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I saw this quote again today on another blog and immdiately thought of all of you. I know we have had some other discussions about the Word of Wisdom, but, please, let’s not turn this into just another post on that topic. I want to focus on how a Prophet was able to “chill” about something that can be very divisive and advocate acceptance of others – since I try to use that general reaction as a model in lots of other things. I also LOVE his sense of humor. Anyway, here is the quote, from the Prince-Wright biography of David O. McKay:
Quote:“Because of his optimism he was able to see past things that were stumbling blocks to other church members and even to chuckle as he accepted human foibles. He told his fellow General Authorities, ‘
Now, Brethren, don’t you worry too much. It’s good for every dog to have a few fleas.’ Besides, he said, ‘ Perfect people would be awfully tiresome to live with; their stained-glass view of things would seem a constant sermon without intermission, a continuous snub of superiority to our self-respect.’” “And so he gently chided Apostle John A. Widtsoe, whose wife advocated such a rigid interpretation of the Word of Wisdom as to proscribe chocolate because of the stimulants it contained, saying, ‘John,
do you want to take all the joy out of life?’ But he didn’t stop there. At a reception McKay attended, the hostess served rum cake. ‘All the guests hesitated, watching to see what McKay would do. He smacked his lips and began to eat.’ When one guest expostulated, ‘”But President McKay, don’t you know that is rum cake?” McKay smiled and reminded the guest that the Word of Wisdom forbade drinking alcohol, not eating it’” Quote:When one guest expostulated, ‘”But President McKay, don’t you know that is rum cake?”
McKay smiled and reminded the guest that the Word of Wisdom forbade drinking alcohol, not eating it’” Love it! Bring on the “good” desserts!
There is an amazingly functional spot between the mean (average) and the extreme (the opposite poles). It’s called the golden ratio. It is found everywhere in nature (in things left to grow as they should) and indeed inspires a sense of beauty and “everything seems just right” in human beings. David O. McKay seemed to have an innate sense of that in his leadership. Those were a couple of great examples Ray. It’s obviously destructive to be intoxicated to the point of excess all the time drinking rum (an extreme). It’s sad to miss out on something tasty like a nice dessert cake because one decides that ANY and all contact with rum is sinful and evil (the other extreme). Then again, being relativistic to the point of having no standards or guidance at all fails too (the mean, or average).
There was a perfect point between extreme indulgence, extreme abstinence and no Word of Wisdom at all — that was a tasty and enjoyable slice of rum cake.
Wow! Where do you guys manage to dig all this stuff up from? I barely remember David O. McKay in person, but reading his biography, which if not the source for Ray’s post, is at least where I read this: Boy, we could sure use a few more men like him!!! I loved David O’McKay as a little girl and I have his beautiful shaky signature on my mission call letter. It was so sad to hear of his death just before I got home from my mission from Austria in Jan. 71. I heard a story about when he was moving once with his wife from an apartment that was many stories up high. He did not want to carry their mattress down those long stairs, so he threw the mattress out of the top story window they lived in. It really made his wife mad. He had a great sense of humor. Thanks for sharing. I read his mission diaries recently before I started attending church again. Awesome Ray! McKay seemed to have a good understanding of the nuances of life and I appreciate his take on these kinds of things. I wish we had more accounts like this that show the “human” side to our leaders. While our leaders are incredibly obedient and diligent in their actions…I really think most of them “get it” and know when some things are taken too far they have missed the mark.
But we don’t see that side as much, and so it seems on a local level, zealots and local leaders trying to emulate those above them are sometimes too “rulesy” or unbending in their ideas…and in many cases that rigidity is difficult to maintain over a whole lifetime. Those that can keep a sense of humor and know when enough is “good enough” to be effective can have peace to sustain them longer, IMHO.
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