Understanding the Concept of Beauty

"In order to be a modest people, acceptable to the Lord, it is helpful to understand the concept of beauty as spoken of in the scriptures. Beauty is pleasing to God and always includes modesty of dress, speech, and behavior. When God speaks of beauty it is usually coupled with strength, virtue, and righteousness (Isaiah 52:1 and Articles of Faith 1:13). For example, beauty is found in the freshness and vibrancy of youth-where it is coupled with cleanliness, innocence, and purity. It is found in the tired young mother, not always perfectly manicured, often without makeup, and perhaps still hoping to lose a few pounds from her last pregnancy, who desires to bear children and rear them in love. Beauty is in the single sister who builds a meaningful life, reaching out to nurture others in a world hungry for love.
There is beauty in the middle-aged parents, starting to collect wrinkles, who have worked long and hard together to prepare their children . . . and who continue to support them in [their] endeavors. Truly, there is beauty in the deep lines and creases, thickening ankles and waistlines, and the white or thinning hair of the elderly who are nearing the end of a righteous life . . . . Isaiah, describing the Savior, wrote, 'there is no [worldly] beauty that we should desire him' (Isaiah 53:2). Yet, surely there was no more beautiful being to ever walk the earth than He who gives us 'beauty for ashes' (Isaiah 61:3).
By contrast, popular culture has a much narrower definition of beauty. The definition is reflected in magazine covers, television shows, movies, and commercials. The mainstream societal view of beauty often has little to do with modesty and chastity, focusing instead on perfection of form and feature. Consider that several entire industries are oriented around doomed-to-rail efforts to avoid the aging process and achieve physical perfection. While it is good for us to take care of ourselves, we can balance our stewardship over our bodies with an equivalent effort to progress spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually, rather than fretting too much about appearance or aging." (Helping and Healing Our Families, 208-209.)
Do you ever feel that your sense of beauty is warped? This hit me between the eyes. View yourself and other people not as "perfection incarnate" but as "beauty in every flaw."