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.
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