Before our birth we looked forward to coming to earth and obtaining a mortal body. Our bodies are so important that the scriptures compare them to temples. Even though we may face severe tests of health, handicap or disability we can look forward to healing from these challenges. We know that our body and spirit will be reunited and eventually restored to its proper and perfect frame in the resurrection. Our bodies are sacred gifts from God.
The Lord wants us to treat our bodies with respect. He revealed a law of health called the Word of Wisdom. This teaches us about eating healthy foods and avoiding alcohol, tobacco, hot drinks and any other harmful substances. The Lord promises that those who obey will receive better health and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures.
We are stewards of our bodies. Elder Bednar said, “Both our agency and our physical body, through which we exercise that agency in mortality, are truly “bought with a price” through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We are called to be, as the Apostle Peter wrote, “a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people…we should be peculiar in the sense that we are distinctive, set apart from, and uncontrolled by the world. In addition, we are peculiar in a more powerful sense. As the Greek word implies, we are peculiar in that we are a purchased people. Interestingly, I have heard many people, both outside and inside the Church, declare, “It’s my body and I can do to it what I want.” The correct doctrinal response to such a statement is quite simple. No, your body is not your own; it is on loan from God.”
The Word of Wisdom sets us apart from the world. One of the blessings promised to those who adhere to The Word of Wisdom in D&C 89 is in verse 21, the Lord promises the destroying angel shall pass by them as the children of Israel. In ancient times, God’s chosen people were designated as covenant Israel by blood of lamb on doorpost. The Word of Wisdom is one of the outward indicators that marks us a covenant Israel. It marks us as someone who is set apart from the world.
In a historical context, God’s dietary guidelines looked different in the bible then it did to the early saints. It looked different to the early Saints than it does to us now. It actually took 100 years from when the Word of Wisdom was revealed for it to become a commandment and it will probably look different in the future. What matters, is that we are willing to do what God asks of us now.
At the time it was revealed, Emma Smith was understandably frustrated cleaning up tobacco from the floor in the school of the prophets. The Prophet Joseph Smith, asked the Lord about it. In the resulting revelation found in D&C 89, we learn that God cares about our temporal concerns and physical health. We can go to him in prayer and seek his counsel in our day-to-day struggles.
Prophets have promised that living the Word of Wisdom today will free us from some of the most serious dangers we can face in this life. It may be much more valuable to us spiritually than it is physically.President Nelson has explained that any addiction robs us of our agency. “We are free to take drugs or not. But once we choose to use a habit-forming drug, we are bound to the consequences of that choice. Addiction surrenders later freedom to choose... My spiritual prescription would return the gift of agency to its rightful owner.”
When President Taylor was young, before joining the church, he realized he was craving tobacco. In what a somewhat humorous yet serious way he told his snuff box, “Listen to me. I will be a slave to nothing!”
President Oaks said undesirable outcomes from breaking The Word of Wisdom are “totally avoidable if we “never partake for the first time—even once.” Prophets have repeated counseled us to make decisions early so we don’t have to continue to debate time and time again later in life. We give the adversary less control if we make the decision once and already know how we will react before we are tempted.
Honoring the Word of Wisdom can bless us in times of urgent need. A faithful member of the Church, John A. Larsen, served during World War II in the United States Coast Guard on the ship USS Cambria. During a battle in the Philippines, word came of an approaching squadron of bombers and kamikaze fighter planes. Orders were given for immediate evacuation. Since the USS Cambria was already gone, John and three companions gathered their gear and hurried to the beach, hoping for a lift out to one of the departing ships. Fortunately, a landing craft picked them up and sped toward the last ship leaving the bay. The men on that departing ship, in an effort to evacuate as quickly as possible, were busy on deck and had time only to throw ropes to the four men, that they might hopefully be able to climb to the deck.
John, with a heavy radio strapped to his back, found himself dangling at the end of a 40-foot (12 m) rope, at the side of a ship headed out to the open sea. He began pulling himself up, hand over hand, knowing that if he lost his grip, he would almost certainly perish. After climbing only a third of the way, he felt his arms burning with pain. He had become so weak that he felt he could no longer hold on.
With his strength depleted, as he grimly contemplated his fate, John silently cried unto God, telling Him that he had always kept the Word of Wisdom and had lived a clean life—and he now desperately needed the promised blessings.
John later said that as he finished his prayer, he felt a great surge of strength. He began climbing once again and fairly flew up the rope. When he reached the deck, his breathing was normal and not the least bit labored. The blessings of added health and stamina promised in the Word of Wisdom had been his. He gave thanks to his Heavenly Father then, and throughout the remainder of his life, for the answer to his desperate prayer for help
The Word of Wisdom may provide blessings in unexpected ways. Many years ago, during his surgical internship, President Nelson and his wife attended a reception where the chief surgical resident offered them an alcoholic beverage. They politely declined the first offer, and then a second offer, and by the third offer the chief surgical resident was livid at their refusal to accept his drink. He warned if they did not accept that drink, he would make life “mighty miserable”. But President and Sister Nelson had made a covenant with God and had no intention of breaking it. He says, “We kept our promise, and the chief resident kept his.”
The chief resident used his responsibility of assigning operations to interns to ensure that President Nelson got the most complicated, most grueling, and most time-consuming operations. The chief resident’s form of revenge turned out to be a blessing. He said, “Assisting with difficult operations day after day made me a better surgeon. Keeping the Word of Wisdom actually propelled me forward in my surgical career.”
My final example is from Elder Stevenson. He has a friend named John who was accepted at a prestigious Japanese university. As a college student, he was part of the international student program with many other top students from around the world. After his arrival in Japan he was invited to a rooftop party. Following an elevator ride to the top floor of the building. John and his friends navigated the single narrow stairway leading to the rooftop and began mingling with the others. As the night wore on, the atmosphere changed. The noise, music volume, and alcohol amplified, as did John’s uneasiness. Then suddenly someone began organizing the students into a large circle with the intent of sharing marijuana cigarettes. John grimaced and quickly informed his two friends that it was time to leave. Almost in ridicule, one of them replied, “John, this is easy—we’ll just stand in the circle, and when it is our turn, we’ll just pass it along rather than smoke it. That way we won’t have to embarrass ourselves in front of everyone by leaving.” This sounded easy to John, but it did not sound right. He knew he had to announce his intention and act. In a moment he mustered his courage and told them that they could do as they wished, but he was leaving. One friend decided to stay and joined the circle; the other reluctantly followed John down the stairs to board the elevator. Much to their surprise, when the elevator doors opened, Japanese police officers poured out and hurried to ascend the stairs to the rooftop. John and his friend boarded the elevator and departed.
When the police appeared at the top of the stairs, the students quickly threw the illegal drugs off the roof so they wouldn’t be caught. After securing the stairway, however, the officers lined up everyone on the roof and asked each student to extend both hands. The officers then walked down the line, carefully smelling each student’s thumbs and index fingers. All who had held the marijuana, whether they had smoked it or not, were presumed guilty, and there were huge consequences. Almost without exception, the students who had remained on the rooftop were expelled from their respective universities, and those convicted of a crime were likely deported from Japan. Dreams of an education, years of preparation, and the possibility of future employment in Japan were dashed in a moment.
The friend who stayed on the roof was expelled from the university in Japan to which he had worked so hard to be accepted and was required to return home. As for John and the other friend who left the party, the consequences in his life have been immeasurable.
There will be times when you, like John, will have to demonstrate your righteous courage in plain view of your peers, the consequence of which may be ridicule and embarrassment. Be courageous! Be strong! “Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved.”
A professor once wrote a manuscript on Reasons for Observing the Word of Wisdom. The manuscript was given to the General Authorities, President Kimball referred to it as one of the finest treatments of the subject that he had ever read. Convincing economic, health, and other reasons for following the Word of Wisdom were clearly set forth. “But,” he said, “you left out the most important reason.”
“What is that?” the author asked.
“Because God asked us to,” he replied.
What really matters is that when we obey The Word of Wisdom, we obey Heavenly Father. When faced with temptation and asking ourselves why we obey it, we can simply reply, “Because God asked me to” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
