Disclaimer: I know nothing about The Mormon Bachelor. Also, I know nothing about ABC’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, which together have had 24 seasons in ten years. Ten years! So while I am uniformed, there apparently are some devoted, crazy-enthusiastic fans out there.

I hadn’t heard anything about The Mormon Bachelor, TMB, until The Cultural Hall’s own Rob Ferre said he was contemplating applying to be the Mormon bachelor. That was in 2011, when the online reality show was accepting applications for the bachelor (or bachelorette in other seasons).

Kent Tuttle, a 27-year-old dental student living in Mesa, Ariz., has been chosen as season four’s Mormon bachelor. After the guy is chosen, then Mormon gals apply to be one of 12 round-one dates. The pickin’s get slimmed down progressively, until… the end. Of the season. And fans anxiously await news that the couple is goin’ to the temple and they’re gonna get married (which happened in season one).

Rob was thinkin’ on applying for the show, but didn’t get around to it. So, now it’s this Kent dude, who may be hot and nice, but isn’t Rob and probably doesn’t listen to The Cultural Hall anyway (which means he loses points, bachelor points). Nevertheless, there are hundreds of single Mormon ladies applying for a chance to go out on a date with not-Rob. It’s not a vote-for-your-favorite kind of thing, so I’ll go ahead and share: One of those girls is my husband’s cousin, Chelsea Larsen, a 19-year-old Okie.

I read her blog often. (She is a crazy-enthusiastic Bachelor fan.) And I was surprised when she posted that she has applied to be on the show. When her blog directed me to TMB’s site, I explored a little. It’s interesting. Fascinating, actually, in a socialogy sort of way. It’s a totally different kind of dating, if it can even be called such. It’s a whole new world… of dating. It made me feel old. And I’m only one year older than the bachelor.

As I browsed through TMB’s posts, not only did I feel old, but I also felt (a little) wiser, too. Wiser than the former dating-me. I’m thankful for my dating years. I had a lot of fun. But I also learned a lot about myself, and it made me a better person. (I’m also very thankful my dating years are over.)

My favorite TMB post was from Kent’s sister, Jill Tuttle Taylor. She describes the kind of girl she thinks would be the perfect match for her older brother. It’s a great post. I especially like number nine on her list. The perfect match for Kent would be a girl who “Dresses modestly. Always. Period. (Don’t know why that is so hard for some women…) It is about respecting herself. A girl who is not interested in getting attention from guys, but respect from them. Shoots for attention from the right men and will teach her girls to do the same.”

Modest. Always. Period.

This is where I felt a little wiser, more than I was in high school anyway. The wiser-me wishes I would have dressed more modestly, more consistently at least. But more than that, I wish I would have been with it enough to know why. To have felt some conviction about it. I just didn’t.

Generally, I did pretty well in dressing modestly. But dressing modestly wasn’t a priority for me. It wasn’t much of a conscious decision. I wish it would have been.

There are different levels of modesty. It means very different things to different people. But what I’m referring to as modest, and I think for the most part Jill probably is too, is the level of modesty outlined in the Church’s CES/EFY standards: shorts to the knees, shoulders/stomach/cleavage covered, and no tight or form-fitting clothing.

Whether we like it or not, how we dress affects how people perceive us. I really don’t think this point is debatable. Our dress is a reflection of our personalities and our priorities. How we dress should be a conscious decision, but sadly often isn’t. We should be wise in all our interactions with others, including our appearance. Our visual interaction with others is powerful, for good or bad.

I’m glad Jill included #9. We should all dress modestly. Always. Period.

I doubt I’ll become a devoted, crazy-enthusiastic fan, but if my cousin makes it on The Mormon Bachelor, I’ll be tuning in. 

And Kent if you do listen to The Cultural Hall, I’m sorry. You’ll get your bachelor points back.