Converting

[mueller88]

Im new to this Forum so im not quite sure if this is the right place for this question. Well i'd like to know if the Mormons take smoking really serious and u cant get baptized if u do smoke ? I dont drink, do not use any illegal drugs just smoking cigarettes. God isn't saying you cant smoke so do the Mormons make their own rules or what ?

[Maureen]

...God isn't saying you cant smoke...

IMO, smoking is like slow suicide and in the case of second hand smoke, it might even be in the same category as manslaughter.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

M.

[estradling75]

Mormons believe God has said that you can't smoke. This is through modern revelations to Joseph Smith and the Prophets that followed him.

The revelation to Joseph Smith is found in this section Doctrine and Covenants 89 

To be baptized into the Mormon faith you must agree to live it.

[mueller88]

IMO, smoking is like slow suicide and in the case of second hand smoke, it might even be in the same category as manslaughter.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

M.

Thank you for your reply. Well i'm Baptist and a lot Baptist do smoke even those who are very religious and we follow God word and God doesn't say we are not allowed to smoke. Lately a Pastor said even smoking weed is ok. Still i am very interested in your Religion and i thought about converting.

[mueller88]

Mormons believe God has said that you can't smoke. This is through modern revelations to Joseph Smith and the Prophets that followed him.

The revelation to Joseph Smith is found in this section Doctrine and Covenants 89Â*

To be baptized into the Mormon faith you must agree to live it.

But i guess there are still Mormons who smoke even Mitt Romney tried a cigarette when he was younger. According to what i read about 6% so how does it work out ?

[estradling75]

But i guess there are still Mormons who smoke even Mitt Romney tried a cigarette when he was younger. According to what i read about 6% so how does it work out ?

They are sinning and need to repent

[Maureen]

Thank you for your reply. Well i'm Baptist and a lot Baptist do smoke even those who are very religious and we follow God word and God doesn't say we are not allowed to smoke. Lately a Pastor said even smoking weed is ok. Still i am very interested in your Religion and i thought about converting.

I am non-LDS, and I am anti-smoking just for the fact that it is a very unhealthy habit for all humans. For me it is common sense that tells me to avoid smoking. God hasn't said anything about driving drunk, but common sense should tell you that it's a dangerous thing to do.

M.

[Lakumi]

its the word of wisdom, and while I think there should be more things on it (since our modern age has given us many more poisons) its about leading a healthy life

[bytebear]

I can tell you growing up LDS, I didn't know any Mormons who smoked. Those who did tended to be "jack Mormons" who didn't live to the standards of the church. As a missionary, I knew some converts who struggled with smoking, and found it difficult to give up completely but they tried. There is some guilt associated with it, and one would tend to want to hide their smoking from church members. It's simply not part of Mormon culture at all. and I mean AT ALL. And smoking weed or doing any other recreational drugs would be equally bad if not worse.

So, yes, if you came to believe that the LDS Church is the church for you, you will not be able to join until you show that you are no longer smoking. The missionaries have helpful programs for smokers to quit.

I look at it as any of a number of commitments one must make when joining the church. Paying tithing, attending church regularly, no coffee, no tea, no alcohol, modest dress, no sex outside of marriage, accepting callings are all big commitments, and smoking may not be an issue for someone but anything else on that list might be.

The Lord said, if you love me keep my commandments. Treating your body as a temple is a clear commandment from God.

[M_T_E]

My best friend served a mission and I asked him if he ever came across two people he could not baptize. He told me two, one had something that needed to be discussed with the Stake President and Bishop, he was later baptized however.

The only one he met that could not be baptized was a lady who had a severe smoking addiction. I smoked when I was younger, I regret it and I haven't touched one in a quite a few years now.

My grandfather was a smoker, he passed away when I was three but I still remember him vividly with that hole in his neck. Cancer took him away from me from smoking, I could not live with myself if I went the same path and left my girlfriend and two daughters behind.

Smoking is a habit one can overcome, Missionaries have provided me with a great deal of support and this forum has given me a wealth of information and greatly sped up my learning over the past nearly ten months now.

[NeuroTypical]

Just to be clear, our God isn't a God of "you can't". He is a God of "here's the best way to live, the path is narrow, but it's the best path for you - I know because I'm God".

If folks choose to follow that path, one of the things they give up is smoking.

His position on the matter is pretty clear - here are His direct words to us on the subject:

And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man

Those are His words, laid out in our scriptures. If you believe He spoke them, come get baptized.