When we talk about the Word of Wisdom, we often list the
five things we are asked to avoid: coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol, drugs. If we
are reading the revelation in D&C 189, we typically skip down to the last
four verses of the section and briefly discuss the promises we are given for
following these principles.
I think that in our approach we too often focus on
the negative aspect: we can’t have
this or that. This is
not always the attitude, of course, but I have seen this approach and have felt this
way myself at times. I think that in oversimplifying this revelation and
talking about it in the negative, we often miss how incredibly beautiful it is.
A Revelation from God
The first beautiful part that stands out to me is that the Lord
himself is talking to us and giving us this revelation through Joseph Smith.
How humbling to realize that these are the Lord’s own words and that this
revelation is important enough that He would have Joseph write down his exact
words for us. God did not ask Joseph to condense his words into a simple list
of things we can’t have and consolation prizes if we obey. He provides careful
explanation of some reasons for the revelation, what we should avoid, as well as
good things we should put in our bodies, and ends with four beautiful verses
that contain incredibly powerful blessings.
Note the way the revelation begins. The Lord himself calls this
revelation a Word of Wisdom, declaring that it is for our benefit. He says in
verse 2 that these principles are not meant to be a constraint but a revelation
that shows what He wants for our temporal salvation. I often wish I were wiser. I hate realizing that what I’ve been doing is
foolish and is hurting me or someone else. How humbling to be given advice from
God on how to be wiser so I can save myself some regret later.
I am especially touched that this advice is given purely for
my benefit and temporal salvation. Believing as I do that we lived with God
before this life and that we fought for the opportunity to come to Earth and
that part of our purpose in coming to Earth is to be given a body, I am thankful
for the reminder that our bodies are important. Without our bodies we couldn’t
be here; we couldn’t run or sing or travel or learn. How amazing it is to have
a body and how important to treat it kindly so it can keep functioning as well
as possible. Having a healthy body is key to the kind of life we can lead.
My health is important enough to God that He has given me a reminder of how I
should treat my body, so it should be important enough to me—who stood up for the
chance to have one in the first place—to take care of it. What better way to take care of this gift
from God than in the way God instructs?
A Reassurance and a
Stepping Stone
In verse three, God gives us a reassurance: this principle is adapted even for the weakest of us. This tells us
two things: (1) that we can all follow it; though it may not feel easy and we
may not always want to, it is not too hard for any of us and (2) that this
revelation is just a foundation. We could probably do more to really take care of ourselves than what’s listed
here, but these principles are adapted to our
abilities.
First, how kind to give us a principle that we can all follow if we
choose to. We are being set up for success. Second, rather than simply focusing on what we can’t have, it may be better to focus on what we should have. These five things are not
the only substances that harm our bodies; we know that. So, we could treat this
revelation as a list of 5 dont's that we grudgingly follow, or we could treat
it as a great starting place for a lifestyle that keeps our bodies as healthy
and strong as possible. It is a wonderful foundation for a positive approach to
health.
Evils and Designs
In verse 4, the Lord tells us why He is giving this
revelation: “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.” When I read this verse a
few weeks ago, it made me pause. In my tendency to oversimplify the Word of
Wisdom, I had completely forgotten about this part of the revelation.
We are
not given more detail about what these evils and designs are, but it’s not hard
to believe that they exist. Every year it seems we see more evil in the world and
more conspiring, some of it extending to the people and companies in charge of
the things we put in our bodies. God, who knows everything, is perfectly aware
of what evils and designs do and will exist, and tells us here that following
this word of wisdom will help us avoid some of that.
There are sometimes debates about whether certain parts of
the word of wisdom are actually correct from a health standpoint. Avoiding
tobacco and drugs is rarely debated, but abstaining from wine, for example, is.
Many health professionals claim that a glass of red wine once in a while is
good for your heart. Those who balk against the Word of Wisdom say that if it’s
good for your heart, why should we be asked to abstain from it? Doesn’t God
want us to be healthy? And besides, how much harm could one glass do?
Now, before I continue, I want to be clear that this entire
article represents only my thoughts on the subject. It is not in any way an authoritative
interpretation of this revelation. It is simply my observation and speculation.
With that said, here’s what I think. Maybe one glass won’t do any harm, and
maybe a glass of red wine really is good for your heart. That would not be
surprising because red wine contains antioxidants, which we know are connected to
heart health. However, there is obviously something more important at stake
than antioxidants or God would not ask us to avoid wine. I believe that one of
those things is the “evils and designs of conspiring men.”
One thing that stands out to me as something that could be
considered an evil design is advertisements for alcohol. Almost invariably,
whether through catchy music and phrases or images of drinkers looking tough or
fantastically sexy, these advertisements make drinking look cool. They suggest
that drinking will make you popular and fun and that we need to have alcohol to
relax, socialize, or to get the girl or guy.
Think about the young people who see
those advertisements and believe them. Some of them try alcohol and are swept into a
world of underage drinking; drinking and driving; and parties where the Spirit
can’t be present because of loud, inappropriate music, and inappropriate
behavior. They lose sight of who they are and what really makes someone a great
person. They compromise their morals, their physical safety, and their future
in a dozen ways. Some become addicted, some get in drunk accidents, some get
pregnant, families are torn apart, and some people even die, all because liquor
companies want to sell a lifestyle that helps them sell more drinks. That
sounds pretty conspiring to me.
Now, these things don’t happen to everyone, I know that. And
I don’t believe that most alcohol companies intend for bad things to happen as
a result of their advertisements or product. I think they simply don’t think
about it enough. But God does, and even if these horrific consequences happened to
only a few of his children, that’s enough to warrant a revelation warning us to
stay completely away. “The worth of souls is great in the sight of God”
(D&C 18:10). A loving God doesn’t want any of these things to happen to ANY
of his children; it’s not worth it for even a little heart health benefit. So,
out of love, He asks us to avoid alcohol altogether.
What about coffee?
we may ask.
Coffee certainly isn’t as harmful as alcohol. Maybe it is not as
obviously destructive, but it does have harmful effects, one being its
addictive nature. Some coffee drinkers only have coffee once in a while, when
they go to a café with friends, for example. Others, however, can’t wake up
without coffee or get through the afternoon without an espresso. They spend $5
a day at least on a Starbucks run just so they can function.
With coffee
drinking, just like alcohol, comes a whole world that keeps coffee drinkers
drinking coffee. The coffee world promotes a zen sort of lifestyle that is
appealing, but coffee drinkers are not free. They are attached to a beverage
that they have to spend money on and it becomes the only way they can operate during
the day. The coffee world makes drinking coffee seem classy or cultured or
smart, and little by little consumers HAVE to have coffee or they are shaking
by noon. They lose money, time, and health because they are addicted. That’s
not freedom, and God wants us to be free.
We Are Intelligent
Beings
In verses 5–9 God tells us that strong drinks are not good
for our bodies, that tobacco is not good for the body, and that hot drinks (tea and coffee)
should be avoided. How freeing to not have to
worry about the negative consequences of any of these substances if we just
avoid them altogether. God doesn’t tell us everything we should and should not
do to be healthy. “Such revelation is unnecessary,” President Joseph Fielding
Smith said. “The Word of Wisdom is a basic law. It points the way and gives us
ample instruction in regard to both food and drink. . . . If we sincerely
follow what is written with the aid of the Spirit of the Lord, . . . we will
know what is good and what is bad for the body” (Improvement Era, 1956).
How beautiful and humbling that God trusts
us to take the guidance He’s given us and use it as a starting point for taking
care of our bodies. He recognizes that we are intelligent beings and that,
though we need some initial instruction, we don’t need to be told every single
thing. With the guidance of the Spirit and our own intelligence, we can discern
what we should and should not do in order to keep our bodies healthy.
The Beauty of Food
In verses 7–10 the Lord uses words like “wholesome” and “staff
of life” and “fruit of the vine” that, to me, paint a picture of just how
delicious healthy, natural food is. It makes me think of being on a farm or at
a farmer’s market where the produce is a gorgeous display of color, texture,
and shape. Do we ever stop to admire how delicious and how visually appealing
healthy, natural food—real food, not things that come in boxes—is? I think it’s
much more alluring than the “food” we come up with and sell in packages. I don’t
think humans can ever create a food substance as beautiful as something that
comes out of the ground. How wonderful that the food that we are supposed to
put in our bodies is also the most beautiful and that, though we can cause food
to grow and we can mess with the engineering of it, we didn’t design it, God
did. To me, that somehow reflects how divine we really are as children of God
and how connected to him we really are, even when it comes to the things we
eat. Eating, I think, is more spiritual than we realize, and this is even more
evident in the last four verses.
Incredible Promises
Finally, verses 18—21: the promises God gives us for
following his word of wisdom. Verse 18 us a poetic reminder that this
revelation is key to health. Our western society is always looking for miracle
drugs, weight loss pills, and fancy treatments. But God has already given us the
formula: healthy eating. Not only will we be healthier from the inside out, we
will be wiser and will even find hidden treasures of knowledge as verse 19
states. To me, this is comforting. Today there are so many controversial topics
that leave us feeling confused and unsure about what is right: same-sex
attraction issues, gender issues, who should have the priesthood, etc. Who of us would not like more clarity in
these areas, or even just how to get through a tough week or a tough year?
The Word of Wisdom tells us that treating our bodies
well—putting good things in them instead of harmful ones—will help us with
that. I think the connection between our bodies and our spirits is stronger and
more intricate than we typically realize. How we treat our bodies affects our
spirit and our spirit is what communicates with God. If our spirit is healthy,
it will be more receptive to revelation and will be able to communicate with
God better. And it is from God that we learn truth.
In verse 20 we are also promised that we will run and not be
weary and walk and not faint. I believe that this is not just a physical
promise. Though we know that treating our bodies well makes them stronger, I
think this also refers to our mental, emotional, and spiritual abilities to
bear what life throws at us. If we are physically healthy, we are more
mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthy and we can get through life’s
craziness without “fainting” because God is our strength. We don’t rely on
coffee or tea to wake us up or alcohol to help us relax and have a good time.
We don’t look to smoking or drugs as a means of socialization or finding a
group of friends. We look to God for help and strength and He can and will
strengthen us more than any substance ever could.
I believe this is also reflected in the last verse, a very
powerful one: “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.” When
the destroying angel passed by the children of Israel, it meant that the first
born of the house was not killed. But this was contingent on the Israelites’
faithfulness. They were not just escaping physical death, but spiritual death
as well.
It is not just physical death that we are escaping by following
the Word of Wisdom. We will all die someday. By following the Word of Wisdom,
we are escaping spiritual death. Living these principles requires humility,
faith, diligence, and courage—all godlike attributes. Living the Word of Wisdom
makes us more godlike. It allows us to feel the Spirit, which gives us
access to constant guidance, in any moment we need it. It puts us on the path
to God and keeps us that much farther away from Satan’s influence. How
beautiful a promise this is.
We sometimes see the Word of Wisdom as a small principle
or even an annoyance. It is anything but that. I am touched by how kind
God is to give us this counsel in order to help us be wiser, to avoid terrible
or even just less-than-ideal situations, to be healthier physically, to be more
spiritually in tune, and, because of all those things, to be happier, more at
peace, and closer to him. When we really think about what the Lord is offering
us, how could we be anything other than grateful?