Body - as Temple

O Son of Man! The temple of being is My throne; cleanse it of all things, that there I may he established and there I may abide.

Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words, Arabic 58

As this physical frame is the throne of the inner temple, whatever occurs to the former is felt by the latter. In reality that which takes delight in joy or is saddened by pain is the inner temple of the body, not the body itself. Since this physical body is the throne whereon the inner temple is established, God hath ordained that the body he preserved to the extent possible, so that nothing that causeth repugnance may be experienced.

The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, p. 95

Man is the temple of God, the image and likeness of the Lord. Surely if one should destroy the temple of God, he will incur the displeasure of the Creator.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 373

. . . you should not neglect your health, but consider it the means which enables you to serve. It - the body - is like a horse which carries the personality and spirit, and as such should be well cared for so it can do its work!

Shoghi Effendi, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and A Devotional Attitude, p. 19

. . . there are laws governing our physical lives, requiring that we must supply our bodies with certain foods, maintain them in a certain range of temperatures, and so forth, if we wish to avoid physical disabilities.

Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-73, p. 105-106