WoW - Abiding wisdom

You might think that getting some dietary guidelines from God would be a pretty big deal and that believers would readily conform to those guidelines out of their simple love of righteousness, and yet in the years following the revelation now called the Word of Wisdom few, if any, dietary changes took place in Mormonism. Even Joseph regularly ignored the wisdom of the revelation he himself received. Isn't that strange?

It took the LDS Church until 1921 to more or less figure out how it wanted to interpret the Word of Wisdom and make adherence to it a requirement to enter the temple. That means it took 90 years to figure this shit out, nearly a century before Mormons decided God might really be on to something. Isn't that incredible? It seems to me that God really could have cleared things up at any time, like anytime during the eleven years of Joseph's life following the initial revelation.

Why didn't people take this divine counsel more seriously? Why didn't the Church leaders understand it sooner? Were all of the prophets up to Heber Grant leading us astray? Are we being led astray now?

WoW - divine origins

It's pretty much clear to every Mormon that the Word of Wisdom is a inspired counsel straight from God for the benefit of all who wisely decide to heed its words. Don't use tobacco? Nailed it! Don't abuse alcohol? Nailed it! Eat your veggies? Nailed it! Eat your grains (and drink others)? Nailed it! Don't kill animals unless you have to? Nailed it!

Who cares if God's law of health missed the boat on coffee, tea, sugar, recreational drugs, prescription drug abuse, mental health, social health, physical exercise, and diligent study? And anyone who tries to argue that God's instruction on alcohol is confusing or contradictory can just shut the heck up! All that bad, confusing, or absent information can easily be rationalized away.

The bottom line is that the Word of Wisdom obviously came from a divine source. There's no way in hell Joseph Smith was simply parroting the popular tenants of the temperance movement of the 1820s and '30s! Or is there?

Maybe Joseph didn't need God for this one after all.

WoW - mental health

Remember how the Lord finally addressed depression only six months ago? Of course, there are a number of disorders that God could have mentioned long long ago, way before last October, and yet he didn't bother. Mental and emotional disorders are nothing new, nor are they confined to human beings alone, and yet God never bothered bringing our various issues. It's almost as if our psycho-emotional well being had previously been of no interest to the Almighty otherwise he might have included a little something in his holy books and revelations. The Word of Wisdom would have been a wonderful place to address mental health. Not only did he not mention any of the common disorders people suffer from, he didn't bother mentioning the need for a loving family and trustworthy friends.

The Lord's law of health is an interesting law indeed. It makes me wonder what good prophesy and revelation are when they fail to effectively address such an important source of human suffering or warn us of things to come. When it comes to issues of mental health, God has left us entirely in the hands of modern science, medicine, and therapies.

WoW - health, smarts, endurance

The Word of Wisdom is one of those awesome commandments with a promise at the very end.

"And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint." (D&C 89:18-20, emphasis added)

Health in the navel and the marrow means you'll be healthy to your core! A fountain of health from the depths of your very skeletal frame! That alone is reason enough to follow the Word of Wisdom, but there's more! Knowledge, popping up like gold nuggets on the coast of Nome! And serious physical endurance!

I just wonder why God doesn't recommend study as a means for attaining knowledge and wisdom and why he never once recommends physical exercise for people who want to "run and not be weary." It's almost as if God didn't see our days when advanced degrees and sedentary careers are the norm. This oversight has forced us all to extrapolate some modern-day wisdom of our own from the scarcity of words in the Word of Wisdom.

WoW - hot drinks

"That the children may live long / And be beautiful and strong, / Tea and coffee [...] they despise" says the hymn. Tea and coffee are what we are now to understand by "hot drinks" in Section 89. It just kind of happened that way, but it definitely makes sense. Consider how wise God has been in protecting his children from a drink that does not negatively effect your health. Now consider how infinitely wise God has been in prohibiting a drink that has significant positive effects on your health.

Don't let actual science beguile you on this matter, though, and don't you dare try to worm your way around the wording of the verse - iced coffee and ice tea are still no-nos. Temperature is not the issue here, even though originally is was very much the issue which is why, in addition to coffee and tea,  you couldn't drink hot chocolate, hot cocoa, hot soup, or any other hot liquids.

But look on the bright side, the ban on hot cocoa and soups never really stuck, so all that stuff's good too. And if you thought the ban on coffee and tea was about caffeine/theanine, you were wrong:

"With reference to cola drinks, the Church has never officially taken a position on this matter, but the leaders of the Church have advised, and we do now specifically advise, against the use of any drink containing harmful habit-forming drugs under circumstances that would result in acquiring the habit. Any beverage that contains ingredients harmful to the body should be avoided." (Priesthood Bulletin, Feb. 1972, p. 4.)

So drink all the non-harmful habit-forming substances you want, hot or cold, as long as they don't include coffee or tea. Herbal teas and Postum, for example, are just fine! (Just make sure you avoid the appearance of evil!)

Right in the head

As in the case of acceptance toward homosexuality, Mormons are coming around when it comes to mental illness. Once upon a time illnesses such as depression were downplayed and sufferers were expected to find comfort and healing in Jesus. Now we have an apostle speaking more openly about severe depression, but his advice to seek out qualified professionals only comes after his advice to:

"Never, ever doubt that ['God’s love is there for you'], and never harden your heart. Faithfully pursue the time-tested devotional practices that bring the Spirit of the Lord into your life. Seek the counsel of those who hold keys for your spiritual well-being. Ask for and cherish priesthood blessings. Take the sacrament every week, and hold fast to the perfecting promises of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Believe in miracles."

But even then, seeking professional help is warrented only "[i]f things continue to be debilitating".

Alright, so the Church is still way behind the curve on this one. It almost makes you wonder, has the Church ever been ahead of the times?