There's a really big elephant in the room and most of us avoid talking about it, aside from the perfect church answers that the teacher expects. With that warning, I'm going to share some of my thoughts I've had, some that have come over the last couple of months, regarding the Word of Wisdom.
For my friends who are not Mormon, the Word of Wisdom is the law of health that practicing Mormons try to live by. Many of you may know the same standard "church" answers that I mentioned above... "don't drink alcohol, coffee, tea", "don't smoke", and likewise.
As members of this church, especially those who are temple worthy, we answer to the bishop (clergy) and others that we follow these principles. But, those principles mentioned above make up 6 of the 21 verses in the revelation. So, what about the other 15 verses?
At the beginning of the revelation is a greeting, sent from the Lord to the Saints. One of the phrases that stands out to me is that this revelation is, "sent by greeting; not by commandment or constraint.". I know that the body of the church voted in the early sixties or thereabouts to make this revelation a commandment, but that was not the original intent of this revelation. We, as a body of the church, had no right to "vote" to change the Lords will. This was "given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all Saints.". Now, before anyone gets bent out of shape...
This revelation was given to "show forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all Saints in the last days.". Anyone who is a believer in Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven is gathered together with the body of the Saints, whether you are a practicing Mormon or you belong to another faith. So, this revelation can and should be a guiding principle for everyone.
In the verses that talk about the "no-no's," have you ever given thought to why these things are recommended as off limits? I've heard lots of reasons and speculations in my life, but if we carefully read, the Lord gave us his reasonings.
"Behold...in consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of inspiring men the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving you this word of wisdom..."
This revelation was given as a protection for our lives against those people who would intentionally try to harm ourselves, our families, and our homes. The thought that stands out for me Is that while it is a warning, we are also bring "forewarned," which implies that the problems will only continue to worsen in the future. This revelation was given in 1833. Has society as a whole and in part becomes worse? YES!
I'm not going to preach on how to change society, because we can't. I'm not going to preach on what is right and wrong, because, again, this is a principle with promise, given to the weak. No one is perfect. Not one of us will be perfect in this life. We are human. We are weak. None of us can or should judge anyone else.
So, that's the big white elephant. But that's only a small portion of the Word of Wisdom. There are 18 more verses in this revelation that give more principles to follow. I'll share my thoughts on those another time.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Definition of Success
How do you define success? I've been thinking about this quite a bit for the last several days. With the conclusion of our Biggest Loser competition, it's been on my mind. And I've found that the answer is one that changes, depending on the situation.
For example, in our Biggest Loser competition, the winners are considered successful. Does that mean that everyone who didn't win is not successful? If that's the case, then I'm in trouble, because I finished last!
But as I've pondered the question, I've come up with this answer. Success is defined by what you set out to achieve. In the beginning, I wanted to continue on my weight loss journey, which is why I encouraged people to join our Biggest Loser competition. As the months have gone by, however, I have struggled to lose any new weight. With the natural cycle in our bodies as fall and winter approach, I found that I couldn't continue on the loss cycle I had started in the summer. But I did find that I could stay focused and work through these struggles. With that in mind, my goal changed. It became a goal to maintain my summer success rather than lose new weight.
As my goal changed, so did my definition of success. Success for me wasn't losing a lot of weight any more. Success would be defined by how I ended this competition. I have been successful - even in last place. I maintained my weight through the natural cycle of fall & winter, through the holidays, and through the family events that have occurred in the last four months.
I have set a new goal for the New Year. I plan to continue my weight loss journey. With my new goal, I plan to lose new weight. But just as with my old goal, this new goal will be evaluated as time goes by and may need a little tweeking. The overall journey is the same.
How do you define success? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
For example, in our Biggest Loser competition, the winners are considered successful. Does that mean that everyone who didn't win is not successful? If that's the case, then I'm in trouble, because I finished last!
But as I've pondered the question, I've come up with this answer. Success is defined by what you set out to achieve. In the beginning, I wanted to continue on my weight loss journey, which is why I encouraged people to join our Biggest Loser competition. As the months have gone by, however, I have struggled to lose any new weight. With the natural cycle in our bodies as fall and winter approach, I found that I couldn't continue on the loss cycle I had started in the summer. But I did find that I could stay focused and work through these struggles. With that in mind, my goal changed. It became a goal to maintain my summer success rather than lose new weight.
As my goal changed, so did my definition of success. Success for me wasn't losing a lot of weight any more. Success would be defined by how I ended this competition. I have been successful - even in last place. I maintained my weight through the natural cycle of fall & winter, through the holidays, and through the family events that have occurred in the last four months.
I have set a new goal for the New Year. I plan to continue my weight loss journey. With my new goal, I plan to lose new weight. But just as with my old goal, this new goal will be evaluated as time goes by and may need a little tweeking. The overall journey is the same.
How do you define success? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
Donna's Results
Donna Cummings Back View (Final on left)
Donna Cummings Front View (Final on left)
Donna Cummings Side View (Final on left)
Donna Cummings Front View (Final on left)
Donna Cummings Side View (Final on left)
Deb's Results
Deb Thayn front view final (left) and beginning (right)
Deb Thayn back view final (left) and beginning (right)
Deb Thayn side view final (left) and beginning (right)
Final Results
Wow! The final week is here! Can you believe it's been four months since we started this journey? We have some major congratulations to send out to everyone who participated in our competition. Thank you for taking the time to work on improving yourself, for pushing through the hard times, and for your patience in my reporting skills. It's definitely more of a challenge that I realized to be connected to the computer every Friday night!
Our final weekly results are below. The weekly winner is Deb - which is a big hurrah in my book, cause New Year's is worse for eating in my mind than Christmas!
As for the final results of our competition, things did change up a bit! Congratulations go out to everyone for participating, and once again to Deb! She finishes in first place after four months. Congratulations also go out to Amy for second place and Donna for third place! Here are the final results:
Be sure to check out the before and after pictures on the next post to see how everyone has improved!
Our final weekly results are below. The weekly winner is Deb - which is a big hurrah in my book, cause New Year's is worse for eating in my mind than Christmas!
| 1 | Deb | 1.80 | % |
| 2 | Amy | 0.85 | % |
| 3 | Jon | 0.45 | % |
| 4 | Syndy | 0.00 | % |
| 5 | Maureen | -0.35 | % |
| 6 | Andy | -0.47 | % |
| 7 | Donna | -0.48 | % |
| Mary | out of town |
As for the final results of our competition, things did change up a bit! Congratulations go out to everyone for participating, and once again to Deb! She finishes in first place after four months. Congratulations also go out to Amy for second place and Donna for third place! Here are the final results:
| 1 | Deb | 7.34 | % |
| 2 | Amy | 6.39 | % |
| 3 | Donna | 4.83 | % |
| 4 | Syndy | 4.17 | % |
| 5 | Jon | 3.10 | % |
| 6 | Maureen | 3.00 | % |
| 7 | Mary | 1.87 | % |
| 8 | Andy | 0.08 | % |
Be sure to check out the before and after pictures on the next post to see how everyone has improved!
Friday, December 28, 2012
Week Sixteen Results
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday week. I know I have enjoyed it, although the scale didn't like me too much! I tried, and I did make it to the gym finally today, so I'm moving in the right direction. This week's winner was a tie between Syndy & Jon - who both maintained their current weight without adding any! Good for you!!! That's a tough accomplishment with so many goodies around!
This week's results are:
| 1 | Syndy | 0.00 | % |
| 1 | Jon | 0.00 | % |
| 3 | Amy | -0.47 | % |
| 4 | Andy | -0.55 | % |
| 5 | Deb | -0.60 | % |
| 6 | Donna | -1.29 | % |
| 7 | Maureen | -1.52 | % |
| Mary | sick |
There's truly only one week left! Final weigh is next week. Remember that you need to send in a picture of the scale with your final weight displayed! It's gonna be close so go for it!!! Good luck everyone!
Overall results are:
| 1 | Deb | 5.65 | % |
| 2 | Amy | 5.60 | % |
| 3 | Donna | 5.28 | % |
| 4 | Syndy | 4.17 | % |
| 5 | Maureen | 3.34 | % |
| 6 | Jon | 2.65 | % |
| 7 | Mary | 1.87 | % |
| 8 | Andy | 0.54 | % |
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