The Word of Wisdom

I was thinking idly today about the average Friday night down at a typical public university; there's hardy a better setting to study the effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. Now I don't hate alcohol, in fact prior to my discovering the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I had tried it (I had decided to stop drinking well before my investigations though), but it is blatantly obvious the harm it does to the human body, psyche, and mannerisms. Self-control is a huge issue when it comes to alcohol: A. most can't keep it to one or two (a somewhat healthy amount) and B. most lose their ability to control their actions completely, when partaking of it in excess. Also, alcohol is addictive (I'll address this a little later). I don't mean to be picking so much just on alcohol, and we all know the "evils of alcohol" now, but what about 170 years ago? Research into alcohol and tobacco and their effects did not really begin until quite recently; therefore the harmful effects of these substances were only, formally, recognized recently.

Back in 1833, the Prophet Joseph Smith received the revelation now known as "The Word of Wisdom"(D&C 89), which more or less are dietary guidelines. It states, among other things, that alcohol, tobacco, and drinks with high amounts of caffeine (it actually says hot drinks but Church leaders later said this referred to tea and coffee) are harmful and should be eliminated from our diets.

Now take yourself back to the 1830s, temperance had not really taken off. I mean some famous temperance organizations had formed such as the Sons of Temperance but were not established in the United States until a decade after "The Word of Wisdom" was revealed.^[1] Other groups like the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Templars of Honor and Temperance, and the Prohibition Party were all established quite a bit after the revelation.^[2][3][4] So I believe it is safe to say Joseph Smith was not just 'latching onto a fad' because movements desiring the prohibition of alcohol, although had some supporters, had really not become popular yet (not for another decade at least).

Okay so I've heard a few people say, "What's wrong with alcohol? Jesus drank wine, are you saying He was wrong?" To answer no, Jesus was not wrong, for it was not a commandment at that time. God does not reveal things all at the same time. Heavenly Father gives us prophetic messages pertaining to the times we live in. I read somewhere (unfortunately I cannot remember where...) that during biblical times water often carried diseases and had a great deal of harmful bacteria, so in a way wine was a safer alternative to water.

Lastly, alcohol is addictive. I have seen many people develop a dependence on alcohol. This isn't to say all people who drink are addicts, but alcoholism and binge drinking are all too common problems in our society. Now alcoholism is not necessarily a physical addiction like nicotine, but I believe it is often as, if not more, debilitating.

Now it's tobacco's turn (I don't think I'll need to say too much here). Look at all we know of tobacco's horrible effects: carcinogen, a addictive substance, causes asthma, weakens lungs, breaks down skin and tissue (chewing tobacco especially), etc. I wonder why God warned us about this... Again we all know these horrible effects now, but would we have known if we lived almost 200 years ago? I highly doubt it. Modern science had not determined the harmful effects of tobacco usage, again, until quite recently.

Now at this time there were no real organizations or movements against the use of tobacco. So again as with alcohol, Joseph Smith was not just going along with the 'popular' thing.

What the Word of Wisdom does is tell us how to lead healthy and long lives. Our body is a temple; adherence to the Word of Wisdom (keeping our body clean) is almost like "temple work" (okay, kind of a stretch...). To be healthy (both in a physical and mental sense) we must be free of dependencies and addictions. Another ill effect of the addictive substances warned against in the Word of Wisdom is they impede on our 'agency' (agency means 'freedom of choice' it is a term commonly used in the Church and is a central part to the Plan of Salvation).

In closing there is no doubt in my mind that the Word of Wisdom was a prophetic message given to the Prophet Joseph Smith by our Heavenly Father. It is a blessing to have such a message given to us and I have no doubt it is a reason why Latter-day Saints have a longer life expectancy than the average American, and even the Japanese (who for a long time were believed to have one of the highest).^[5] Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and this is only one example of the important and wonderful revelation given by God, in these latter days.

Also here is a link to a good Ensign article on the Word of Wisdom: Cancer, Nutrition, and the Word of Wisdom

[1] New York Times. Sons of Temperance. 1892. 09 Jul 2008
[2] The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). 09 Jul 2008
[3] McGowan, Denis P. "Temperance Orders". Phoenixmasonry. 09 Jul 2008
[4] Prohibition Party. "Outline of History". The Prohibition Party. 09 Jul 2008
[5] Hu, Arthur. "Arthur Hu's Index of Diversity: Life Expectancy." Arthur Hu's Index of Diversity. 29 Jul 2008