The Word of Wisdom, contained in Doctrine and Covenants 89, not only lists those things we should avoid consuming, it also lists that which we should consume, including fruits, vegetables, grains, and meat.
Following the Word of Wisdom will allow us to avoid some health problems, but it does not guarantee we will not suffer illnesses and disease. My sister-in-law always followed the Word of Wisdom. She grew up in a home that adhered to the Word of Wisdom and established her own home wherein they adhered to the principles taught in the Word of Wisdom. Though she never smoked, she developed lung cancer and eventually succumbed to it last year. Some may argue that the Word of Wisdom did her no good because she died of cancer. Though it’s true that she passed away from a disease for which she did not have a high risk, she was a shining example of faith in the Lord and in His plan. She was obedient to the commandments, including the Word of Wisdom, and she received countless blessings because of her obedience.
The Word of Wisdom isn’t only about what food or substances we should avoid or consume, it’s also about obedience. We know that , “There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:20-21). Doctrine and Covenants 89 promises specific blessings for obeying the Word of Wisdom, including health in our navel and marrow to our bones. Of course, this doesn’t mean we won’t ever die, that would frustrate the plan of happiness, but it does mean we can enjoy good health that we might not otherwise enjoy if we disobeyed the Word of Wisdom.
“And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint” (D&C 89:20). Adhering to the Word of Wisdom will allow us to have more strength and energy than if we disobey it and, specifically when it comes to sharing the gospel, we will have greater strength of mind.
While good health is important and desirable, perhaps the greatest blessings are in verses 19 and 21. In D&C 89:19 we’re told that we, “ . . . shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures.” As we obey the Word of Wisdom and keep our bodies and minds healthy, we will find wisdom. As a mother of 10 children, I clearly need more wisdom than what I can obtain on my own. I need the Lord to impart of His great wisdom as I seek to raise these children unto Him. I cannot do it on my own. If I put my trust in Him by obeying his commandments, especially the Word of Wisdom, He will bless me to learn more than I could possibly learn without His help. He will teach me how to raise my children. He will also teach me how to be wise in my use of time, talents, and abilities to further the work of His kingdom.
Verse 21 promises us that the destroying angel will pass by us, just as it did for the children of Israel. We will not be destroyed. There is an eternal difference between dying and being destroyed. We can enjoy blessings in mortality from adhering to the Word of Wisdom, but we can also enjoy blessings in eternity for obeying it.
The Word of Wisdom is a temporal and spiritual commandment and when we obey, we will reap eternal rewards.
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Showing posts with label Word of Wisdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Word of Wisdom. Show all posts
Monday, November 3, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Healthy Eating: The Word of Wisdom
Several years ago, I brought one of my children into the doctor for a check-up. The doctor remarked that compared to the weight chart, she was thin. He then asked me what we ate regularly. I responded that we ate fruits, vegetables, grains, pasta, dairy, and some meat. He asked me how often we ate fast food. I told him we didn’t ever go to McDonald’s and very rarely ate in restaurants. I also told him we didn’t eat many fried foods, but preferred to bake or broil our meats. He stared at me and asked, “Are you serious? That’s really how you eat?” He just shook his head, looking amazed. I did take the opportunity to give him a quick explanation of the Word of Wisdom.
Sometimes we’re so focused on what the Word of Wisdom prohibits, we forget what it promotes. Good health isn’t only obtained by avoiding alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and caffeine, it comes from feeding our bodies healthy food.
“And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God has ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving” (D&C 89:10-11).
We are also taught that the “flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly. And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine” (D&C 89:12-13). I have heard some people teach in the Church that we should be vegetarians. While everyone has the right to choose what he or she will eat, the Word of Wisdom does not prohibit meat and as long as we eat it sparingly, it is acceptable.
What does it mean to eat meat sparingly? Back in the early days of the Church, the Saints consumed quite a bit of meat, so sparingly may have had a different meaning. Today, if we will pray to understand the Word of Wisdom as well as how to use meat sparingly, the Spirit will guide us to consume that which is good for us.
“All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground” (D&C 89:16). We should be partaking of grains, especially wheat, and fruits and vegetables. Since I grew up in California, fruits and vegetables were plentiful year round. I can remember avocados the size of grapefruits, kumquats, and citrus fruits that grew in our backyard. My grandfather grew tomatoes in a small planter behind the garage and whenever we needed a tomato, we picked one. We also had a mandarin orange tree that bore fruit in December. After I got married, my family would visit my grandparents for Christmas and one of the highlights was eating as many mandarin oranges as we could.
To realize good health, we need to not only avoid substances that are harmful, we need to partake of that which will strengthen and nourish our bodies. The more we adhere to the Word of Wisdom, the healthier our bodies can be. It is certainly not a guarantee that we will never experience health problems, but we can avoid unnecessary health concerns if we keep the Word of Wisdom.
Next, I’ll discuss the promises contained in the Word of Wisdom. Stay tuned . . .
Return to the neighborhood.
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. Welcome to the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletter brings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDS interviews from around the world—all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
Sometimes we’re so focused on what the Word of Wisdom prohibits, we forget what it promotes. Good health isn’t only obtained by avoiding alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and caffeine, it comes from feeding our bodies healthy food.
“And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God has ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving” (D&C 89:10-11).
We are also taught that the “flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly. And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine” (D&C 89:12-13). I have heard some people teach in the Church that we should be vegetarians. While everyone has the right to choose what he or she will eat, the Word of Wisdom does not prohibit meat and as long as we eat it sparingly, it is acceptable.
What does it mean to eat meat sparingly? Back in the early days of the Church, the Saints consumed quite a bit of meat, so sparingly may have had a different meaning. Today, if we will pray to understand the Word of Wisdom as well as how to use meat sparingly, the Spirit will guide us to consume that which is good for us.
“All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground” (D&C 89:16). We should be partaking of grains, especially wheat, and fruits and vegetables. Since I grew up in California, fruits and vegetables were plentiful year round. I can remember avocados the size of grapefruits, kumquats, and citrus fruits that grew in our backyard. My grandfather grew tomatoes in a small planter behind the garage and whenever we needed a tomato, we picked one. We also had a mandarin orange tree that bore fruit in December. After I got married, my family would visit my grandparents for Christmas and one of the highlights was eating as many mandarin oranges as we could.
To realize good health, we need to not only avoid substances that are harmful, we need to partake of that which will strengthen and nourish our bodies. The more we adhere to the Word of Wisdom, the healthier our bodies can be. It is certainly not a guarantee that we will never experience health problems, but we can avoid unnecessary health concerns if we keep the Word of Wisdom.
Next, I’ll discuss the promises contained in the Word of Wisdom. Stay tuned . . .
Return to the neighborhood.
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. Welcome to the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletter brings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDS interviews from around the world—all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tobacco is Nasty
Another major component of the Word of Wisdom is the prohibition of tobacco. While we often think of cigarettes, tobacco in any form can cause addiction and disease.
I was appalled when I was in the hospital giving birth to one of my children and people in the room across the hall were smoking. My daughter’s brand new lungs inhaled cigarette smoke and I was quite unhappy about it. I even spoke to the city council afterwards in an effort to pass a city ordinance that banned smoking in the hospital. Fortunately, states have now passed laws prohibiting smoking in public places, including hospitals, schools, and restaurants. While people have the right to smoke, I choose not to and I don’t want to breathe in second-hand smoke because someone near me wants to smoke. I think that denies me the right to breathe smoke-free air.
When I was a young girl, before I joined the Church, my paternal grandmother smoked. She’d take us out to lunch and we’d sit at the table inhaling all of her smoke. I detested going to lunch with her because I couldn’t stand the smoke. It burned my eyes, made my nose run, and made me cough. Long before I knew about the Word of Wisdom, I’d formed my opinion of smoking. I thought it was nasty.
I can remember advertisements, before they were banned, for cigarettes. The women always looked so elegant and beautiful. They had long fingers with manicured nails that seemed to balance a cigarette just right, while their pouty lips were painted with the perfect shade of lipstick. I never recall seeing ads of haggard-looking women with wrinkled mouths and yellowed teeth. Those ads were so deceptive and, I’m sure, seduced many young people into smoking cigarettes.
Chewing tobacco wasn’t popular when I was a teenager. Maybe it was the era or maybe it was where I lived. I remember a young man who transferred into our high school. He was spitting this disgusting brown junk on the ground while he spoke to my friend and me. I was repulsed and had no idea what he was doing. When I finally learned he was chewing tobacco and then spitting out his browned saliva, I was even more disgusted. I can’t imagine why chewing tobacco holds any kind of appeal for anyone.
Besides the obvious health issues, another factor with tobacco is its addictive property. Anything addictive is harmful to our spirit because we no longer have free agency to make choices. Once our physical body has become dependent on any substance, we have lost the very power that we were granted at birth, the ability to choose.
While tobacco is big business, it’s also harmful and destructive. It’s far better to never give way to the addiction, but even those who become dependent on tobacco can once again enjoy freedom from addiction. Once smokers stop smoking, their health outlook increases dramatically. Even more importantly, the freedom to choose is restored.
I will continue to examine the Word of Wisdom. Stay tuned . . .
Return to the neighborhood.
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. Welcome to the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletter brings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDS interviews from around the world—all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
I was appalled when I was in the hospital giving birth to one of my children and people in the room across the hall were smoking. My daughter’s brand new lungs inhaled cigarette smoke and I was quite unhappy about it. I even spoke to the city council afterwards in an effort to pass a city ordinance that banned smoking in the hospital. Fortunately, states have now passed laws prohibiting smoking in public places, including hospitals, schools, and restaurants. While people have the right to smoke, I choose not to and I don’t want to breathe in second-hand smoke because someone near me wants to smoke. I think that denies me the right to breathe smoke-free air.
When I was a young girl, before I joined the Church, my paternal grandmother smoked. She’d take us out to lunch and we’d sit at the table inhaling all of her smoke. I detested going to lunch with her because I couldn’t stand the smoke. It burned my eyes, made my nose run, and made me cough. Long before I knew about the Word of Wisdom, I’d formed my opinion of smoking. I thought it was nasty.
I can remember advertisements, before they were banned, for cigarettes. The women always looked so elegant and beautiful. They had long fingers with manicured nails that seemed to balance a cigarette just right, while their pouty lips were painted with the perfect shade of lipstick. I never recall seeing ads of haggard-looking women with wrinkled mouths and yellowed teeth. Those ads were so deceptive and, I’m sure, seduced many young people into smoking cigarettes.
Chewing tobacco wasn’t popular when I was a teenager. Maybe it was the era or maybe it was where I lived. I remember a young man who transferred into our high school. He was spitting this disgusting brown junk on the ground while he spoke to my friend and me. I was repulsed and had no idea what he was doing. When I finally learned he was chewing tobacco and then spitting out his browned saliva, I was even more disgusted. I can’t imagine why chewing tobacco holds any kind of appeal for anyone.
Besides the obvious health issues, another factor with tobacco is its addictive property. Anything addictive is harmful to our spirit because we no longer have free agency to make choices. Once our physical body has become dependent on any substance, we have lost the very power that we were granted at birth, the ability to choose.
While tobacco is big business, it’s also harmful and destructive. It’s far better to never give way to the addiction, but even those who become dependent on tobacco can once again enjoy freedom from addiction. Once smokers stop smoking, their health outlook increases dramatically. Even more importantly, the freedom to choose is restored.
I will continue to examine the Word of Wisdom. Stay tuned . . .
Return to the neighborhood.
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. Welcome to the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletter brings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDS interviews from around the world—all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
Monday, October 20, 2008
No Good Comes From Consuming Alcohol
Classmates constantly informed me in high school that my religion was too restrictive and that it prevented me from having fun. Even an adult in a position of trust tried to persuade me that I was missing out on all the “high school fun” by not drinking and partying. Believe me, I had plenty of fun in high school and, even better, I can remember all of it. I didn’t spend time barfing my guts out in the bathroom or passing out cold in a back room. I was conscious for my high school events and not only do I remember them, I enjoyed them. I can’t say the same for my classmates who barely remembered attending school because they were often drunk.
In Doctrine and Covenants 89, we learn the basis of healthy eating. We also learn that the Word of Wisdom is, “Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints” (D&D 89:3). When we obey the Word of Wisdom, we receive blessings. In fact, we’re promised that we, “shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures. (D&C 89:19). I know I need all the wisdom I can get and I have a testimony that obeying the Word of Wisdom will bless our lives.
We are counseled to not partake of alcohol, coffee, tea, or tobacco. These substances can be addictive as well as destructive to our bodies. Medical science has proven that alcohol is dangerous to our health because it can cause disease and illness. Those who regularly partake of alcohol damage body organs. Even partaking of alcohol one time can be fatal. College students die every year from alcohol poisoning.
Some become addicted to alcohol and that addiction leads to inappropriate behaviors. Alcoholics often abuse family members verbally and physically. Alcohol can magnify emotions, especially anger, and, more often than not, causes broken marriages and homes. Many lives have been destroyed due to the use of alcohol.
Another serious problem with alcohol use is the inability to make appropriate decisions. Often, young women who consume alcohol also end up breaking the Law of Chastity leading to even more problems. Those who drink and drive are impaired and cause accidents that kill and maim not only the driver, but also innocent people. One such accident happened a few years ago on the highway not far from my home. Two college students had been drinking and collided with a young man who was driving home from work. The young man was killed instantly. The driver survived, but the impact caused his passenger to be ejected from the vehicle and semi-truck ran over him. The driver received minimal punishment. Both families have suffered tremendously simply because someone decided to drink and drive.
I do not understand why it’s legal to consume alcohol. Is it big business? Is it our society’s inability to see the damage alcohol causes? Is it one more of Satan’s weapons in his ever-growing arsenal? Medical science has proven the physical and mental damage alcohol causes and we can easily see the other damage caused by consuming alcohol, yet we continue to allow its use. What will it take to make us realize that no good comes from drinking alcohol?
Stay tuned as I examine more of the Word of Wisdom in subsequent posts.
Return to the neighborhood.
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. Welcome to the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletter brings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDS interviews from around the world—all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
In Doctrine and Covenants 89, we learn the basis of healthy eating. We also learn that the Word of Wisdom is, “Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints” (D&D 89:3). When we obey the Word of Wisdom, we receive blessings. In fact, we’re promised that we, “shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures. (D&C 89:19). I know I need all the wisdom I can get and I have a testimony that obeying the Word of Wisdom will bless our lives.
We are counseled to not partake of alcohol, coffee, tea, or tobacco. These substances can be addictive as well as destructive to our bodies. Medical science has proven that alcohol is dangerous to our health because it can cause disease and illness. Those who regularly partake of alcohol damage body organs. Even partaking of alcohol one time can be fatal. College students die every year from alcohol poisoning.
Some become addicted to alcohol and that addiction leads to inappropriate behaviors. Alcoholics often abuse family members verbally and physically. Alcohol can magnify emotions, especially anger, and, more often than not, causes broken marriages and homes. Many lives have been destroyed due to the use of alcohol.
Another serious problem with alcohol use is the inability to make appropriate decisions. Often, young women who consume alcohol also end up breaking the Law of Chastity leading to even more problems. Those who drink and drive are impaired and cause accidents that kill and maim not only the driver, but also innocent people. One such accident happened a few years ago on the highway not far from my home. Two college students had been drinking and collided with a young man who was driving home from work. The young man was killed instantly. The driver survived, but the impact caused his passenger to be ejected from the vehicle and semi-truck ran over him. The driver received minimal punishment. Both families have suffered tremendously simply because someone decided to drink and drive.
I do not understand why it’s legal to consume alcohol. Is it big business? Is it our society’s inability to see the damage alcohol causes? Is it one more of Satan’s weapons in his ever-growing arsenal? Medical science has proven the physical and mental damage alcohol causes and we can easily see the other damage caused by consuming alcohol, yet we continue to allow its use. What will it take to make us realize that no good comes from drinking alcohol?
Stay tuned as I examine more of the Word of Wisdom in subsequent posts.
Return to the neighborhood.
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. Welcome to the yourLDSneighborhood newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletter brings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDS interviews from around the world—all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
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