In 1833, Joseph Smith the first president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) or as it is often referred to as the Mormon church, received a revelation from God. This may sound crazy, an average man communing with God and receiving direction to guide the church. But have you read the bible? That is usually how it is done. This revelation is recorded in the 89th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. (Doctrine and Covenants being the revelations that were received in the early years of the church. Another book of scripture.) This is what this section says:
" 1 A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high
priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion—
2 To be sent greeting; not by
commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom,
showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of
all saints in the last days—
3 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.
4 Behold, verily, thus saith the
Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will
exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have
warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by
revelation—
5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or
strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of
your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments
before him.
8 And again, tobacco is not for the body,
neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises
and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.
10 And again, verily I say unto
you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature,
and use of man—
11 Every herb in the season
thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used
with prudence and thanksgiving.
12 Yea, 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;
13 And it is pleasing unto me that
they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
14 All grain is ordained
for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but
for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that
run or creep on the earth;
16 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—
17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and
corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine,
and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for
mild drinks, as also other grain.
18 And all saints who remember to
keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall
receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
21 And I, the Lord, give unto them
a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the
children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen."
In additions to this section from the Doctrine and Covenants
(which is often referred to as the Word of Wisdom), it has been added that
members should avoid drugs including recreationally using prescription drugs
and that hot drinks refer to coffee and tea. I have bolded some of the parts I
want to talk about. The above is LDS doctrine and is taught in church but what
I am going to say is often reflections on the doctrine, not actual teachings of
the church.
Because of the Word of Wisdom many people have asked me if I can
drink soda or eat hot dogs and other weird stuff like that. We don't drink
coffee or tea (herbal tea has been declared okay). We don't use tobacco
products or other drugs. And we abstain from alcohol, even one glass, even
after you are 21.
Does this mean that if one drinks coffee they are going to hell?
Is Starbucks a creation of the devil?
No this is not what this means.
Mormons believe in free agency. Which means that we believe that
we have the right to choose what we want. It isn't that Mormons can't, it is
because we choose to avoid some substances, in order to be able to make other
choices.
Let's think about this.
Alcohol has a certain effect on our brains. If you've been to a
party, watched TV, or read a newspaper you know what I am talking about.
Alcohol often clouds our better judgement and I am sure there are plenty
hook-ups, bad ideas, and car accidents to back me up on this. Just a while ago
a man who was drunk died because he thought it was a good idea to light
fireworks off his head. And maybe we don't all get hammered to the point where
this happens. But one drink can alter your thinking and mood. Alcohol goes
straight to the stomach but doesn't need to be digested but is absorbed into
the blood stream and as the night goes on them more and more is absorbed
affecting every part of your body. Because now it is in your blood, which is everywhere
and in everything. Mormons stay away from alcohol because of the idea of not
being altered by a substance.
Coffee and tea. For a long time, I didn't understand this one. I
saw almost all my friends drink coffee daily and nothing was wrong with them.
But then I heard this statement repeatedly, "I can't function unless I
have coffee,""I can't think without my coffee," and so on and so
forth. People get addicted to coffee and we see it every day. Mormons avoid
coffee in order not to need that morning crutch.
Drugs is a mixture of both. Drugs alter your thinking and are
addicting. So it makes sense that we avoid these things.
We avoid things that alter our minds in order to make sure that we
are doing what we are supposed to. We avoid things that are addicting so we
don't have to rely on a substance. (Mormons believe that when we die we take
our addictions with us, but there are so substances. That sounds like hell to
me. Fire and brimstone might even be the better option.)
And because of these guidelines we get people who try and say that
we should avoid soda because it had caffeine like coffee or that we can have
decaf coffee because that takes the bad part out.
Here is the thing. We believe we are accountable to a higher being
who has asked us to do these things and so we do them. We are promised good
health if we do these things. Does this mean you will never see a sick Mormon?
I have sure seen my share of Mormons in the hospital. But the Lord had a plan
for them and maybe it isn't a good enough reason for you, but it is for
me.
Don't try and create loopholes and get around it. We should live
the law and not become those Israelites who became so wrapped up in the Law
of Moses and missed the idea altogether.
To go on a mission, you have to obey the Word of Wisdom. To go to
the temple, you have to obey the Word of Wisdom. To get to live with our
Heavenly Father again, we have to obey the Word of Wisdom.
Mormons don't stick our noses up at this stuff because we think
that the actual product is condemning. But that we have been asked not to
partake in order to keep ourselves safe. Because to me a cup of coffee isn't
worth it.
There are often parts of the Word of Wisdom that don't get a lot of attention. Like the parts about eating sparingly. But here is the deal the Word of Wisdom is there to keep us healthy in order to better serve our fellow men. In addition, to the Word of Wisdom we are to take care of ourselves. If you are lactose-intolerant, don't drink milk; if you are addicted to caffeine, stop drinking it. We take care of ourselves so we can focus on being better people than focusing on our health.
