I really liked reading the most recent post over at the Mormantiy blog. The author, Jeff Lindsay, gives a very good analogy of why the Word of Wisdom is important, which is essentially to show commitment to Jesus by giving up things that could be harmful for our spiritual development.
While giving up alcohol, coffee, and tea is something that most people have come to understand about Mormons and the Word of Wisdom, there are many more aspects within the Word of Wisdom that shouldn’t be ignored, and that I feel distance ourselves from our commitment to the Lord.
The Word of Wisdom revelation discusses part of the reason behind it is due to the “evil designs of conspiring men…” who produce the substances. It goes on to discuss the “do nots” such as alcohol, tobacco, etc. but then goes into the parts of the revelation that could be called the “do’s”. This includes: using wholesome herbs, fruits, meat sparingly, grains (and even goes into naming types of grains such as wheat, rye, oats, barley, etc.).
I believe that if we are committed to Jesus and truly believe our bodies are a temple to house his Holy Spirit, we will naturally want to eliminate all substances that could be addictive substances. However, that is only the first step, we should replace them with good substances. I think too many times, we as LDS people get all proud of ourselves for adhering to the “do nots” but then blow it on the “do’s”. Examples I can think of that I have seen include: over-eating, not exercising, drinking tons of soda, energy drinks, and the list goes on and on.
At the end of the Word of Wisdom, there is a promise that we’ll received renewed spiritual strength as well as physical health. Then a huge promise is that the destroying angel will pass over us. I’m not sure exactly what that means, but it definitely implies that one who obeys the word of wisdom will have good things both spiritually and physically happen.
I hope we can all look at ourselves and see what we can do to improve our relationship with the Lord by following the Word of Wisdom more diligently. If you have personal experiences of “stepping up” your adherence with the Word of Wisdom, please share so we can all be uplifted!
Grace for Grace 
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April 9, 2011 at 4:48 am
Kramer
During Elder Talmadge’s time, the brethren discussed the WoW, what and how to enforce. That’s how we came up with the current guidelines. But rabid Vegans would like to force their views on the rest of us.
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April 9, 2011 at 7:34 am
Cal
I forced myself to begin a daily regiment of jogging (10 to 15 minutes per day) many years ago and have never regretted it. My concentration and energy level are higher after I jog. The benefits last for at least 24 hours. Besides that, I don’t need any medication for high cholesterol either!
(Hope I didn’t sound like a salesman!)
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April 9, 2011 at 9:50 am
Mike S
I agree that there is much about the WofW that we choose to ignore.
We should only eat meat in times of cold or famine:
We should drink “mild barley drinks”, which in Joseph Smith’s time was defined as beer:
We should be still using wine in the sacrament, we revealed to Joseph Smith (as in the D&C), as used by the Nephites (reading the sacrament prayers in the BofM), and as instituted by the Savior Himself when He lived on the earth (as in the NT)
Yet we eat meat, we ban beer, and we change the fundamental ordinance we do on a weekly basis to remember Christ.
Also, and most importantly, the WofW was given as a suggestion for health. To elevate it to the point where someone can’t ordain their 8-year-old child after baptism because they had a cup of coffee is NOT what Joseph Smith intended. Neither did Brigham Young, as coffee was included in rations for the pioneers.
So, what we talk about today as the “Word of Wisdom” actually has very little in common with what Joseph Smith revealed and lived as the “Word of Wisdom”
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April 9, 2011 at 6:40 pm
Cal
Mike S, that was fascinating. You sound like a real scholar.
We should drink beer? Wow. I bet that’s controversial.
“We should only eat meat in times of cold or famine”?
But what about Genesis 9:3-4?
“and most importantly, the WofW was given as a suggestion for health.”
That makes sense to me.
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April 9, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Mike S
Cal:
Joseph Smith actually drank beer. And on the day he was shot, he and his fellow prisoners shared a bottle of wine to “lift their spirits”. Brigham Young started distilleries and vineyards. Regarding wine and the sacrament, that is how it was instituted. It is how Christ instituted it in His time.
Wine has been used in the temples. Regarding the Kirtland temple, in 1836, from the History of the Church
So even in the temple, they drank enough wine to “make their hearts glad”. The use of wine continued in the temple until into the 20th century. The prophet and apostles have sacrament during their weekly meeting. Wine was used for this until around the time of Prohibition.
It is somewhat ironic, therefore, that a glass of wine might now keep you OUT of the temple, whereas it has been used liberally IN the temple. The use of wine, therefore, is NOT an eternal principle, but just a temporary one just in the past 100 years. And our practice with regards to wine is MUCH different than that followed by Joseph Smith.
The rest of the Word of Wisdom is similar. We live it very differently.
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April 11, 2011 at 4:25 pm
ama49
Hi Mike,
You bring up some very good points. However, the LDS church claims to be a church with an open cannon…continuous revelation. I’m not saying that I disagree with you that someone who drinks alcohol will be banned from Heaven, but since the church subsribes to an open cannon each prophet has the right to revelation for the church as a whole.
Therefore, the word of wisdom is how it is today rather than when Joseph Smith was here. The prophet Heber Grant changed it in 1921. Polygamy was around when he was here as well and that changed. I’m sure there would be many, many things different today if the Church remained how it was back then.
What are your thoughts on continuous revelation?
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April 12, 2011 at 9:29 pm
Mike S
ama49:
I agree that we technically have an open canon. However, it’s been a LONG time since anything has been added to it. We have a couple of Declarations – one ending the ban on blacks and the priesthood, and one ending polygamy. We also have a vision from 1918.
So, realistically, we haven’t added ANYTHING to our official canon in nearly a century.
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April 12, 2011 at 10:59 pm
ama49
You know, Mike, now that you mention it…is there any official declaration on the things you brought up in the Word of Wisdom that has been canonized?
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April 13, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Mike S
The only canonized information we have regarding the Word of Wisdom is the Word of Wisdom itself. There has been nothing else.
If we go to the original document, some things are clear:
– Grains and fruit are good for you (I’d say this is true and we still follow this)
– Meat is only to be used in times of cold or famine (I suggest we completely ignore this).
– With regards to alcohol – strong drinks are forbidden (which was defined as liquor in JS time), wine is ok, especially for sacrament, and beer (mild barley drink) is expressly given as FOR the use of man. (We have completely perverted this in the sense of “not a drop”, even to the point of changing the sacrament ordinance)
– Hot drinks are forbidden. It is unclear what this meant. It has been retroactively defined as coffee, etc., although BY and others drank it.
– The entire WofW was just given as a suggestion for good health We have completely perverted this. It will now keep you out of the temple or from ordaining your child after baptism
So, various prophets’ interpretations have fallen into and out of favor over the years. At one point, some apostles defined white bread and/or refined sugar as against the WofW. The “not a drop” came into being around the time of Prohibition. There used to be a big to-do about Coke by some people, although Monson drinks it, and McKay is talked about drinking it in his biography. People don’t talk about the Coke or flour thing any more. Some people cook with wine but don’t drink it. Some people don’t even cook with it.
It is truly all over the board. At the end of the day, the WofW means whatever someone wants it to mean. There has NEVER been anything canonized making it required. There has NEVER been anything canonized since the original WofW.
We truly live it completely differently from Joseph Smith, to whom it was revealed in the first place. If someone knew what God meant by it, I would assume it was him. The problem is that when someone gives their own interpretation, it tends to stick around for a long, long time.
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April 11, 2011 at 8:12 am
Cal
Thanks. . . . very interesting.
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April 14, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Paul
Not only has there been no canonized addition to the Word of Wisdom since Section 89, there have been no claimed uncanonized revelations in this regard. Actions of Heber J. Grant and others were not claimed as revelations at the time, nor since.
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