Lets drop the WoW….no one follows it anyway….

[Anonymous]

OK…this topic is just with a little smirk on my face. Not to be taken too seriously.

I just posted something about Friends of Scouting on another thread. Here is what usually happens. Once a year, the ward I was in has an assessment to gather money for FoS. They hold a breakfast in the church parking lot where I am, and bring out the grills where they dump grease on the skillet, cook up pounds and pounds of beacon, eggs, hashbrowns, all smeared with cheese and other grease things, some concentrated juice with sugar water in there, and so forth.

Now,…let me make a disclaimer here. I am not a medical doctor. I do not have an EMT credential, am not a nutritionist, am not versed in herbology and don’t have a deep understanding of vitamins. I don’t know what the difference is from vitamin K and Q, or F, or Z, or whatever others there are. Isn’t zink something you find in coins?…and potassium,..ain’t that what you find in bombs or gunpowder? So,…I don’t know. I honestly don’t know a lot about this.

But,….<> I think that this meal served by FoS is probably not very healthy.

Hypothetically, let me make my point another way as well. OK…I am 200 lbs overweight (which I really am not,…but for the example, believe it),…I drink about 6 liters of diet coke a day with aspertame, I LOVE bacon, french fries, big macs, cheese puffs, and I personally ate the last case of twinkies off the cart! I love to drive my car 1 block to church so I don’t have to walk,…and I really try hard to get plenty of sleep and relaxation as I spend 12 hours a day in bed, and 16 on Sunday,…because you can never have too much rest in this hecktic world.

But,…I don’t drink coffee or tea, and I don’t drink alchohol or use drugs or tobacco. THANK GOODNESS I obey the Word of Wisdom.

Nuff said yet? You get my point?

Comments any one?

[Anonymous]

Rob4Hope wrote:

Now,…let me make a disclaimer here. I am not a medical doctor. I do not have an EMT credential, am not a nutritionist, am not versed in herbology and don’t have a deep understanding of vitamins.

Another hazard of LDS “Scouting;” the cooking merit badge includes a fair bit about nutrition, and it’s required for Eagle. I remember a pretty in-depth quiz (what each nutrient type does for you, what foods it is found in, and roughly how much you need) to get that section signed off. That, and it was frickin’ cold on that campout, so making breakfast for the patrol was the best reason to be right by the fire first thing.

In my ward, there are a few guys with NESA lapel pins who can barely grill a burger. From my old (non-LDS) troop, I’ve kept up with three of the Eagles, and they still use the skills they had to pick up for it on a regular basis.

[Anonymous]

Good news. Twinkies are back.

Our views on things change over time, the Word of Wisdom being no exception. These days the focus is more on what you don’t do as opposed to the things that you do. Maybe this is because of the things we chose to emphasize when raising children. We want to make sure children don’t do any of the bad stuff. Whether or not teenagers are out late eating wheat and fruit of the vine probably comes in a distant second on the list of concerns.

We then take that same list of thou shalt nots that we teach to our children and use them when teaching the adults.

Rob4Hope wrote:

But,…I don’t drink coffee or tea, and I don’t drink alchohol or use drugs or tobacco. THANK GOODNESS I obey the Word of Wisdom.

Yeah, this is one of those things where ordinarily I think we’d end up with a lecture on the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law but we can’t even get the letter of the law part right.

[Anonymous]

I’ll right, I’ll bite (into the proverbial slice of bacon).

IMO, the WoW is not about health as much as it is about A) Decorum and Devotion. Health is an oft-cited reason, but as you so effectively point out, the WoW should be greatly expanded if that is the intent.

[Anonymous]

nibbler wrote:

Yeah, this is one of those things where ordinarily I think we’d end up with a lecture on the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law but we can’t even get the letter of the law part right.

I’m glad I’m not the judge….but I cringe when I see the statistics on the use of SSRIs in Utah,…and I use to wonder about the people who had temple recommends and were morbidly obese.

I read something years ago about the USA. It was that at one time, there was an effort made to rank the health of nations. I don’t know the criteria…but back in the industrial revolution days, America topped the list. We are now close to the VERY BOTTOM. Obesity, depression, cancer, all kinds of chronic diseases, and other concerns are pandemic in the USA, and in a lot of ways, the LDS culture trails the mainstream, just a few years behind. I know this is the case with divorce–the LDS faith is catching up to the national standards, and it certainly is also the case with health problems.

I have also read guys like Dean Ornish, Weil, and Furhman, and most of the problems we have are related to lifestyle. And for the life of me, I remember reading a document by one of the apostles MANY years ago, where the LDS leadership comissioned a member to study how the LDS people are doing with the WoW. The conclusion (and I will look for this study) was that the LDS people obey half of the requirements, and as such, receive half the blessings. It was a real eye-opener. The leadership is aware of the concern.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for a smile this morning Rob.

The other thing you didn’t mention is a literal addiction to caffeinated soft drinks.

I’m with you on this one – few obey the word of wisdom parts where meat is eaten sparingly, etc, and at least half of my ward is overweight. I’m mostly vegetarian and people give me a hard time for not eating meat. But drink a beer and you are in danger of hellfire and damnation.

I’ve told a good number of people that I don’t care if people drink coffee or tea and that how they interpret hot drinks is entirely up to them. Some ward members look at me like I’m absolutely nuts when I tell them that.

The other post had it right. It’s turned into a sign of obedience sort of like wearing your garments and only wearing white shirts.

[Anonymous]

As with many things, I like the concept and principle of a dietary code that makes sense for a particular time.

I really like the focus on addiction peddlers in the last days as the primary reason for the Word of Wisdom, and I have almost no problem with the restrictions in it, as generally good advice. (as counsel and not as command)

I also understand very well that many people who claim not to be addicted to various things can’t quit without extreme effort – and, sometimes, not even then.

I agree completely that only a tiny percent of our membership follows everything in the Word of Wisdom – and I do not like the way it is used as a baptism requirement, especially.

Finally, thanks for the chuckle in the way you framed all of this. Laughing at ourselves is a healthy thing sometimes.

[Anonymous]

I would like to see the WoW taught as personal conviction.

In the SDA church many members are vegetarians. Most dishes served at church functions are also vegetarian. Being vegetarian is not in any way a requirement of the church. You can enjoy your cheeseburger and still be a member in good standing. If at some point you feel impressed in your heart that God wants you personally to become vegetarian – then at that point you will have a great support structure to help you.

[Anonymous]

Roadrunner wrote:

The other thing you didn’t mention is a literal addiction to caffeinated soft drinks.

Fortunately, caffeine is one of the easiest addictions to overcome; your body will quite simply fix the issues in a (miserable) week if you go cold turkey or 2-3 weeks if you taper off slowly enough to avoid significant withdrawal symptoms.

Quote:

I’m with you on this one – few obey the word of wisdom parts where meat is eaten sparingly, etc, and at least half of my ward is overweight.

I seriously doubt any of them got overweight from meat. As has been discussed (here? another forum, maybe) before, that part made perfect sense in a time without a freezer in every home or a butcher in every grocery store providing meat in various sizes. It takes a lot of people to eat a cow before it spoils in 90 degree weather, so summer meat would have been either small game that a family can easily finish at one sitting, or a communal slaughter and roast to use up the meat. Either way, unless you had a great rabbit hunter in your family, 8-16 ounces of meat at dinner wouldn’t have been a daily thing. As modern refrigeration has changed the way we handle meats, the Church hasn’t emphasized that part, but I can see how HF would hardly feel it’s worth a repeat of Peter’s vision to explicitly repeal it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the imagery. I pictured those whooping plates of slather and the bulging tummies that made it. I won’t need to eat all day now.

As for caffeine… our last Stake Conference was one of those regional conferences with a GA/70 person. I didn’t attend, but the next fast Sunday the key point of the GA/70’s talk was mentioned repeatedly – “Caffeine isn’t in the word of wisdom.” I am sure he mentioned other things, I am even pretty convinced his talk really wasn’t on the WoW, but that single line alone brought more joy to more ward members than I have seen in a long time. All of them could keep their Pepsi’s and feel good about themselves. Now in my seat I chuckled to myself, because the word Coffee isn’t in there either. And I bet every one of them, bless their hearts, would judge the coffee drinker but not the Pepsi drinker – because Caffeine isn’t mentioned specifically. – Go Figure.

I have 3 things I would love to fix – Garments, Tithing, and WoW. For WoW I would love to get us back to the original intent which was a suggestion and encouragement to eat healthy. I also think if Joseph Smith had a discussion with God today about the WoW it would look different. IMHO.

[Anonymous]

mom3 wrote:

I also think if Joseph Smith had a discussion with God today about the WoW it would look different. IMHO.

I tend to think that if Joseph suddenly came to our church today he would be quite shocked at many many things.

[Anonymous]

Roadrunner wrote:

But drink a beer and you are in danger of hellfire and damnation.

I believe 100% (and I really mean this) that a beer is less damaging to your health than one of these caffeinated energy blast your brain to space drinks. I REALLY DO BELIEVE THIS.

But, the stigma is not about real health,..it is about proscribed choices that make no sense. And, UTAH beer has very little alcohol in it….but those energy drinks have a LOT of caffeine.

Go figure. I guess coffee is bad, but beer and energy drinks,…even when it says on the CAN not to drink more than one in 24 hours? I mean,..come on folks!

I’m laughing over here….

[Anonymous]

Lookinghard wrote –

Quote:

I tend to think that if Joseph suddenly came to our church today he would be quite shocked at many many things.

Amen.

But don’t worry, we still sing hymns to him, it’s all good. 🙄

[Anonymous]

I’m on a roll here, having fun and gunna stir this up all over again…….hehehehehe

OK…so, what is the deal with the church changing the WoW to compelled? In the original document, it is given as a principle with promise. We know from science that smoking and other tobacco use (bad use that is) causes problems. We also know that overeating is bad (which is NOT mentioned in the WoW)…but why the change from BY or JT (who was the prophet when they decided to make it binding?) to make it binding in the first place? And, since things not prescribed, like overeating for example which we know is bad, are not added to this?

I am under the impression that when God gives us council to stay inside bounds, he is pretty clear and rather brief with the bounds. The LOC, for example, is a single sentence in the temple…A SINGLE SENTENCE. There are no prescribed rules of “don’t do this”…or “do this”…. Nope, there is a boundary,..and you are left to work it out inside that boundary. When the church gets involved and begins to define further rules, or explain things further, all kinds of problems happen.

Illegal drugs are not mentioned in the WoW. For example, marijuana. I could say technically that if I lived in Denver and had a recreational puff, I didn’t violate the WoW. Just like caffeen use is NOT in the WoW, and GAs have justified or “winked” (as in ignored this to some degree) at this, then because it is not illegal in Denver to have a recreational use of marijuana, how can this be wrong?

The saints have their favorite recreational drugs–like caffeine, overeating, and destroying their health because they pay no attention to their health as they STRIVE TO THE EXTREME to have children, make sure all of them have piano lessons, soccer games, boy scouts, YW activites, etc. And,…oops…lets get the Prosac going because unless you do all that stuff, you are going to hell anyway…because God will always prepare a way for you to accomplish EVERYTHING assigned.

I have never smoked pot in my life. But, I think I might want to give that a try. It is not against the WoW,…as written in the text, nor is it illegal where I will be. If people can weight 300 lbs over where they should and this doesn’t violate the WoW (but certainly increases their chance of death by like a gazillion),…then how can a single pot event cause problems that are more wrong? The first doesn’t violate the rules–those people are still going to the temple (i’ve seen them!)…so maybe my pot thing, which is also not explicitly prohibited, should be ok.

hehehehe…have fun…… 😆

[Anonymous]

Rob4Hope wrote:

OK…so, what is the deal with the church changing the WoW to compelled? In the original document, it is given as a principle with promise. We know from science that smoking and other tobacco use (bad use that is) causes problems. We also know that overeating is bad (which is NOT mentioned in the WoW)…but why the change from BY or JT (who was the prophet when they decided to make it binding?) to make it binding in the first place? And, since things not prescribed, like overeating for example which we know is bad, are not added to this?

The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement:

https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V14N03_80.pdf” class=”bbcode_url”>https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V14N03_80.pdf

As far as the other stuff. It’s all just kids on a playground. If you want to play in their corner of the playground you have to play by their rules. The thing about kids on a playground? The rules don’t have to make sense.

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