Word of Wisdom: The Hearts of Conspiring Men

 Most people think of the tobacco, drug, and alcohol industry when they hear “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."   However, after becoming a dietitian I looked at this verse a little differently.

I do not think that drugs and alcohol are the only “evils and designs” referenced here. I believe this verse is warning of a far more subtle danger; the dangers that exist in the food, health, and diet industry. I’m not speaking of food additives or lack of good nutrition so prevalent in the standard American diet, as problematic as they can be. No, that would still be far too obvious for the Adversary.

After speaking with countless people about their nutrition concerns and beliefs I’ve come to believe that the “evils and designs” of the last day were designed by Satan and are part of his most stealth and subtle tactics.  Alcohol and drug addictions are too obvious for such a cunning devil and only so many fall into that trap. Lets be honest, everyone knows its bad, but some do it anyway. Where is the deception in that? But what about nutrition and diet?  I think you would agree that everyone eats and most people have some concern about eating healthy. It seems completely harmless, even beneficial to be concerned about healthy, right? In that lies the secret of Satan’s plan.

The diet and nutrition industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and each year millions of diet conscious people buy into the books, supplements, products, foods, and programs designed to help you and your family be healthy. Many obsess over their diet all in the name of health, depriving themselves of all “unhealthy” foods, agonizing when they slip up. This becomes a viscous, though subtle cycle, which consumes people on the inside.  In fact, I don’t believe most people even realize how much they obsess about food. Others become so overwhelmed by this craze they give up all together and don’t worry about health at all.

During my time as a dietetic student and now as a registered dietitian I am constantly getting asked questions or told opinions about food. It doesn’t mater where I go be it a homeless shelter in Provo serving meals or the doctor’s office for a physical, every day I get at least one question or comment on nutrition. Being asked questions doesn’t bother me. What concerns me is the type of questions I’m being asked. Questions about fad diets, quick fixes, good and bad foods, and dangerous nutrition practices. Questions that often indicate a person has unhealthy attitudes about diet and nutrition.

Most people do not recognize the damage this cycle of trying to “eat healthy” and then “slipping up” causes.  It is so subtle and simple and, quite frankly, universal. There are very few people I have met who do not talk about food in terms of “good” and “bad.” Most everyone does which makes it seem acceptable, normal, even desirable. However, this destructive cycle is anything but healthy, which is why it called for scriptural warning.

This cycle distracts many Latter-day Saints from the greater things of life. Rather than focusing on Christ, women agonize over their weight. Rather than waking up early to study the scriptures, saints devote that morning time to exercise.  Rather than studying the gospel, saints devote their time to studying health and diet.  Rather than focusing and healing and improving through the Atonement, saints hold themselves in contempt over diet woes.

You may think this seems extreme or a little ridiculous. You are probably asking yourself, “How could trying to be healthy be falling for a trap set by the Adversary?” Let me tell you, as a health and nutrition professional, today’s attitudes and ideas about food are often anything but healthy. They are extreme and excessive to the point they are subtly taking over people’s lives in ways they don’t even recognize and taking their focus away from where the Lord would have it.  I would submit to you that this is the evil design that  “exist in the hearts of conspiring men” which warranted the laying out of a Word of Wisdom for the Saints over 150 years ago.  

Tad R. Callister said that “Like a skilled magician, Satan’s every move is to divert our attention and dilute our focus from the primary objective at hand...in hopes we will turn exclusively to doctrines of secondary and far lesser import” (The Infinite Atonement). I think unhealthy obsessions over diet and health are one of the secondary doctrines he is referring to. Does this mean you should stop exercising or learning about nutrition. No, absolutely not. But I do think they need to be kept in their proper place and be used as a tool to help your spirit rather than detract from its growth.

So why did I study the Word of Wisdom as part of my scripture study and why did I feel compelled to write it down? Because, as a dietitian, people come to me for answers about nutrition and not all answers come from scientific journals. Health and nutrition is a temporal law which impacts our spirits and prophets have told us (even as recent as October General Conference) that it is important. However, both extremes, either ignoring health and diet or overly obsessing about healthy and diet, are dangerous to the body and the spirit. I feel compelled to share what I have learned to help people navigate the conflicting information in the world today about diet and nutrition, and to help bring them back to the essential basics of the Word of Wisdom. I love to answer people’s questions when they really want an answer and I love the challenge of nutrition as it relates to disease. But more often than not the answer to good health and nutrition is extremely simple, but produces powerful results, and involves simply following the Word of Wisdom.

Word of Wisdom-The Don'ts and Sugar and Meat

** If you want to get to the cool stuff skip to the section of vs 10 on.

So I know this is skipping over a couple verses, but it is on my mind right now so I’m going to write it down. This is the part of my studying that was most awesome to me; the part where the science of my career collided with scripture study and blew my mind at how perfectly God plans things.

vs 5-7 God tells us not to drink alcohol. I’m not going to go too much into this because this is one part of the Word of Wisdom that I feel is pretty self explanatory at this time. We all know alcohol has some major negative consequences. Sure, there were those studies about how wine helps prevent heart disease, but for the most part everything in the scientific community points to alcohol in major moderation if not at all. But God through his prophets has told us not to drink any alcohol, so we don’t. Not even a little. Is God’s reason for this that alcohol is poison to the body? Partialy, but I think even more so, especially in this day and age, the reason for such strict abstinence from alcohol is as a benefit for our spirit. In a day and age where binge drinking is considered a normal part of the college experience and alcoholism is so rampantly destructive I  think God knew alcohol and the images portrayed by that industry were something the saints of God needed to stay far away from. I could write a whole page on this, but I’ll stop here. **Isn’t it so neat that the Word of Wisdom mentions strong drinks for washing the body? I don’t know if they knew about alcohols disinfectant properties in the 1830s, but none the less I think this is so neat.

vs 8-9 “Tobacco is not for the belly or for man”.  Once again, we all know tobacco is harmful to our bodies. However, did you know that tobacco is extremely high in vitamin K, a vitamin essential for clotting? And applying it to bruises helps bring vitamin K to that exact spot to help with clotting?

Hot drinks, which have been defined as tea and coffee by prophets, are not for the body or the belly. Some interesting things to note nutritionally about tea and coffee is that they contain substances that bind to minerals and prevent them form being absorbed.  They are also known for being addictive. 

vs 10-11 “All wholesome herbs hath God ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man”.  Okay guys, God wants you to eat your veggies and whole grains (and fruit to, but most of us don’t have a problem with that). Seriously. I could probably write 10 pages on this subject alone, but I’ll try and keep this short. Our bodies have a complex relationship with bacteria, trillions of bacteria, that live in and on us. This relationship is definitely symbiotic. We feed the bacteria and they in turn do astounding this for us.  The majority of these bacteria live in our intestines (almost enough to fill a quart sized jar).  They eat the remnants of our food that we don’t digest and absorb. Sounds simple, but what is so mind-blowingly incredible is what they do for us.

They impact our immunes system, helping it keep not only keep germs at bay but also keeping our immune system at bay, helping prevent against autoimmune diseases and allergies. The good bacteria also help keep bad bacteria in check, preventing them from causing harmful infections and diarrhea. They produce short chain fatty acids which helps feed the cells of our colon, keeping it healthy. They help keep inflammation in check which has a whole host of benefits in and of its self. They are even starting to see evidence that having good intestinal bacteria helps keep our weight in check. 

All these amazing bacteria ask of us is that we feed them. And not any old non-digested particles of food will do. They need fiber. Lots of fiber. Most Americans get an average of 14 grams of fiber a day. That is just less than half of what most Americans need.  HALF. FIFTY PERCENT. How would you be feeling if you got 50% of the food you need? Not only are we not feeding the good bacteria, but the standard western diet is high in something that bad bacteria thrive on: Sugar.

For the record I do not advocate giving up sugar or think it is of the devil. I like sugar. However, it does feed bacteria that harm us. Most commonly known to us are the bacteria that live in our mouths and create cavities. They thrive on sugar and starches. There are other bacteria in your intestines that also thrive on sugar, and when they get over fed we feel the negative effects of having our intestinal flora (as those bacteria are often called) out of balance. Why am I not against sugar? Once again, I could write at least 5 pages on that subject, but to keep it simple let me just say this.

Molecularly the sugar that gets a bad wrap (white sugar) is the same as all other sugars when you brake them down into their simplest form. Breaking things down to their simplest form is what our body does when it is digesting things, therefore, molecularly all sugar and starches are the same. What is different is what comes with the sugars/starches (they are the same thing guys, one is in a short chain and the other is in a long chain, but they are made of the same things)? This difference between sugary foods (feeds the bad bacteria) and whole grains (feeds the good bacteria) is FIBER. So do I eat sugar sparingly? Yes, and when I do I try and make sure I eat extra fiber or extra probiotics (good bacteria). But I do eat it because “ the good things which come of the earth…in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart…for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and enliven the soul” (D&C 59:17-19). A little sugar now and then definitely gladdens the heart and enlivens the soul, but don’t go crazy. And eat your vegetables and whole grains.

vs 12-13  “It is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.” This is a touchy subject, I know. I’ll try not to step on toes. But, I do think it is very interesting to learn that eating lots of meat is associated with an increased risk of cancer and IBD.  I know many people who say “Well, I don’t eat meat at every meal” or “Its not like I have a 10 oz stake for dinner every night” or “I just use a little bit of meat with dinner every night” and feel that they are eating meat sparingly. These are all good things to do, but my personal opinion is that sparingly indicates eating meat even less than that.

Once again, going to the 1828 dictionary sparingly is defined as “not abundantly, frugally, abstinently, seldom, not frequently, cautiously and tenderly” (italics added for emphasis). The revelation states that it should “not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.” Does that mean vegan or 100% vegetarian? No. D&C 49: 18 says that “whoso forbiddeth to abstain from meats, that man should not eat the same, is not ordained of God.” However, in our western culture today meat is abundant. It is the main food meals are usually built around. I am going to submit to you that we should eat far less meat. I personally only make meals with meat at home 1-3 times a month. I’m working on making it even less. I don’t refuse to eat meat if I am at someone’s house, and I don’t advertise myself as “vegetarian” (the Screwtape Letters had some interesting insights into people who follow special “simple” diets) but I think if you sat down and considered how many chickens and cows you are eating yearly you might see the wisdom in eating fewer of them. Interesting modern day side note: Today’s meats are often contaminated with antibiotics which can kill the bacteria in your intestines.

Well, Ella's nap time is over so that is all I have time to share from my study of the Word of Wisdom today. Please don’t be offended that I told you to eat your veggies, that I’m okay with eating sugar, and that I suggested eating less meat.

Word of Wisdom-The Commandment and the Principle

 

The Word of Wisdom was originally given “greeting; not by commandment or constraint” (D&C 89:2). Later the Word of Wisdom became a requirement to receive a temple recommend. That change took about 88 years. What transpired during that time that changed the way the Word of Wisdom was viewed and practiced? Why was this acceptable to the Lord? 

As was mentioned previously, being sent greeting suggests that the Lord was excitedly sharing with the saints this principle which was necessary for temporal (and therefore spiritual) salvation. He clearly stated at that time that he was not commanding or forcing the saints to follow the revelation. Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve suggested that because the saints in the early days of the church were in difficult environment, the Lord did not command them to follow the Word of Wisdom. He stated, “In those frontier settlements food was usually plentiful but seldom of the best variety. Meat predominated; grains were usually available; vegetables and fruits were scarce. For stimulation, resort was often made to home-brewed alcoholic beverages, though there was little or no drunkenness; to tobacco, mostly for chewing; and to tea and coffee. These substances were commonly and freely used when available” (The Lord’s People Blessed by Temporal Law, Roy W. Doxey).

In addition, the United States at that time was a heavy drinking nation. Consuming alcohol was extremely common world wide in the 1830s, but especially so in America. Originally it was used because clean drinking water was not readily available. Later, after the American Revolution, grain farmers began making their grain into whiskey because it was easier to ship and sell than the actual grains. This resulted in Americans of all ages everywhere drinking hard liquor daily. By 1830 American consumption of distilled spirits was around seven gallons a year per person, which is the highest alcohol consumption has ever been in American history (Church History Library, Revelations in Context, Word of Wisdom). Because of this issue the American Temperance Society was organized in 1826 and temperance societies spread across the United States. In 1833 even Kirtland had its own temperance society (Church History Library, Revelations in Context, Word of Wisdom). Alcohol consumption was being recognized as an issue in the United States, which may have also contributed to Joseph Smith asking what the will of the Lord was on this matter, though ultimately it was tobacco use that prompted revelation.

Because the saints were living in a time when alcohol was so common it is likely that it would have been difficult for many of them to give it up immediately, whether because of circumstance or addiction. In 1913 Joseph F. Smith explained that, “The reason undoubtedly why the Word of Wisdom was given—as not by ‘commandment or constraint’ was that at that time, at least, if it had been given as a commandment it would have brought every man, addicted to the use of these noxious things, under condemnation; so the Lord was merciful and gave them a chance to overcome before he brought them under the law” (The Lord’s People Blessed by Temporal Law, Roy W. Doxey). Clearly the Lord is merciful to his children and desirers to help them succeed in following his commandments.

Despite the Word of Wisdom not being a commandment Brigham Young admonished the saints to follow its teachings. He stated, “Why not govern and control the appetite, that it may be subject to the law of Christ? But how is it? Why, ‘I must have some tobacco, if I am damned for it.’ Or, ‘I must have a cup of tea, if I am damned for it.’ Or, ‘I must have this or that, if I should have to go to hell for it.’ It is like saying to our Heavenly Father, ‘I will not mind you, I will not obey your commandments, but I will have my own way and follow the bent of my own inclinations; my appetite shall be nursed and pampered, though it be at the expense of your displeasure.’ Instead of pursuing this course, listen to that Spirit God has given to all, which teaches the right and how to avoid the wrong, and say to appetite, to disposition, to temper, to the whole man, you must do as I command you; I am an officer, a general in the army of Christ and I will be obeyed” (The Lord’s People Blessed by Temporal Law, Roy W. Doxey italics added for emphasis). While Brigham Young encouraged the saints to follow the Word of Wisdom it was not until Heber J. Grant became prophet that it began to be emphasized to the extent it is today.

President Grant was especially motivated to stress the importance the Word of Wisdom to the saints because he had seen first hand the ramifications of not following its principles. He describes watching a friend give up smoking to serve a mission only to begin again as soon as he returned. Smoking lead to drinking alcohol, which lead to immorality, which lead to excommunication from the church and ultimately an early death. He recalls standing at this friend’s grave and looking “up to heaving and [making] a pledge to my God that liquor and tobacco would have in me an enemy who would fight with all the ability that God would give me until the day of my death” (Teachings of Heber J. Grant, Chapter 21: Observing the Word of Wisdom).

President Grant did just that and preached numerous sermons on the Word of Wisdom, so much so people were reported to complain about it and ask that he please speak of something else. His response was, “No mortal man who is a Latter-day Saint and is keeping the Word of Wisdom is ever sick and tired of hearing it.  When a man leaves a meeting and says…’Can’t they find something else to talk about besides the Word of Wisdom; I am sick and tired of it’-of course he is, because he is full of stuff that the Word of Wisdom tells him to leave alone” (Teachings of Heber J. Grant, Chapter 21: Observing the Word of Wisdom). In 1921 President Grant made it clear that in order to obtain a temple recommend members of the LDS church must follow the Word of Wisdom and by 1933 those guidelines were included in the General Handbook of Instructions for the church (From Principle to Requirement, Thomas G. Alexander).

Because of events that took place while Heber J. Grant was prophet the don’ts of the Word of Wisdom have become a hallmark of Mormons. Following the Word of Wisdom is necessary to obtain a temple recommend, making it a commandment through the voice of one of God’s prophets. However, the do’s of the Word of Wisdom have never prophetically been declared a commandment and remain a principle. Many have tried to elaborate on what the do’s of the Word of Wisdom mean and even past prophets have from time to time emphasized the importance of eating little meat (From Principle to Requirement, Thomas G. Alexander). At one point John A. Widtsoe, an apostle, even wrote a book called The Word of Wisdom which spoke against refined grains and coke-a-cola. However, that book was not an inspired book and President Grant stated that “the actual teachings in the Word of Wisdom would hardly justify the conclusions drawn” (From Principle to Requirement, Thomas G. Alexander).

As I have studied the Word of Wisdom from the perspective of a dietitian I feel that the do’s have remained a principle for a few reasons. First, I feel that God has given us our body as a temple for our spirit and he has also given us our agency. He will not force us to care for that gift and by limiting our agency. However, he will protect his own temple from the effects of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco by not allowing those who enter here to partake of them. Hence the commandment part of the Word of Wisdom necessary for a temple recommend and the principle shared in D&C.

Second, I feel that each person’s body has unique needs and therefore a blanket statement cannot be made for what each person should do to keep their own body healthy. For example, individuals have allergies and food intolerances, different access to types and amounts of food, and disease can strike mortal bodies. For example a diabetic cannot eat all the grain they would like, a person with kidney failure cannot not eat large quantities of vegetables without risking heart attack, a person with PKU cannot tolerate all types protein, and a person with intestinal disorders may be limited in the types foods they can eat, etc.

Third, I feel that God has given us stewardship over our body and wants us to develop that stewardship. He has gladly given us the principles we need and told us the promised blessings that will come if we follow those principles. He has left it to us to study it out in our minds and seek answers as to how we need to follow that principle. Part of the beauty of the principle of the Word of Wisdom is it is so simple to take care of our bodies. Unbelievably simple, devoid of diets, super foods, complicated workouts, and rigorous rules. However, the magnitude of following such a simple principle is staggering. The more I have learned about nutrition while studying the Word of Wisdom the more I am in awe of how well orchestrated God’s plan is and the more my testimony grows of small and simple things bringing about great things.

As a dietitian I wish members of the church did a little more “search, ponder and pray” about the Word of Wisdom and really studied it out for themselves (keep in mind my job is to try and help people having some serious negative consequences of not taking care of their body and it gets to you after a while). But then again, that often leads to fringe rules of the Pharisee and the Sadducee variety. But the basic principles that can be applied to everyone are simple and require that we take care of our body for our benefit both physically and spiritually. It is a principle with a promise that was so perfectly written for our day and I challenge you to think about what you can do to benefit from having this knowledge.

Word of Wisdom-Introduction

            When we talk about the Word of Wisdom we speak primarily of no alcohol, tobacco, tea, or coffee. This makes sense. After all, inquiring about the tobacco use of members of the School of the Prophets in the winter of 1833 is what prompted the revelation (Our Heritage, p 25). Sure, there are those fringe interpretations; that family who won’t drink hot chocolate, the never ending debate on caffeine, or that vegan family who feels they are truly following the Word of Wisdom, but we can all agree on no alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco or drugs. In fact, we are known for that aspect of the Word of Wisdom around the world (BYU has been ranked as the number one stone cold sober school in the Princeton Review since 1997 and I think its safe to say we’ve been unchallenged for the title (Salt Lake Tribune, Aug 4, 2014)).

AHEAD OF ITS TIME

            One of the marvels of the Word of Wisdom has been that it “contained information about health that was not known to the medical or scientific world at the time” (Our Heritage, p 25) but which have since been proven to be correct. As a dietitian, health and nutrition are obviously of interest to me (you don’t go into dietetics for the pay, I can tell you that). Two years ago, after sitting through a Relief Society lesson on the Word of Wisdom which started out with “I don’t want to offend anyone, but…” and turned into a heated discussion ranging from sugar, to drugs, to vegetarianism I started thinking about the Word of Wisdom from a dietetics perspective.

All of a sudden I realized that I had, in my possession, a prophetic document that answered the question every dietitian wants to know: What is the optimal diet for the health of human kind? If you aren’t familiar with the current world of nutrition you might think this question has already been answered. However, if you take a look at the diet industry with its hundreds of diets, then look at all the books random doctors have written on diet, then listen to the difference in recommendations from a dietitian to a nutritionist (not to mention the ever changing health recommendations in general), then for good measure look up some YouTube videos done by Joe Blow down the street you will soon feel the significance of this question. Everyone eats and therefore, EVERYONE has an opinion about diet. More often than not the logic behind recommendations seems to be, “Well, this has worked for me so it must be right,” whether it comes from Joe Blow or your doctor. Dietitians come in toting the banner of “evidence based practice” only to have that evidence change on them every decade or so, leaving the public frustrated and mistrusting. Needless to say, suddenly realizing that I had the health code, from GOD, the maker of our bodies, was a big deal.

WHY DON’T WE DO THE DO’S?

No tobacco, alcohol, and drugs is a no brainer at this point (well, for most people…) and even coffee is being recognized as an unhealthy habit by many. Tea is really the only thing mentioned that is not generally recognized as unhealthy, or at least something that should be consumed in moderation. But what about the things we should do? What does the Word of Wisdom tell us and how does that line up with what current evidence supports? I have spent the last two years trying to answer that question from the perspective of a dietitian.

The first question that I wanted answered, as a dietitian, was why do Mormons have this awesome health code and not follow it? Sure, it is a temple recommend question, and we all follow the major don’ts of the Word of Wisdom, but what about he do's? To answer this question I wanted to look at the introduction to the Word of Wisdom.

INTRODUCTION TO THE WORD OF WISDOM

The introduction is the first three verses which were “originally written as an inspired introduction and description” by Joseph Smith (D&C 89 section heading).

First verse. The Word of Wisdom was given to benefit three groups of people. 1) The council of high priests 2) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and 3) The saints in Zion or the members of the church. Basically I take from it that it’s a good thing that can benefit a lot of people (sorry, no epiphanies from the first verse).

Second verse. Epiphany alert!* I was wondering what on earth it meant “to be sent greeting” (D&C 89:2) so I decided to look up that word in the 1828 dictionary which is available online. Greeting: Addressing with kind wishes or expressions of joy; complimenting; congratulating; saluting. Obviously I’m not God and I don’t want to be putting words in his mouth, but when I read verse two with this definition in mind it changed the meaning of the whole verse significantly. “To be sent [with kind wishes and joy, complimenting and congratulating]; not by commandment or constraint**, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God…” I took this to mean that God was not going to force us to follow this council, but that he was excited to share with us this wisdom and let us do with it as we will; he is not going to force us to take care of our bodies. He is excited that Emma and Joseph took thought to ask when they observed something that did not seem wholesome to them and he is willing, excited even, to share  “the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days” (D&C 89:2).

TEMPORAL VS SPIRITUAL SALVATION

But what is temporal salvation? I thought “that all things unto [Christ] are spiritual, and not at any time [had he] given unto [man] a law which was temporal” (D&C 29:34). Joseph F. Smith explained more about temporal salvation saying, “You must continue to bear in mind that the temporal and spiritual are blended. They are not separate. One cannot be carried on without the other, so long as we are here in mortality” (Principles of Temporal Salvation, Marion G. Romney). This principle was directly related to spiritual confidence by Elder Jörg Klebingat in the 2014 October General Conference. He stated that in order to have spiritual confidence we must take responsibility for our physical well-being. He went on to explain that “Feeding the spirit while neglecting the body, which is a temple, usually leads to spiritual dissonance and lowered self-esteem. If you are out of shape, if you are uncomfortable in your own body and can do something about it, then do it! Elder Russell M. Nelson has taught that we should ‘regard our body as a temple of our very own’ and that we should ‘control our diet and exercise for physical fitness.’ President Boyd K. Packer has taught ‘that our spirit and our body are combined in such a way that our body becomes an instrument of our mind and the foundation of our character.’ Therefore, please use good judgment in what and especially how much you eat, and regularly give your body the exercise it needs and deserves. If you are physically able, decide today to be the master of your own house and begin a regular, long-term exercise program, suited to your abilities, combined with a healthier diet ” (October Conference 2014, italics added for emphasis).

I was so excited when I heard this in Conference! It has really bothered me that latter-day saints eat so terribly. Sure, we don’t do the obvious don’ts of the Word of Wisdom, but fatty, greasy, starchy casseroles with a side of suspended sugar (Jell-O), chocolate held together by sugar, butter and eggs (brownies), all topped off with whipped cream or ice cream are all too common. Vegetables? Not really (canned green beans do NOT count as a vegetable in my book. I’m not even sure I’d count them as a food...). Whole grains? Hardly ever (do oatmeal cookies count?). Fruit? Sure, suspended in Jell-O or whipped cream with marshmallows. Meat sparingly? No one is really sure what that means, but I’m pretty sure (based on the fact that BBQ pulled pork sandwiches seem to be the number one main dish at ward functions) we could do better. Please don’t be offended by my frank analysis of the “standard Mormon diet.” My awareness of it has been heightened lately as I’ve been trying to lose postpartum weight at a time of year with lots of LDS church and family functions. Lets just say I’ve been leaving a lot of dinners hungry. But I digress…

As President Romney and Packer and Elders Klebingat and Nelson have so eloquently stated, what we do to our bodies directly impacts our spiritual well being. We cannot say that just because we don’t do drugs, drink alcohol, or coffee and tea that we are taking care of our body. We cannot say that the above mentioned meal is healthy because we are eating it “in moderation” (Really people! Your health does not lie; I know what direction your “moderation” is swinging). And goodness knows if this keeps on being the “standard Mormon diet” we are going to need to really, earnestly be asking that this food “bless and strengthen our body.” We could all do a little better. And I’m not talking about weight loss; I’m talking about healthy eating.

            For the most part, latter-day saints need to be focusing on what the Word of Wisdom is telling us we should do and stop thinking we’ve got this one in the bag because we get 100% on the don’ts. If we focus on the do’s we have been promised that we will “receive health…and...find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge...[and have] the destroying angel pass by” (D&C 89:18-21). But what does following the Word of Wisdom look like in modern terms? That is what I’ve been trying to answer for myself and have recently found amazing scientific evidence to explain it all in modern terms. It makes my dietitian heart happy. 

            Third verse. The Word of Wisdom is a principle given with a promise. It is made suitable for all saints. Even the weak can follow the principles of the Word of Wisdom and have access to its promised blessings.

It is my hope that by sharing what I have studied Mormons can be known not only for following the don’ts of the Word of Wisdom, but also for being faithful followers of the do’s.

*What I consider an epiphany may not qualify as an epiphany to everyone and that is okay

**For more information on why the Word of Wisdom was initially given not as a commandment but later became a commandment check out this awesome article called "The Lord's People Blessed by Temporal Law"