Week 4: Tobacco and Hot Drinks

Hi all,

We meet every Sunday after church!

This last week (since most of you missed it), we covered verses 8-9:

8: And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.

9: And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.

God created everything for a purpose (Moses 3:5,7), and tobacco and hot drinks fall into that category of everything. The nicotine in tobacco is lethal to parasites often found in livestock and other plants. Thus, as we see in verse 8, tobacco has its place; that place is not in our bodies.

Verse 9 has been interpreted in many ways in the many years since its initial revelation. However, the interpretation has never strayed from its original: hot drinks refer to tea and coffee. In 1972, amidst disagreement about its interpretation, the First Presidency under Joseph Fielding Smith said we should avoid any beverage that had harmful substances in it. More recently, we have been counseled by Elder Kiser that "we would be wise" to avoid consuming stimulants.

There may be debate as to the exact meaning of verses such as 9. However, we should also observe that there are many substances (heroine, cocaine, cannabis, and methamphetamines as a short list) which are not explicitly noted in the Word of Wisdom. As a matter of fact, many of your goals focus on healthy habits which aren't explicitly stated. We should use the Spirit to guide us in our interpretation of what we our Heavenly Father would have us do.

When in doubt about the importance of the Word of Wisdom, or the relevance of verses such as 8-9, don't forget the wisdom imparted Doctrine and Covenants Section 29:

34: Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.

35: Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual.

I encourage everyone to rededicate yourselves to your goals and reinvigorate yourself to the study of the Word of Wisdom. I pray that each of us will exit this challenge with a better understanding of the love and omnipotence of our Father in Heaven and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Best of luck with your challenge this upcoming week, and as always, let us know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Week 3: Strong Drink

Hey y'all!

I'm sorry we didn't get to have our devotional in person this week because of Break the Fast, but here's what we would have talked about.

Section 89 versus 5-7 says:

 5 That inasmuch as any man a drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.

 6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, a pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.

 7 And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.

Of course everyone knows that this means alcoholic drinks are not good for the body. It states very specifically that we should not put them in our "bellies."

But keep in mind it's not only because these substances are harmful to us, but also because they alter our state of mind and take away our ability to choose.

God has promised us that if we keep our bodies pure by only putting in things that are good for it, great physical and spiritual blessings will come to us.

Week 2: A Principle with a Promise

Hi all!

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to our meeting this week! It was exciting to hear how much progress everyone is already making, and how we're adapting our goals to what we're able to do.

Jim gave our devotional about verses 3-4 of the Word of Wisdom:

3: Given for a principle with a promise, and adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.

4: Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by reveltion--

He pointed out the importance of verse three: it means that the Lord gave us this commandment knowing that it was something we could all accomplish. This is such an encouragement for us as we go about our goals. Because we know that the things we are trying to improve about ourselves are sanctioned by the Lord, we know we have His support with us. We need to feel defeated or discouraged since we are following our God.

In verse four, Jim pointed out how important it is that this command is given as a warning. Even if we don't know the reasons behind all of the things in the revelation, we know that it was given unto us to protect us.

As we continue our study of this Word of Wisdom, I hope we can continue to apply its principles to our lives.

Remember that if you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to post a comment. Also, check out the helpful links to the right.

Don't forget to track your progress before Sunday above!

See you next Sunday after church!

Ashley Michnick

Week 1: History and Introduction

Hi all!

We're so excited you've all decided to join us on this journey! First, a few items of business:

• To the right, you'll find a section dedicated to helpful resources and links. We encourage everyone to check them out!
• We established our goals this week, so check out the section to the right in case you forget!
• Don't forget to track your progress each week using the link at the end of the Goal List!

 Below you'll find the devotional we presented on 16 February. We look forward to hearing your comments, questions, and tips!

1 A ^aWord of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion—

 2 To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the ^aword of wisdom, showing forth the order and ^bwill of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—

History—“This is a Word of Wisdom”

     While the saints were in Kirtland, many men were called to go out and preach. To help prepare these men, Prophet Joseph established a training school called “School of the Prophets” in 1833. Since it took place right after breakfast, all the men would gather in this tiny room above the Newel K. Whitney store and light pipes. The smoke was so thick, Brigham Young recounted that you could hardly see Joseph when he was talking. When they were done with their pipes, they would start chewing tobacco and spit it all over the floor. It seemed a little contradictory for the Prophet to be teaching about becoming holy and clean, while they were so physically dirty.

      This came at a transition culturally. By 1900, people would have begun to bathe regularly and start caring about personal hygiene. The word of wisdom came to give guidance from God about how the saints should be adapting to this change.

·                    Pushed by his wife, Emma (who had to clean the place up), Joseph enquired of the Lord and received the revelation in D&C 89.

Not by Commandment or Constraints

   When it was first revealed, it would take time to quit all of these habits. The church historical society states that two generations went by before the Saints were expected to fully live up to the LAW of the word of wisdom.

        Prophet Heber J. Grant in 1921 received the revelation from God that all saints should live up to that standard now.

    March’s Ensign has great suggestions that we can do to live more healthily using the WoW (p15-17):

o   Establish good sleeping habits—D&C 88:124 says “cease to be idle…cease to sleep longer than is needful, retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.”

§  Helps us avoid the use of addictive and harmful substances that are designed to keep us awake when God designed our bodies to tell us when we need to sleep

o   Good health doesn’t just mean NOT putting bad things into your body, it also means PUTTING GOOD THINGS IN

§  This includes activities that allow your body to function optimally

o   Find creative ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into your life

§  Someone submitted that they began eating green smoothies and have so much more energy

o   Exercising can help you realize and reach your full potential

§  Someone submitted that exercising makes you realize all that your body can do and helps you realize the importance of keeping it strong to accomplish everything God made us to do

o   Develop an understanding of the relationship between body and spirit

§  The Word of Wisdom demonstrates the sacred relationship and balance between actively doing right and actively avoiding wrong. God has demonstrated to us that what we do to our bodies has a very real effect on our spirits eternally

o   Blessings of increased self confidence and self control

§  We can do what God asks us, and he won’t just bless us with the immediate bodily benefits. He’ll show us how strong we are and that we really can “put off the natural man.”

    I know that as we strive to apply the Word of Wisdom into our daily lives, both our minds and our spirits will be blessed.

-Ashley Michnick

Building a SMART Goal

Hey y'all

The following will hopefully help you build your goal to optimize success in this program! First come up with a basic goal, eat better, get up earlier, exercise more, whatever you want it to be. Next focus in a bit more on a specific aspect of that goal. For example, eat better: eat more vegetables.

Now we'll make your goal SMART!

Using the same example from above our goal would now look like this. I will eat at least 5 servings of vegetables between both lunch and dinner 5 days a week for 6 weeks.

 But remember to make it attainable!! (the most important aspect of SMART)

The same goal can look like this: I will eat at least 2 servings of vegetables at dinner 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Make sure it's something that's realistic for you. We can talk more about stages of change if you're curious about that part. 

If you're still having trouble coming up with a goal, or making it SMART, feel free to comment below or talk directly to me (Kelsey) and we'll work together! 

Happy goal setting!

Kels

Welcome!

Hi everyone!

We're so excited that you've decided to embark on this challenge with us! Stay tuned for updates, links to helpful resources, and devotionals.

This blog is intended to be a support system for all of us, so feel free to post if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.