the word of wisdom lds

The term “strong drink” is a biblical phrase applying to wine, but temperance reformers often gave the term a more expansive definition that included distilled spirits. Zebedee Coltrin reminiscence, in Salt Lake School of the Prophets, Minutes, Oct. 3 1883, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. [20] Instead, the revelation encouraged the consumption of basic staples of the kind that had sustained life for millennia. As a consequence, the number of distilleries grew rapidly after 1780, boosted by settlement of the corn belt in Kentucky and Ohio and the vast distances to eastern markets. 3:16–17. To the astonishment of observers like Trollope, Americans everywhere—men, women, and children—drank whiskey all day long. Wine is a mocker, and strong drink is raging, Prov. Susan Easton Black and Andrew C. Skinner (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2005), 165–75. “Hot drinks”—which Latter-day Saints understood to mean coffee and tea20—“are not for the body or belly,” the revelation explained.21 Instead, the revelation encouraged the consumption of basic staples of the kind that had sustained life for millennia. This is not to say that all health proposals of the time relied on elaborate argumentation. 6 (May 3, 1824), 70; “From the Times and Advertiser,” Times and Hartford Advertiser, Jan. 3, 1826, 4. A law of health revealed by the Lord for the physical and spiritual benefit of the Saints (D&C 89). The Church’s “Doubling Down” on the Word of Wisdom Could it be that the speculation of the possibility that coffee and tea was soon to be made kosher (so to speak) in Mormonism cause the leadership some angst. Moderation rather than abstinence was applied to virtually all of the “do nots” of the Word of Wisdom until the early 20th century. Obedience to the Word of Wisdom brings temporal and spiritual blessings, D&C 89:18–21. In the end, some overlap between the Word of Wisdom and the health reform movement of the 19th century is to be expected. The Lord counseled the Saints to not use wine, strong drinks, tobacco, and hot drinks, D&C 89:1–9. “Hot drinks”—which Latter-day Saints understood to mean coffee and tea19—“are not for the body, or belly,” the revelation explained (see D&C 89:9). For other ways the Word of Wisdom may have departed from accepted wisdom, see Steven C. Harper, Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants: A Guided Tour through Modern Revelations (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2008), 332–33. 3 (June 1, 1842), 800. The Mormon dietary or health code is called the "Word of Wisdom." Did Joseph Smith simply draw upon ideas already existing in his environment and put them forward as revelation? 6 (Fall 1991), 17–19; Peter C. Mancall, “‘The Art of Getting Drunk’ in Colonial Massachusetts,” Reviews in American History, vol. Strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it, Isa. Doctrine and Covenants 89:6; see also “Revelation, 27 February 1833 [D&C 89],” in Sidney Gilbert, Notebook, 113. In the 20th century, some Latter-day Saints sought to isolate the offending chemicals in the substances prohibited in the Word of Wisdom, but such analysis was never accepted as Church doctrine and went beyond the reasoning of the revelation itself. Soon after receiving the Word of Wisdom, Joseph Smith appeared before the elders of the School of the Prophets and read the revelation to them. Frances Trollope, a British novelist, reported disdainfully in 1832 that in all her recent travels in the United States, she hardly ever met a man who was not either a “tobacco chewer or a whisky drinker.”9, Drinking, like tobacco chewing, had clearly gotten out of hand. By 1770, per capita consumption of distilled spirits alone—to say nothing of beer or cider—stood at 3.7 gallons per year.10, The American Revolution only exacerbated this reliance on alcohol. According to Section 89 of The Doctrine and Covenants, 1 God revealed these guidelines to Joseph Smith on February 27, 1833. It includes instruction about what foods are good for us and those substances to avoid. (London, 1832), 2:101. 3–4 (2003), 29–64. James Covel and the “Cares of the World”, “I Quit Other Business”: Early Missionaries, Religious Enthusiasm among Early Ohio Converts, “Man Was Also in the Beginning with God”, “Our Hearts Rejoiced to Hear Him Speak”, Mercy Thompson and the Revelation on Marriage, Susa Young Gates and the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, “The Word of Wisdom,” Revelations in Context (2016), “The Word of Wisdom,” Revelations in Context, Like many other revelations in the early Church, Doctrine and Covenants 89, also known today as the Word of Wisdom, came in response to a problem. Drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Cor. They took a more moderate approach to milder alcoholic beverages like beer and “pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.”16 For the next two generations, Latter-day Saint leaders taught the Word of Wisdom as a command from God, but they tolerated a variety of viewpoints on how strictly the commandment should be observed. Grain farmers in western Pennsylvania and Tennessee found it cheaper to manufacture whiskey than to ship and sell perishable grains. Lyman Beecher, a leader in this reform movement, advocated even more extreme measures, endorsing full abstinence from alcoholic beverages. Latest. Joseph began inquiring of the Lord about what could be done, and on February 27, scarcely a month after the school started, he received the revelation later canonized as Doctrine and Covenants 89. The only official interpretation of “hot drinks” (D&C 89:9) in the Word of Wisdom is the statement made by early Church leaders that the term “hot drinks” means tea and coffee. Strong drink, the revelation says simply, is “not good.” Similarly spare explanations are given for the injunctions against tobacco and hot drinks.25 The revelation can be understood more as an arbiter and less as a participant in the cultural debate. They “immediately threw their tobacco pipes into the fire,” one of the participants in the school recalled.29 Since that time, the inspiration in the Word of Wisdom has been proven many times over in the lives of the Saints, its power and divinity cascading down through the years. Church Manuals (part of the correlated curriculum produced officially by the LDS Church) “We must obey the Word of Wisdom to be worthy to enter the temple. Herbs, fruits, flesh, and grain are ordained for the use of man and of animals, D&C 89:10–17. 24 (Sept. 1996), 383. Those who wish to be baptised members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must be willing to listen to and obey the prophets- which includes such things as the Law of Chastity, paying our tithing, and the Word of Wisdom, even though these things are not commandments. The brethren did not have to be told what the words meant. The Word of Wisdom rejected the idea of a substitute for alcohol. In short terms, it is a health code for the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which we must abide by in order to go to the sacred temple and to have a healthy living. See John A. Widtsoe and Leah D. Widtsoe, The Word of Wisdom: A Modern Interpretation (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1950). Such concerns are unwarranted. Covenants, a leader in this reform movement of the Word of Wisdom. the... God revealed these guidelines to Joseph Smith simply draw upon ideas already existing His..., Making Sense of the Word of Wisdom. churches in Connecticut recommended strict licensing laws limiting the of! €œDo nots” of the time was so unhealthy of ‘ hot drinks ’ ( D & C )... They were to cry repentance unto the people and gather in the Church of Jesus Christ whoso forbiddeth that should... Beecher, a Book of scripture used by Latter-day Saints the word of wisdom lds one of them was considered a luxury item and... 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