WOW Facts and more, found in personal research...

[KingDavid]

Although I personally believe that the Word of Wisdom is spot-on in modern scientific studies of health, we must not allow our following it to become a "See, I told you so" approach. I do not follow the Word of Wisdom because it is healthy. I follow because it was revealed through a Prophet of God. If the Prophet said that green peas are forbidden by the Lord, I would stop eating them, regardless of their health benefits. The focus must fall on the process of revelation more than so-called proof.

NateHowe,

Intent is certainly ultimately important in what we do. However, one must note that the "law irrevocably decreed" part from the D&C makes it clear that one is blessed when one obeys. And, it does not say that one is blessed either because or not because of the reason/s they obeyed.

As someone who is now 54, I find it interesting that my Catholic friend who is in his mid/to-late 40's told me just last week that he gave up caffeine drinks last spring. He was a big Pepsi drinker for many years. He says that he's not quite as sharp or quick now as he was when he drank. He hasn't told me otherwise, but I suspect there were drawbacks to his disobdience of this commandment, even though he has never technically covenanted to keep this commandment.

If I don't jump off a cliff for one reason or another, the benefits are the same. Same may be true in regards to the Word of Wisdom.

One could argue, NateHowe, as many have and do in the Church, that the Word of Wisdom only covers "hot drinks" (i.e., coffee and tea). However, should one consume products with comparable or even higher amounts of caffeine, etc, the detrimental consequences would be the same. Therefore, I keep the Word of Wisdom both because it was given of God (and was not made a "commandment" per se, until early during the presidency of Heber J. Grant) AND because it is healthy to do. It points me in the direction of doing things that will blesh this tabernacle of flesh and bone we each dwell in.

—KingDavid

[NateHowe]

Sorry to rejoin this discussion three pages after my first post on the matter.

AutumnBreez, I didn't find your original post offensive; I was simply making a statement about our mode of obedience as a people generally.

KingDavid, although I agree in part, I do believe that acknowledging the revelatory significance of the WOW is the more important part of obedience. If we fast on Fast Sunday because research shows it's healthy to fast occasionally, that becomes a diet, not a sacrifice before God.

In a similar way, if we obey the WOW for the health benefits rather than reasons of faithful obedience, we should reexamine our reasons.

That said, it is better to obey a commandment for a less important reason than to break it! We all do this. However, for me, the higher reason for which I choose to obey that commandment is that the Lord has told me that Joseph Smith is a Prophet and that his words are true.

[pushka]

okay, so is the 'silly walk' an inside joke? I'm confused.

Rebky, did you overlook this post from Moksha?

'

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuck Mormon

We probably wouldn't be considered a peculiar people then. We might even be more accepted .

I have wondered if the main collective benefit was that of peculiarity. The individual benefits are obvious for not smoking and drinking alcohol to excess.

If more peculiarity is ever needed, the Ministry of Silly Walks is but a footstep away:

'

The Silly Walk is a classic sketch from the British TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus...Moksha was using that film clip as an illustration of 'peculiar' people!! It really is funny, please watch it and let me know what you think!

[prisonchaplain]

Although I personally believe that the Word of Wisdom is spot-on in modern scientific studies of health, we must not allow our following it to become a "See, I told you so" approach. I do not follow the Word of Wisdom because it is healthy. I follow because it was revealed through a Prophet of God. If the Prophet said that green peas are forbidden by the Lord, I would stop eating them, regardless of their health benefits. The focus must fall on the process of revelation more than so-called proof.

Jews rejected shrimp long before cholesterol was a known problem. They did and do so, "Because God said so." IMHO, that would be the only current rational for observing the WOW...because you believed "God said so."

[prisonchaplain]

I wonder how life for us Mormons would have been different if the WoW had remained as a suggestion?

You'd probably be the largest denomination in the National Association of Evangelicals, by now!

[prisonchaplain]

We probably wouldn't be considered a peculiar people then. We might even be more accepted .

It's okay to be peculiar--biblical even! But, decaffeinated???

[Iggy]

It's okay to be peculiar--biblical even! But, decaffeinated???

Not DEcaffeinated - Caffeine Free!

[prisonchaplain]

Not DEcaffeinated - Caffeine Free!

I suppose hypothermia is really just the body being "heat free" too. :p

[Iggy]

I suppose hypothermia is really just the body being "heat free" too. :p

You could look at it that way I suppose. But the body isn't naturally dependent on caffeine, whereas it is dependent on heat.

[prisonchaplain]

You could look at it that way I suppose. But the body isn't naturally dependent on caffeine, whereas it is dependent on heat.

You're not from Seattle, are you?

[Iggy]

You're not from Seattle, are you?

Actually I am, lived there for the first 20 years of my life. I am also half norwegian. My full blooded norwegian father started us children drinking coffee as soon as we could hold a cup- 2 yrs old. Granted the coffee was 1/2 cream and had 2 tsp of sugar in it - oh wait, that is a latte isn't it? At every meal I was required to drink one glass of milk, but I could drink as much coffee as I wanted. By the time I was in the 2nd grade I was drinking coffee with about 2tbls of cream and 2 tsp sugar.

In the summer I drank Iced Coffee - with only sugar. I would have a cup of coffee, sitting at the kitchen table just before going up to bed.

Never kept me from sleeping- or so I thought.

My mother didn't join the LDS Church until 1974, I was 22 then. My father died in 1970. Mom did his proxy work in 1987.

During the time I was inactive I drank coffee- no I refused to drink Starbucks it tastes like Dairy sludge to me. Smells like it too!

Since coming back to Church and quitting the coffee, tea(I love teas as much as I loved coffee), and tobacco- my blood pressure is wayyyyy down. My lungs are clear, my health is so much better.

I still crave coffee- and iced tea. I also get a hankering for a properly made Old Fashioned. BUT I admit they are cravings, and go and make a cup of Pero or herbal infusion instead and THANK Father that with His help I have kicked the nasty, nasty habits.

PS: I still remember my house address from growing up there: 35th and East 54th Street, in the University District area- and 17th and 70th in Ballard.

[prisonchaplain]

Actually I am, lived there for the first 20 years of my life. I am also half norwegian. My full blooded norwegian father started us children drinking coffee as soon as we could hold a cup- 2 yrs old. Granted the coffee was 1/2 cream and had 2 tsp of sugar in it - oh wait, that is a latte isn't it? At every meal I was required to drink one glass of milk, but I could drink as much coffee as I wanted. By the time I was in the 2nd grade I was drinking coffee with about 2tbls of cream and 2 tsp sugar.

In the summer I drank Iced Coffee - with only sugar. I would have a cup of coffee, sitting at the kitchen table just before going up to bed.

Never kept me from sleeping- or so I thought.

My mother didn't join the LDS Church until 1974, I was 22 then. My father died in 1970. Mom did his proxy work in 1987.

During the time I was inactive I drank coffee- no I refused to drink Starbucks it tastes like Dairy sludge to me. Smells like it too!

Since coming back to Church and quitting the coffee, tea(I love teas as much as I loved coffee), and tobacco- my blood pressure is wayyyyy down. My lungs are clear, my health is so much better.

I still crave coffee- and iced tea. I also get a hankering for a properly made Old Fashioned. BUT I admit they are cravings, and go and make a cup of Pero or herbal infusion instead and THANK Father that with His help I have kicked the nasty, nasty habits.

PS: I still remember my house address from growing up there: 35th and East 54th Street, in the University District area- and 17th and 70th in Ballard.

So you lived in Seattle and you are Norwegian...I concede defeat, and wish you only the best in your caffeine FREE life. :)

[KingDavid]

NateHowe,

Again, I do not disagree with you, per se. I believe this scripture, "Inasmuch as men do good they shall in no wise lose their reward." Also, I have found that things that reinforce, though they do no supply nor supplant, my testimony that God is the one directing us, when I find some of the reasons or benefits of obedience, my conviction is steeled more, and my resolve is increased.

My mother taught me, and repeated often what we learn elsewhere. About Adam obeying God's commandment to offer sacrifices, not knowing why. But just because God had commanded.

I just had a discussion with two of my daughters tonight about a "commandment" I gave them a month ago, with a corresponding blessing and cursing. The blessing was that if they made their beds and cleaned their rooms each day, they would have a neat, orderly room. The cursing I promised was that I would charge each and everyone of my children living at home (ranging from a 27-year old to a 7-year old), they would be charged a daily rent according to their ability to pay (ranges from 25¢ for the 7-year old to $10.00 to the 27-year old. I assessed two teenage daughters their rent this morning, when, once again, I found their room not cleaned, with ample reminders before I did this.

They were both upset, the older of the two especially. She said that I had approached things the wrong way with them. She said she felt I was angry and contentious. I was indeed upset. If being firm and upset is contentious, then charge me (along with God) as being contentious.

After the older one stormed downstairs after paying the "rent", I called her back up again and sat her and her 14-year old sister down. I explained to them in various ways why, again, I was charging the rent. It was not for me to get money from them. I demanded, however, they pay me the money (some was previously assessed), because I knew if I did not demand it sternly, they would avoid and evade, and try to get out of paying it until I forgot or forgave. Again, the paltry amount I had them pay, is relatively "nothing" to me. But I knew it would be painful to them.

I have affixed a penalty to not keeping their room clean so that they will hopefully develop (finally) a habit of cleaning up after themselves on a daily basis. I believe that God likewise penalizes us, not that he wants to see us be pained, but because he wants us to learn. I pointed out to them where in both life and in the scriptures God allows bad things to happen to us both to teach us, and even when punishing us, to teach us, and hopefully get us to repent and turn to him.

I am sure that many a parent will see my efforts here as being barbaric or too harsh. I think not. My daughters were reconciled to me and to my "punishment" when I fully explained it to them. They came over to my side, it appeared. I believe they will do much better now.

I hope so. I hate being the "bad cop". But I feel that "tough love" like this is more important than keeping a warm fuzzy relationship based mostly on indulging children and spoiling them into undisciplined individuals.

God is love. God also punishes his children when they won't repent. And, sometimes, even after they do, he teaches them that obedience is better than disobedience then repentance (Alma the Elder & his people before the reunification with the main body of Nephites, and the people of Limhi, are two prime examples of people subjected to a "lesson" even after they had repented).

My wife and I have nine children. Two are married, each with one child, and another on the way. Two others are away from home also. Five are still at home. So far, they've all been and remained true to the faith. Working, teaching and praying that they will remain so, and that they will have and build families that are also so.

I have diligently strived to teach my family by both precept and example to do what is right. I have found that if I can persuade someone to exercise a behavior (obey a principle), that they often gain a testimony from being obedient, regardless of their reason for obeying to begin with. They will often develop purer motives for obedience, because many examples show us that individuals and groups are more likely to justify their behaviors and develop or adapt their beliefs around their behaviors, than they are to necessarily always get their behaviors to rise to their ideals.

—KingDavid

[Iggy]

So you lived in Seattle and you are Norwegian...I concede defeat, and wish you only the best in your caffeine FREE life. :)

PC- Your conceding made me laugh! Daddy taught all of us how to make coffee. From using the drip pot(long before the new fangled electric drip pot) to boiling a cup of cowboy coffee. Water is more important than the brand or price of coffee grounds and so is using a properly cleaned pot/saucepan. We never washed the coffee pot or its parts in soapy water- we used baking soda and a dishrag (the rag was thoroughly rinsed of soap). The water was filled from the tap into several gallon pitchers, lids put on, and let set out at least overnight. To allow the chlorine to dissapate. There were three adults, and 7 children in my family. Mom's brothers and their wives all visited daily if not hourly on any given day. We made sure that there was at least 10 gallons of water prepared for coffee. Sometimes we went through it, sometimes we didn't.

Daddy bought the cheapest coffee he could find - it is in the preperation that makes or breaks the coffee flavor.

When ever I can get to Seattle I have to go to Downtown Ballard and WALK the entire length and breadth of it. The little shops, the big shops, all of the cafés. I make sure to walk down all of the little side streets too. Some of those side streets are only 1/2 a block long, but they are treasure troves.

There is a café named Jenny's or Jeri's something like that.It starts with a J anyway. When you go in and sit at a table or booth and order a CUP of coffee you get a POT of coffee. They have the best Ruben sandwich, with the best Potato Salad. I have them hold the sauerkraut because I don't like it. They also do a proper Patty Melt. Swiss on one side and your choice of american or cheddar cheese on the other. But always on Deli Rye. MMMmmmmm goooood!