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I keep reading that the early leaders, including JS and BY, continued to drink alcohol after the revelation on the WoW. I mentioned it to my husband and he wanted me to show him proof that JS specifically continued to drink alcohol. I searched on this site, and can’t find anything. Do any of you have a link that shows JS and/or the early leaders did not give up their drinking after S89 was given? Maybe I am wrong, but I know I have seen the claim repeatedly. I don’t like posting links to FAIR but that might get you started on a source-hunt. The sources at the bottom are from BYU. I remembered hearing that Joseph drank wine in Carthage Jail so a quick google search led me here. Do what you’d like with it: Quote:Imo, it wasn’t hidden that Joseph and other saints still drank alcohol after the Word of Wisdom so I don’t anticipate you having problems finding sources (even primary sources). Even as a TBM my understanding was that the WOW wasn’t as strictly enforced in the beginning. I think I was taught about it in seminary or it might just have been reading The Work and the Glory
From what I understand, the original “hot drinks” meant more what we would call “hard liquor”. In other words a glass of wine with dinner wasn’t an issue until prohibition came along. In fact I understand the Brigham Young make sure he was the sole owner off all the distilleries in the valley. https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/BYUStudies/article/viewFile/8943/8592 ” class=”bbcode_url”> https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/BYUStudies/article/viewFile/8943/8592 This fair article does paint it in a light of “but it wasn’t for drinking!”
http://en.fairmormon.org/Word_of_Wisdom/Brigham_Young’s_whiskey_distillery ” class=”bbcode_url”> http://en.fairmormon.org/Word_of_Wisdom/Brigham_Young’s_whiskey_distillery Now there are plenty of exmo sites that jump all over it, but this one seems to be not speaking of the morality either way and has references (that I didn’t validate).
http://www.mappingslc.org/this-was-here/item/63-whiskey-street ” class=”bbcode_url”> http://www.mappingslc.org/this-was-here/item/63-whiskey-street Section 89 was accepted as written (as counsel and not commandment) for the first few decades of the church’s history. It only was after a generation or two had passed that it was changed to commandment. An orthodox analogy that might work with your husband is the exile of the Israelites from Egypt and the need to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until those who couldn’t handle their freedom died and a new generation could enter the promised land. Obviously, there are complications with that analogy for most people who participate here – but the general message for orthodox members would be that God didn’t demand instant change from the earliest saints – that he gave them time to accept and adjust.
On a side note that you probably shouldn’t share with him right now, that is why I would prefer the Word of Wisdom be removed from the baptismal requirements. I would prefer modern converts have the same type of “grace period” as the earliest ones did – and, initially, all members were converts and had to learn to reshape their faith as the Church and Mormon theology themselves were evolving (even Joseph and Brigham). We tend to forget that simple fact.
Finally, I would NOT use the early leaders’ use of alcohol to justify current use. There are other logical reasons if someone wants to use it as it was given originally, but past usage isn’t one of them, imo. By that logic, we ought to go back to the days when slavery was accepted in Christianity – or when black members couldn’t receive the Priesthood or attend the temple – or when children were sacrificed, if you want a truly extreme example. Rules governing actions change, so citing previous rules to justify actions that are seen differently now won’t fly with any orthodox members – even if they don’t see the irony of accepting previous changes while insisting that other things can’t change just because that’s the way they are.
Thank you everyone. I don’t intend to use this information as justification to use alcohol. This discussion came in the context that the church today has some very different rules than the church JS restored. We were talking about how the WW started not as a commandment, and that over time new rules were put into place. I explained that the culture of the day seemed to play a part in some of the changes. This change in the WW and its enforcement came about during the time of Prohibition. He said that even if members drank alcohol, the leaders surely didn’t. I said they surely did, and here we are 🙂 .There is no intent to use this info to justify a lifestyle change on my part (I am way too cheap to spend money on liquor
😆 ), but I think that seeing the fairly large changes come when society as a whole is demanding the changes makes my point. When Prohibition was repealed it would have been a little awkward for a prophet to say, The Lord had changed his mind.Old-Timer wrote:Section 89 was accepted as written (as counsel and not commandment) for the first few decades of the church’s history. It only was after a generation or two had passed that it was changed to commandment.
I also heard that the degree that it was pushed while under BY was fairly correlated to how HE was doing giving up these vices. So if he just gave up (even for just a while) chewing tobacco, then you would expect to hear a lot about that, but not so much about drinking coffee. I don’t have sources, but I have that on my (ever growing) list of things to dig into a bit more.I would love to see an essay on the WoW. I’m not sure if that’s in the plan (or if any more are in the plan).
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