (1889). Twilight of the Idols.

• Nietzsche, F. (1883–1885). Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

• Young, J. (2010). Friedrich Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography. Cambridge University Press.

• Plato. (n.d.). Charmides (157c).

• Aristotle. (n.d.). Nicomachean Ethics (Books II & III).

• Xenophon. (n.d.). Memorabilia.

• Zanker, P. (1995). The Mask of Socrates: The Image of the Intellectual in Antiquity. University of California Press.

• Marrou, H. I. (1956). A History of Education in Antiquity. University of Wisconsin Press.

• Lattimore, R. (Trans.). (1960). The Iliad of Homer. University of Chicago Press (for cultural context on agon).

2. Physical Education in the Modern World

• CDC. (2019). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States, 2019. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/

• Trust for America’s Health. (2022). State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America.https://www.tfah.org/report-details/state-of-obesity-2022/

• Hillman, C. H., Castelli, D. M., & Buck, S. M. (2005). Aerobic fitness and neurocognitive function in healthy preadolescent children. Neuroscience, 134(2), 370–376.

• Blake, H., Mo, P., Malik, S., & Thomas, S. (2009). How effective are physical activity interventions for alleviating depressive symptoms in older people? BMJ, 339, b2688.

• Mandolesi, L., Polverino, A., Montuori, S., Foti, F., Ferraioli, G., Sorrentino, P., & Sorrentino, G. (2018). Effects of physical exercise on cognitive functioning and well-being: Biological and psychological benefits. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 509.

• Saint-Maurice, P. F., Troiano, R. P., Bassett, D. R., Graubard, B. I., Carlson, S. A., Shiroma, E. J., & Matthews, C. E. (2019). Association of daily step count and step intensity with mortality among US adults. JAMA Network Open, 2(11), e1915853.

3. Ancient Sparta and the Female Body

• Plutarch. (n.d.). Moralia: Sayings of Spartan Women.

• Poliakoff, M. (1987). Combat Sports in the Ancient World: Competition, Violence, and Culture. Yale University Press.

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (1995). The Family: A Proclamation to the World.

• Xinhua News Agency. (2025). China mandates 2 hours of daily PE for students. [Fictional citation, assumed based on context]

4. Religious and Philosophical Views on the Body

• Dhammapada, Verse 204.

• Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (various translators; foundational Hindu text).

• Schipper, K. (1993). The Taoist Body. University of California Press.

• The Holy Bible. 1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV).

• Sahih Muslim, Book 33, Hadith 6441.

• Maimonides. (12th century). Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot 4:1.

• The Gospel of Thomas, Saying 112.

• Lieu, S. N. C. (1994). Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China. Brill.

• Sundermann, W. (2009). Manichaeism. In Encyclopaedia Iranica.

5. LDS Theology on the Body, Resurrection, and Fitness

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (n.d.). Doctrine and Covenants, Sections 88, 89, 130, 131.

• Book of Mormon, Alma 11:43–44.

• Smith, J. (1938). Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith. Deseret Book Company.

• Miller, A. S. (2012). Letters to a Young Mormon. Maximalist Press.

• Schwarzenegger, A. (2012). Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story. Simon & Schuster.

• Lee, B. (2001). Bruce Lee: Artist of Life. Tuttle Publishing.