The Word of Wisdom: A Modern Interpretation by John A. Widtsoe and Leah D. Widtsoe (1937)

From Books in Word of Wisdom Literature by Jane Birch

See also: “Discovering the Word of Wisdom Pioneers: Elder John A. Widtsoe and Leah Widtsoe” and “Discovering the Word of Wisdom Pioneers: The Widtsoes on Meat”

THE

WORD OF WISDOM

A MODERN INTERPRETATION

BY

JOHN A. WIDTSOE

AND

LEAH D. WIDTSOE

Published by

DESERET BOOK COMPANY

1937

Copyright 1937

By

JOHN A. WIDTSOE

and

LEAH D. WIDTSOE

THE DESERET NEWS PRESS

Printed in the United States of America

TO

PRESIDENT HEBER J. GRANT

Life-long observer, defender and

expounder of the

WORD OF WISDOM

Whose vigor of body and mind at four

score and one years is evidence of the

benefits derived from compliance with

this divinely given code of health

This book is affectionately dedicated.

The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation, p. 5

PREFACE

The Word of Wisdom, a code of health dealing primarily with human nutrition, was promulgated as a divine revelation in 1833 by Joseph Smith, the “Mormon” Prophet. It is a part of the religious system of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which declares that the care of the body is a sacred duty; and it has been practiced measurably by members of the Church with very favorable results.

Three objectives have been kept in mind in the preparation of this book. First, to make clear the meaning of the Word of Wisdom in terms of modern knowledge. Second, to show that the learning of the last century confirms the teachings of the Word of Wisdom. Third, to furnish some information for the guidance, through proper nutrition, of those who seek to retain, improve or recover their health.

The Word of Wisdom is not another food fad, of which there have been thousands in the world’s history. It is a simple, rational dietary system conforming to general human experience and to accurate scientific knowledge; and is an important guide to physical welfare. Those who are well should practice the Word of Wisdom as a prevention of disease. Those who are ill should not only practice the Word of Wisdom, but should also seek professional help from the well-trained and reliable physicians of this day. The recent advances in the science of human nutrition are gradually being included in the curricula of medical schools; and the medical profession is aware as never before of the importance of proper nutrition in the maintenance of health and the curing of disease.

More than a generation ago the authors of this book sought out and studied with the world’s leaders in the sciences underlying nutrition, and have been connected at various times since then with the scientific and practical aspects of the subject. Out of this life-long, intimate association with the Word of Wisdom and the sciences back of it have come two main convictions: that this health code promotes human welfare; and that the full accord of the Word of Wisdom with advancing science is a convincing evidence of the divine inspiration of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

The books listed at the end of each chapter offer opportunities for more detailed study of the subjects herein discussed as parts of the Word of Wisdom.

Latter-day Saints and all others would do well to acquaint themselves with the truths, positive and negative, taught and implied in the Word of Wisdom, and to practice its precepts so that disease may be prevented. Thereby they would win the fundamentals of life’s happiness.

Grateful acknowledgment is made of the assistance rendered by many friends in the preparation of this book. Elders Joseph Fielding Smith, Joseph F. Merrill, Charles A. Callis and Albert E. Bowen of the Council of Twelve, and Prof. N. I. Butt and Dr. Vasco M. Tanner of the Brigham Young University, and Richard L. Evans, of the Improvement Era, have read the manuscript and given valuable suggestions. James H. Wallis, Glyn Bennion and Hugo D. E. Peterson have given much assistance in the proof-reading of the book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface [p. 5]

1—The Word of Wisdom [p. 11]

Introduction—Negative Health Factors— Positive Health Factors—Rewards.

2—Need of Health Information [p. 14]

Present Health Conditions—Poor Nutrition as a Cause—Health Among the Latter-day Saints—Why Not Better Latter-day Saint Health?—Cumulative Effects—Economics of Health.

3—”The Order and Will of God” [p. 24]

Historical—A Law of the Church—A Principle with a Promise—Adapted to the Capacity of the Weak.

4—”Evils and Designs” [p. 31]

A Word of Warning—The Progress of Fraud— Adulterations—False Advertising—Making Use of Fads—Refined Foods—Conspiring Men with Evils and Designs.

5—Alcohol [p. 42]

Historical—Consumption of Alcohol—Is Alcohol a Food?—Temperate Use of Alcohol—Alcohol and the Mental Facilities—Alcohol and Physical Fitness—Alcohol and Disease—Alcohol and Society—Alcohol as a Racial Poison—The Indictment Against Alcohol —An Official Verdict—What to Do?—Wine for the Sacrament—The Word of Wisdom Confirmed.

6—Tobacco [p. 63]

Historical—Financial Cost—Effects on the Body— Effects on the Mind—Moral and Social Effects—Personal Opinions—Effects on Girls and Women—Tobacco and the Creative Gift—General Conclusions— Curing the Tobacco Habit—Proper Uses of Tobacco —A Word of Warning.

7—Hot Drinks [p. 85]

The Meaning of “Hot Drinks”—Historical—Economics of Hot Drinks—Composition of Coffee and Tea—Effects Upon the Body and Mind—Other Stimulating Beverages—Cocoa and Chocolate—Theophylline—Curing the Caffeine Habit—Avoid “Hot Drinks” —A Common Question.

8—Food Constituents [p. 103]

Positive Instructions—Scientific Confirmation—Necessity of Proof—Functions of Food—The Six Groups of Food Constituents.

9—”Out of the Ground” [p. 110]

“Dust Thou Art”—Composition of the Body—Effect of Soil Upon Plant Composition—Necessary Minerals in Food—Minerals and Body Functions—Minerals and Psychological Attitudes—Shortage of Minerals— Source of Minerals—Daily Supply of Minerals—The Minerals Most Lacking—The Teeth as an Index—Acid and Alkaline Foods.

10—”All Wholesome Herbs” [p. 126]

Definition of “Herbs”—Composition of Vegetables and Fruits—The Provident Earth—Variety Necessary—Live and Learn—Cooking of Vegetables—Roughage in Vegetables—The Question of Fat—Vegetarianism —The Word of Wisdom Confirmed.

11—”In the Season Thereof” [p. 138]

The Lesson of History—Vitamins—Vitamin A— Vitamin B or Bi—Vitamin C—Vitamin D—Vitamin E—Vitamin G—Vitamin Content of Foods—Canning and Drying—Foods Without Vitamins—Foods Rich in Vitamins—Vitamin Shortage—Food for Infants— Diet for Invalids—A Prophet’s Inspiration.

12—Grains [p. 174]

Use of Grain—Composition of Grains—All Grains are Good Food—Breakfast Cereals—Starch and Sugar in the Diet—Sugar as Food—The Word of Wisdom Confirmed.

13—”Wheat for Man” [p. 184]

Wheat, Man’s Staff of Life—Structure of the Wheat Kernel—Why Wheat is Milled—The Value of White Bread—Hot Breads—The Value of Whole Wheat Bread—An Experiment with Whole Wheat—Diets of “Nature People.”

14—”Corn for the Ox” [p. 199]

Food for Animals—Varying Composition of Food Stuffs—Physiological Effects of Different Rations— Corn for the Ox—Conclusion—Application to Human Beings.

15—”Meat . . . . Sparingly” [p. 206]

Building Foods or “Proteins”—Animal Protein— Vegetable Protein—Meat as Food—How Much Protein is Necessary?—Economy in Meat Eating— Carnivorous Men and Beasts—A Comparison—In Times of Famine and Cold—The Word of Wisdom Confirmed.

16—Healthful Drinks [p. 219]

Definition—Water and Health—Vegetable Juices— Fruit Juices—The Cocktail Habit—Grain Drinks- Milk and Egg Drinks—Herb Infusions—Names for Health Drinks—Ciders and Root Beers—Soda Pops— Chemical Flavors and Colorings.

17—”Prudence and Thanksgiving” [p. 229]

Wisdom and Health—Prudence—Thanksgiving— Work—Rest—A Sound Religious Philosophy—The Future and Prudence.

18—Rewards [p. 235]

Kinds of Rewards — Vigor of Body — Protection Against Disease—Knowledge and Wisdom—Morality—Spiritual Gains—The Rewards Fail Not.

19—Conclusion [p. 246]

The Word of Wisdom Summarized—Supplementary Rules—Need of the Word of Wisdom—Effect on Coming Generations—Benefits of the Word of Wisdom—Self Correction—Evidence of Inspiration—Finale.

Index [p. 251]

ILLUSTRATIONS

Effect of Food on Growth and Health [p. 17] A Word of Wisdom Resolution of 1834 [p. 24] Drawings Made at Different Intervals after Drinking Beer [p. 48] Crime and Drunkenness [p. 54] Alcohol and Traffic Deaths [p. 55] Effects of Tobacco on Heart Action [p. 71] Definition of “Hot Drinks” by the Patriarch, Hyrum Smith [p. 86] Effect of Caffeine on the Nervous System [p. 94] Effect of Caffeine on Heart Action [p. 95] Influence of Calcium on Growth and Bone Development [p. 117] Effect of an Inadequate Ration on Reproduction [p. 120] Effect of an Adequate Ration on Reproduction [p. 121] Effect of Vitamin A [p. 143] Effect of Vitamin A [p. 144] Effect of Vitamin A [p. 145] Effect of Vitamin B [p. 146] Effect of Vitamin B [p. 147] Effect of Vitamin C [p. 152] Effect of Vitamin C [p. 153] Vitamin D and Rickets [p. 155] Effect of Sunlight on Growth [p. 157] Effect of Vitamin E [p. 159] Effect of Vitamin G [p. 160] Effect of Vitamin G [p. 161] Growth Due to Milk [p. 169] Excessive Carbohydrates in Diet [p. 178] Structure of a Wheat Kernel [p. 186] Wheat Fed Cow with Calf [p. 202] Corn Fed Cow with Calf [p. 203] Comparative Death Rates for America and the Latter-day Saints [p. 237]

The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation, p. 11

Chapter 1

THE WORD OF WISDOM

A revelation given through Joseph Smith, the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, February 27, 1833 [fn1] (see chapter 3).

I. Introduction [fn2] (see chapters 2 to 4)

1. A Word 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 word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days–

3. Given for a principle with promise, 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 revelation–

II. Negative Health Factors (see chapters 5 to 7)

5. That inasmuch as any man 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, 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.

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.

III. Positive Health Factors (see chps 9 to 16)

10. And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man-

11. Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.

12. Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;

13. And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.

14. All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;

15. And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.

16. All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground–

17. Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.

IV. Rewards (see chapters 2 and 18)

18. 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;

19. And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;

20. And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.

21. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

Footnotes

1. Doctrine and Covenants Section 89.

2. Division headings I, II, III, IV, ours.

The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation, p. 14

Chapter 2

NEED OF HEALTH INFORMATION

“All things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; yea for food and raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.” [fn1]

Present Health Conditions. The preservation of human health has not been forgotten by the scientific explorers of the present day. Now as never before the conditions that determine health and disease are understood. The length of human life has been extended, and information is available for maintaining health while life lasts.

Nevertheless, while science has conquered many a dread disease, the death rates from others are rising. Before them, at present, humanity stands powerless. Infectious diseases are diminishing; chronic or degenerative diseases are increasing. The death rate in infancy is decreasing, but the death rate in later life is increasing. Cancer, heart disease, stomach ulcers, and diabetes are increasing in civilized countries at an alarming rate. The rich and educated are as susceptible as those whose finances demand a low output for food.

AVERAGE DEATH RATES FROM FIVE CAUSES IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PER 100,000 OF POPULATION–1900-1934 [fn2]

1900-04 1910-14 1920-24 1930-34 Typhoid ……………………………….. 26.7 14.0 4.2 1.7 Tuberculosis ………………………… 162.2 127.5 80.5 53.6 Cancer …………………………………. 67.5 86.2 103.6 118.5 Diabetes Mellitus ………………….. 12.2 18.2 21.4 25.5 Diseases of the Heart…………….. 47.4 82.9 207.5 244.5

The preceding table confirms these statements. In the United States of America, from 1900 to 1934, the deaths from typhoid and tuberculosis have been steadily decreasing, while deaths from cancer, diabetes and heart diseases have been as steadily increasing. This is one of the most serious problems confronting the civilized world.

Poor Nutrition as a Cause. This condition is the effect of many causes. One of the most potent is the failure to observe the recent findings of science in the field of nutrition; for as we eat so is the composition of the blood stream, the nature-provided healing agent of the body. The world could with much profit consider its dietary habits and mistakes.

While the science of foods in its relation to health and disease may be said to be in its infancy, yet, in laboratories over the world, it is advancing, and enough truth has been discovered to make everyone conscious of the relation which exists between daily food and the health enjoyed or the ill health that follows broken laws.

Some of the most prominent workers in this field hold that the American diet as a whole, as well as that of most civilized nations today, is not as wholesome as it was two generations ago. Too much of the modern food supply comes from tin cans or packages, for often women as well as men work in factories and offices, and the can opener is coming to be the most used kitchen implement. Certain classes of our so-called civilized people, who in this “machine age” are industrially rather than agriculturally minded, have come to subsist in large measure upon a diet of soft, highly refined and concentrated foods, a diet which is often predominantly acid-forming, lacking in fiber or residue and poor in mineral salts and vitamins. A typical modern diet of meat, white bread, refined cereals, potatoes and sweets, crowding milk, fruits and vegetables to a minimum, is especially likely to be deficient in calcium (and other minerals), roughage and vitamins. The results are unquestionably bad.

Constipation has become a “national complaint”, while colitis, appendicitis, poor bone development and tooth decay and the more serious diseases already mentioned are increasing. Underweight (or overweight), nervous irritability, poor digestion, general weakness and lowered vitality are regarded to be other signs of malnourished tissues which are becoming more frequent due to unbalanced food and other imperfect health habits.

The question is not wholly one of length of life, but one as well of good health while life endures. Undoubtedly, the ill effects to be expected from wrong dietetic habits reduce the joy of living and drive many to the use of artificial, injurious stimulants.

“A report on diets in the Proceedings of the Mayo Clinic (Barborka) of August, 1931, states that ‘the American diet contains a large proportion of concentrated foods low in vitamins, residue and alkaline minerals, and high in carbohydrates and acid minerals. Such a diet lacking certain protective foods, a term applied to milk, eggs and fresh leafy vegetables, conduces to an early advent of degenerative diseases. Not only is this true, but diet each day bears evidence of its immediate influence on the emotions and nature of individuals.'” [fn3]

On the other hand there is some improvement, for the use of more milk, vegetables and fruits is now being encouraged. An increased consumption of citrus fruits is being made possible by improved transportation facilities. Yet there remains too much underweight and illness among children, with overweight, frequent colds and other illnesses among adults. The campaign for good health must not be relaxed.

There is a growing concensus of belief among professional as well as lay members of society that faulty nutrition is a contributing factor in many of the diseases that plague civilization. It has come to be believed that degenerative diseases do not attack healthy tissues. That is, predisposing conditions precede disease. The problem of health then becomes a matter of prevention by keeping the bloodstream, the natural health-provoking agent of the body, of the correct composition. This implies the intake of suitable food as a major factor of health. Reliable observations indicate that the prevention of cancer may possibly be found through a more natural diet, such as is set forth in the Word of Wisdom. Dr. Hindhede, famous nutritionist of Denmark, in a careful study of this subject concludes that:

“The most frequent and dangerous form of cancer, that of the stomach and alimentary canal, may be due to a wrong diet, which irritates the muccus membrane, leads to catarrh and possibly later to cancer . . . the use of vegetables instead of meat, of natural instead of refined food reduces the chances of stomach and intestinal cancer.” [fn4]

It is a notable, well-attested observation that primitive peoples are largely freed from the diseases that trouble civilized man most. These matters are being subjected to the scrutiny of science and as new light comes the prejudices and superstitions of the past will be overcome.

Health Among the Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had since 1833 a health code called the Word of Wisdom, dealing primarily with nutrition. Alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee are to be eschewed, meat is to be eaten sparingly, and grains, fruits and vegetables are to be used liberally. Many members of the Church have obeyed, in part at least, the injunctions of this health code. Even the partial observance of the Word of Wisdom has affected notably and favorably the comparative health status of the Latter-day Saints, as indicated by the following table.

COMPARATIVE DEATH RATES PER 100,000 (1926-1927)

Six Nations[fn5] Latter-day Saints[fn6] Tuberculosis………………………………………………………………. 120 9 Cancer………………………………………………………………………. 119 47 Diseases of the Nervous System…………………………………… 123 52 Diseases of the Circulatory System (heart)……………………. 196 115 Diseases of the Respiratory System (pneumonia)………….. 167 105 Diseases of the Digestive System…………………………………. 73 56 Kidney and Kindred Diseases (Nephritis)…………………….. 44 23 Maternity (per 1,000 births)……………………………………….. 45 10

It is seen at a glance that the health rating of the Latter-day Saints far exceeds that of the nations listed.

Excellent as it is, it is none too good considering the possibilities of good health offered by the Word of Wisdom. Moreover it must be observed that Latter-day Saint vital statistics indicate danger signals that should be heeded. Deaths from typhoid and tuberculosis have been reduced greatly since 1914, when full vital records were first made by the Church, but the death rate from diabetes has decreased only slightly, and cancer and heart diseases have definitely increased. These statements are confirmed by the data of the following table:

AVERAGE DEATH RATE FROM FIVE CAUSES AMONG THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS, PER 100,000 OF POPULATION– 1914-1934 [fn7]

1914-16 1924-26 1932-34 Typhoid ……………………………………….. 13.4 6.4 2.2 Tuberculosis …………………………………. 11.6 9.1 7.0 Cancer …………………………………………. 31.3 40.9 49.8 Diabetes Mellitus ………………………….. 11.6 9.2 8.2 Diseases of the Heart …………………….. 82.4 80.6 113.3

Why Not Better Latter-day Saint Health? The environment of the majority of the Latter-day Saints is favorable. Many live in mountain valleys where the climate is invigorating, the water pure, and in the larger centers the care of conscientious medical men and Boards of Health is available. In addition they possess a religion or life philosophy which not only answers the deep questions of life and keeps them spiritually active, but which also tends to make them socially equal and economically secure– all of which make for contentment in life and peace with men and God. Such a condition of mind is always conducive to physical health and well-being. It may be asked, however, why, under such a healthful environment, the percentage of deaths from the diseases enumerated should be even as high as shown in the above table. The answer is obvious: It is evident that the people of the Church are not observing fully all the factors of health as given in the Word of Wisdom, else they would have an even greater immunity from all diseases.

Since the diseases which take most lives among the Latter-day Saints have distinct nutritional relationships, it is safe to conclude that the dietary life habits of the people are at least partly at fault. One can not say that to refrain from smoking and from drinking tea, coffee or alcohol is to keep fully the Word of Wisdom. That is a big step toward maintaining health but it is not full obedience to the law. The many “do’s” in the inspired document are as important as the “don’t’s”. Unquestionably, the Word of Wisdom is not lived completely or the people would receive a greater fullness of the promised reward– a long life of physical health, while the destroying angel of sickness and death would pass by and not slay them.

Cumulative Effects. It must not be overlooked that the mistakes of living have a cumulative effect. Daily errors may not be noticed at the time they are committed but they finally break down the resistance of the body and allow disease to take possession. The errors of youth must often be paid for in later years. Therefore, those who have disobeyed the laws of health in childhood and youth, whether ignorantly or wilfully, must seek with redoubled care, to preserve their health during maturity. Likewise, to make most certain of a joyous life, obedience to the laws of health must begin in the earliest years and continue throughout life. Men may break the laws of health for years yet seem to feel no ill effects, but sooner or later the penalty must be paid by them and too often by their progeny. Nature has no favorites.

It is understood that human appetites are tyrants and difficult to vanquish. That to which the taste is accustomed creates an imperative desire. Therefore, many fail to observe any substantial portion of the Word of Wisdom, and others observe it only in part. There can be no progress except as the will is directed towards obedience to law. The results already attained, as shown in the preceding table, and in chapter 18, indicate that greater health may be secured by observing this divine law.

Economics of Health. The economic side of this problem must also be kept in view. Men in indifferent health cannot work as efficiently as those who are in full possession of their powers. The equivalent of billions of dollars is lost annually because men and women are not able to work or to do their work well. When the loss to the country from every premature death is added, the total is increased greatly. Aside from such losses, the actual cost of caring for the sick is enormous. The Committee on the Costs of Medical Care in 1932 reports that the United States spent in that year $3,600,000,000 for medical and dental care, more than was spent for recreation or education. fn

To these losses must be added the actual waste of money, running into billions of dollars, when things injurious to the body such as alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea are bought. Add together the monetary equivalent of the loss of man power due to ill health and premature death, the cost of caring for the sick, and the money wasted for substances not only useless but injurious to the body, and a staggering total is reached. The national debt could be wiped off quickly if the laws of health were fully understood and obeyed. This economic phase of the Word of Wisdom has been repeatedly stated by President Grant in public and private addresses. For example:

“I believe that if every dollar of money that is expended in Utah for liquor and for beer, tea, coffee and tobacco, were saved, Utah would need no help from the United States government to take care of the poor, but that peace, prosperity, happiness and abundance would be given to the people of our fair state, and of every other state in the Union. If in addition we observed the suggestion by the Lord, which is a very wise one, that once a month we refrain from eating two meals, which would be physically beneficial to every living soul, and give the equivalent to help those who are poor it would go far towards solving our financial problems.” [fn9]

A close and careful study of the Word of Wisdom in the light of the modern knowledge of nutrition– really the study of health maintenance and resistance to disease– is of prime importance, and should engage the thoughtful attention of all people, especially of those responsible in the home for the food supply. Knowledge and the use of knowledge give health and power.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Dublin and Lotka, Length of Life, 1936.

Fisher, I., and Fisk, E. L., How to Live, 1931.

Lane, Sir W. A., The Prevention of Diseases Peculiar to Civilization, 1929.

Lane, Sir W. A., Blazing the Health Trail, 1929.

Lane, Sir W. A., Secrets of Good Health, 1928.

League of Nations, International Health Year Book, 1928.

Nethersole, O., The Importance of Diet in Relation to Health, 1926.

U. S. Health Service Publications.

Footnotes

1. Doctrine and Covenants 59:18, 19.

2. Based upon the reports of the Bureau of the Census, for the registration states of 1900.

3. Ullmann, E. V., Diet in Sinus Infections and Colds, 1934, p. 15.

4. Hindhede M., Kraeft og Diaet, II, 1936, p. 35.

5. Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, United States, from International Health Year Book, League of Nations, 1929.

6. Gathered by the Presiding Bishopric of the Church.

7. Compiled from records in the office of the Presiding Bishopric.

8. Fortune, October, 1936, p. 221.

9. General Conference Report, October, 1935, p. 9.

The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation, p. 24

Chapter 3

“THE ORDER AND WILL OF GOD”

“A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion– to be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days– given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.” [fn1]

Historical. The revelation known as the Word of Wisdom was received by the Prophet Joseph Smith on February 27, 1833, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not quite three years old. The young Prophet had received revelations from time to time, as occasion demanded, for the building and guidance of the Church that he had been commissioned to restore.

According to the custom of the day, a number of the early converts to the Church were users of tobacco. In fact, several who had been called into the higher councils of the Church had the tobacco habit. Some were accustomed also to the use of alcoholic beverages, chiefly such as were brewed by the people of the “pioneer fringe”. There was little or no drunkenness. Coffee and tea were favorite family drinks when they could be secured. In the use of alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee the early Church members were much like their pioneer neighbors, perhaps more temperate.

These habits did not seem to the Prophet to comport with the sacred nature of the work entrusted to and accepted by the Church. Especially did it seem out of keeping with the spirit of the occasion to have the odor of tobacco in the council rooms of the Priesthood. This was aggravated when, as occasionally happened, a tobacco chewer brought his “cud” into the council chamber. That explains the reference to the “council of high priests” in verse one of the revelation. It was the use of tobacco by this body of Priesthood that brought the matter to a head.

The practice of the Prophet was to lay before the Lord all questions that arose, and await answers. Such an appeal was made with respect to tobacco, and in due time the revelation called the Word of Wisdom was received. The inquiry may have been confined to tobacco; the response covered the whole field of food and drink. It was often so. A simple question was the beginning of a vast unfolding of truth.

While the inquiry was occasioned by experiences among the “council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland” and the answer directed in part to them, the revelation was also for “the church and the saints in Zion” and “all saints, who are or can be called saints,” that is, for the Church everywhere. It was so interpreted by Joseph Smith and has been so taught by his successors.

A Law of the Church. The words, “to be sent greeting, not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God”, have led to much discussion, chiefly by those who do not conform in their habits to the principles laid down in the Word of Wisdom.

Mankind is never compelled or “constrained” to accept or obey the words that come from the Lord. Man’s free agency should ever be respected. That is the fundamental principle of human action; it is stated or implied in every divine communication. In the Word of Wisdom it is but stated more boldly. Even when the Lord says, “I command”, it is a statement of cause and effect. Unless obedience is yielded, certain rewards are forfeited.

Moreover, this forthright statement was a protection to Joseph Smith. The Word of Wisdom enters into personal daily habits, always difficult to change. The Lord was supposed in those days, as frequently in our day, to confine Himself to spiritual matters. It might have been thought by those weak in the faith that Joseph’s personal predilections lay at the bottom of the new order, and that he was using his high office in the Church to interfere (command and constrain) with matters that were beyond his jurisdiction. As far as he was concerned, it was “to be sent greeting”, as are all the commandments of the Lord.

The words that follow clear up the question fully. It was given “by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and the will of God.” It came by “revelation” and not because of the likes or dislikes of the Prophet. Whatever is “the will of God”, men are required to do, if they wish full salvation. The Word of Wisdom is the will of God, hence binding upon all who desire to show full obedience to the principles of the plan of the Lord for human welfare. God’s human children may accept or reject the truths of the Word of Wisdom– it is their privilege– but they lose by disobedience the blessings promised the obedient.

Whether the Word of Wisdom is a law of the Church or merely a kindly suggestion was discussed soon after the revelation was received. The history of the Church shows clearly that it has been regarded as a law by all of the sustained leaders of the Church. In the early days of the church, men were suspended from office because they were breakers of the Word of Wisdom; others were excommunicated because of continued disregard of the Lord’s law of health. [fn2] At a High Council meeting held on February 20, 1834, under the presidency of Joseph Smith, Orson Hyde and Oliver Cowdery being clerks, it was decided that “No official member is worthy to hold an office after having the Word of Wisdom properly taught him and he, the official member, neglecting to comply with or obey.” [fn3] On April 8, 1838, President Joseph Smith, Jr. spoke on the Word of Wisdom, giving the reason for its coming forth, saying it should be observed. fn At a general meeting of the Church, called by the First Presidency, held at Far West on May 28th, 1837, at which were present representatives of the Apostles, Seventies, and Presiding Bishopric, was enacted a resolution which reads:

“Resolved unanimously that we will not fellowship any ordained member who will not, or does not, observe the Word of Wisdom according to its literal reading.” [fn2]

President Brigham Young said,

“I know that some say it [the Word of Wisdom] is not given by way of commandment. Very well, but we are commanded to observe every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. . . . I now again request the authorities of this church . . . to sever from this society those who will not cease getting drunk.” [fn5]

At the October, 1937, General Conference, President Heber J. Grant spoke as follows:

“We expect all the General Officers of the Church, each and every one of them, from this very day, to be absolute, full-tithepayers, to really and truly observe the Word of Wisdom; and we ask all of the officers of the Church and all members of the General Boards, and all Stake and Ward officers, if they are not living the Gospel and honestly and conscientiously paying their tithing, to kindly step aside, unless from this day they live up to these provisions.

“No Latter-day Saint is entitled to anything that is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord, and the Word of Wisdom is the mind and the will of the Lord.” [fn6]

A Principle with a Promise. In common with all other laws of the Lord, obedience to the Word of Wisdom brings certain rewards. It is for the “benefit” of the people.

Special reference is made in verse two to the value of this law in the “temporal salvation of all saints in the last days”. Clearly, a healthy body permits a person to perform his “temporal” labors more effectively. Moreover, in these days of keen competition, the man who complies with the Word of Wisdom, and thereby wins greater physical stamina, and saves the money others expend for alcohol, tobacco, and habit-forming drinks, has a decided “temporal” advantage. (see chapters 2 and 18)

President Heber J. Grant said in the General Conference of the Church in October, 1933:

“Do you want to know how to obtain temporal salvation? Not only the Latter-day Saints, but all the world would have the solution of that problem if there were no tea, coffee, liquor nor tobacco used in the world. Peace, prosperity and happiness would come to the entire world.” [fn7]

Adapted to the Capacity of the Weak. Conformity to the Word of Wisdom brings quick results in improved health of body and in increased spiritual power. It should not therefore be difficult to obey.

Bad habits are persistent enemies. Those of the body clamor for attention; yet once overcome they remain silent. Conquest of self may always be accomplished if the will is born of strong enough desire. The training of the will is the beginning of personal power; and such training is always initiated by sincere, continuous desire.

Obedience to the positive aspects of the Word of Wisdom have the effect of increasing bodily health, thereby reducing the taste for the things warned against in the negative division. Thus there lies within the Word of Wisdom itself the means of full obedience to it. It may be that in some such sense the Word of Wisdom is adapted “to the capacity of the weak and the weakest”.

However, there is a larger view. The successful life is ever training its will in obedience to principles of truth. These principles are of a temporal and a spiritual nature. In the last analysis spiritual laws are more difficult to obey than temporal ones, but the blessings enjoyed are increasingly greater. In that sense the Word of Wisdom is adapted to the capacity of the weakest of all saints, “who can be called saints”. A person who cannot obey a temporal law, such as the Word of Wisdom, seldom can obey spiritual laws, which reach more profoundly into the nature of man. That is, those who are living the high spiritual laws of the Gospel, true saints, must have achieved sufficient desire and power of will to obey the temporal commandment known as the Word of Wisdom. Unless they have done so, the spiritual integrity of such persons may be called into question.

Footnotes

1. Doctrine and Covenants 89:1-3.

2. History of the Church, Vol. II, p. 482.

3. History of the Church, Vol. II, pp. 34-35.

4. Far West Record, p. 111.

5. Discourses, pp. 283-284.

6. Improvement Era, Vol. 40, p. 665.

7. Conference Report, October, 1933, p. 9.

The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation, p. 31

Chapter 4

“EVILS AND DESIGNS”

“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 revelation– ” [fn1]

A Word of Warning. The special reason for giving the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom is set forth in the above quotation. Due to evil-minded persons, mankind may be led away from the natural mode of living which insures good health and happiness. That is, innocent persons may often be misled by those of evil designs to do things injurious to health. The Word of Wisdom is therefore a warning as well as a guide. This is of especial importance in our day.

The Progress of Fraud. Fraud and deceit have been practiced since the beginning of history. The ancient Egyptians bought expensive hair restorers made chiefly of date refuse; and we of this day pay a ten-fold price for flavored chalk labeled fancifully as a magic tooth powder. Brass has been called gold; glass has been sold as diamonds; and poison has been hawked as excellent food. The story of fraud throughout the ages forms an ugly chapter of human history.

Those who practice fraud are evil-minded, a menace to society, whose subtle designs are against the welfare of their fellowmen. Without hesitation they deliberately and knowingly sacrifice others to secure their own purposes. They are impelled by insatiable, merciless selfishness and greed. Avarice is their god. They gloat over their profits as their dupes lose money, health and often life. They frequently “conspire” together to accomplish their “designs”. They are many times more dangerous than the open enemy.

In earlier days the methods of fraud were simple, often crude. Knowledge was limited, and the people were not generally enlightened. The appeal was often to ignorance and superstition. In this latest day of advancing science when men are more generally educated, fraud has been compelled to employ more refined methods. Fraud now uses the best knowledge of the day, and clothes its wolfish nature with a lamblike vesture of apparent truth, therefore its dangers have been multiplied in recent years.

Many observing men have recognized this evergrowing evil. As early as 1879, a bill was introduced in the United States Congress to protect the public against food and drug adulteration, but it was defeated through the efforts of the powerful combinations of men whose financial interests were involved. Repeatedly, the bill was introduced and rejected. Not until 1906 did it become law, and legal weapons secured to control partially the monstrous evil of fraud. Since that time fraud has been concerned, often successfully, in circumventing the law. Attempts to secure legislation to improve and strengthen the law have so far failed. So-called “pressure groups” are well organized and ever alert to protect those whose finances are involved, while the consumers are unorganized and unprotected. [fn2] Pure food and drug laws have been passed within the last generation by most civilized countries; but the difficulties encountered there are much like those of the United States. Fraud continues to prosper exceedingly.

At times, informed groups of private citizens have taken up arms against fraudulent offerings and advertising. Such helps to the efforts of the Government and the resulting publicity have checked temporarily this or that violation of the law, but another crop of frauds under other disguises has soon followed and flourished until the organization of another reform campaign.

The warning against fraud, particularly with reference to the materials mentioned in the Word of Wisdom, is greatly needed today, when wicked men have at their command the resources of science and the glare of modern advertising with which to connive against the welfare of man.

Adulterations. With the advent of new knowledge, the means of adulteration have been multiplied, and a great variety of dishonest commodities, many injurious, now appear on the market.

Formerly, simple forms of adulteration were common. White, inert matter, gypsum perhaps, was added to flour, or potatoes were soaked in water, to increase weight, or water was added to milk to increase the volume. Today, such easily detected attempts at deceit are seldom made. More subtle adulterations, much more difficult to trace, are now employed. An elusive chemical adulterates Jamaica ginger; olive oil is blended with a cheaper oil and offered as pure olive oil; a gelatin consists largely of glue; glucose is mixed with a trifle of honey and sold as pure honey; “maple syrup” is often chiefly a solution of cane or beet sugar artificially colored and flavored; and a strawberry jam may contain an insignificant amount of strawberries.

Another phase of modern food adulteration is the attempt to make an inferior article so attractive in looks that it may be sold at a first-class price. For example, old meat is made to acquire a fresh red color by the use of sodium sulphite, a substance injurious to man; tomato paste made chiefly of materials other than tomatoes is colored and flavored to resemble the real article; canned goods with brilliant labels bear no relationship in price to quality.

A menace to health is the use of preservatives to prevent the decomposition of perishable substances, meats or vegetables. Formaldehyde, salicylic acid and boric acid, injurious to the body, formerly in common use, are now, under legal pressure, seldom used as preservatives; but benzoate of soda and sulphur dioxide gas, banned in some countries, are still employed in America. While the quantity used may be small, yet no doubt it endangers human health; for as one author has aptly said, “Whatever will kill bacterial protoplasm will kill human protoplasm”.

A distorted public taste frequently leads to food treatments of possible danger to the consumer. In answer to utterly foolish demands by the public, the naturally slightly yellow wheat flour is bleached snow white by chlorine, nitrogen trioxide or other distinctly harmful agents; dried fruits, naturally discolored by sun and air in the process of drying, are bleached with sulphur dioxide gas; ketchup and a variety of other condiments and soda water drinks are usually colored with coal-tar dyes, many of which are causes of disease. [fn3] Little of the bleaching or coloring agent may remain in the food or drink, but that which does remain injures health, especially in cases where the effects are cumulative.

It is moral depravity that makes it possible for a manufacturer to place the meats of diseased animals on the market, or to can putrifying materials for public consumption. Yet this is often done, and the unsuspecting purchaser wastes his money and invites disease.

A dangerous variation of food adulteration is the production of candies, gum, crackers and bread mixed with drugs or bacteria, supposed to relieve some disorder of the human body.

An unpremeditated food adulteration is the small deposit of arsenic and lead salts on apples and other fruits that have been sprayed with these substances for the control of orchard pests. Legal regulation has compelled safer and more moderate types of spraying, especially in Europe and some states in America. Meanwhile, all consumers should make it a practice to wash thoroughly all fruit before it is eaten.

It is of course elementary dishonesty more injurious to the purse than to health that leads to selling milk of the same character at different prices by labeling one “Grade A” and the other “Grade B”; or canning or drying inferior meat, fish, eggs or vegetables and selling them as first class articles.

The public should also be informed concerning cosmetics and toilet articles used so extensively by women. Many of these contain dangerous, often poisonous substances, which have led to pitiful injury, even death.

Human suffering beyond computation has followed the various forms of food adulteration above mentioned, and there are hundreds of others. The whole story, written by man’s love of gold, is revolting to the last degree.

A mass of recent literature sets forth the present status and menace to man of food adulteration.

Agencies exist to inform the public on these important matters. Foremost among them are the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., and the American Medical Association, Chicago, Illinois. A letter of inquiry to these agencies regarding any product will bring an honest reply. Support should be given to state and local boards of health which to some degree protect the consumer against frauds in foods. The Consumers’ Research Corporation in Washington, D. C., is also giving good help in the battle against dishonest methods.

The best protection against food fraud is to use natural foods and food products, even though the cost may seem higher.

False Advertising. Governmental supervision is making it more difficult to practice food adulteration. The attention of producers has been directed therefore to methods by which increased sales may be won for their products. Driven by competition, greed and avarice, men have resorted to fraudulent advertising almost as foul as direct adulteration.

By law the label on a bottle, can, or package must show the presence, if any, of an adulterant or injurious substance. To circumvent this requirement and to deceive the public, the notation of the adulterant is often printed in very small letters, sometimes difficult to decipher with normal eyes, while the wholesome ingredients are printed in type so large as to shout from the shelf to the customer. Many an unwary person is led by this device to the use of unwholesome or adulterated foods or drinks.

A more prevalent method of false advertising is to print the truth on the label as required by law, and then on a wrapper to distort the truth by printing all the imaginary properties and virtues of the article in question. The same distorted truths may be told over the radio, for there is no present law to control satisfactorily this means of advertising.

Another method is to print on the package or loaf– of a wheat product for example– that the whole wheat kernel is used, that neither the bran nor the germ (containing the minerals and vitamins) have been removed; but it does not state that in the process of preparation the vitamins have been destroyed. While a part of the truth is told, the deceived purchaser thinks that he is buying a vitamin-rich product.

A contemptible deception is to place false bottoms in containers, making the quantity contained look larger than it really is; or to fill the container so loosely as to have the same effect. Bottles are frequently made with sunken bottoms and sides, thus made to look larger than they really are.

Deceiving titles of probably wholesome food products are commonly employed. A can containing cheap fish is labeled “white meat fish”; a bottle labeled “salad bouquet” contains a cheap kind of vinegar; a peanut spread is a mixture of peanut butter and starch; chicken and noodles are chiefly noodles and water. Such misleading names are used, apparently, in the hope that the purchaser may think the fish to be an expensive variety, the salad bouquet to be cider vinegar, the peanut spread to be true peanut butter, and the can of chicken and noodles to be filled with chicken. A long list of such articles is on the market. This type of fraud, while perhaps not injurious to health, does improperly divert money from the consumer to the producer.

Misinformation concerning food products becomes most dangerous when concerned with the effects upon the body. Producers point out, irrespective of the facts in the case, the virtues of their product in healing disease or maintaining health. Desire for such a perfect product is engendered in the reader. The product becomes popular. The commonest of articles are thus “boosted” by misleading statements. Bread may be advertised to make a person fat or thin; honey to contain elements that practically insure against old age; canned foods to be superior to fresh meats and vegetables; radio-active waters to bring youth back to age; grape juice to supply every element missing in the blood; a weak chocolate, under a fancy name, to banish sleeplessness; alcohol to give joy to life; tobacco to promote digestion and to soothe nerves when great work is to be done; coffee and tea to be less harmful to the body than clear mountain water; an inferior quality to be in reality a superior one. Such deliberately dishonest statements, distorting scientific facts, are spread broadcast over the land by printed page and radio until many people come to believe them.

The means used in this improper propaganda are many. The mails are used widely. Most persons receive unsolicited literature recounting the merits of this or that article of food or drink. Billboard advertising is extensive. The radio and the motion picture are being used more and more. Advertising in newspapers and magazines is, however, the most widely used means of spreading false as well as true propaganda. Indeed, the American advertising bill is enormous. A few years ago it exceeded one billion dollars; today it is no doubt larger. To give a few examples: one food firm spent four million dollars annually for advertising in periodicals; one breakfast food manufacturer alone spent one million dollars; three tobacco firms spent during the first six months of 1937 nearly six millions of dollars in magazine and radio advertising. The money spent for education and medical care is small compared with the vast sum spent for advertising unnecessary or harmful commodities on the modern market. In the end the consumers pay these huge bills.

The statements made in many of these advertisements are misleading or fraudulent, but are within the law. Nevertheless, a manufacturer who stoops to mislead the public cannot expect to be classed with honest men.

Any intelligent person who will sit down for a few hours to study the current advertisements of foods and beverages will discover the fraud that runs through many of them. Only honest advertisers should be patronized. Pressure from advertisers frequently masks the true feelings of periodicals towards fraud.

Making Use of Fads. The rapid increase and dissemination of knowledge have necessarily led to wide public interest in the application of man’s new knowledge to human needs. Nutrition and matters of health have not escaped. The recent accession of facts concerning nutrition has sharpened interest in the relation between food and health, especially in view of the recognition of the fact that the science of nutrition is far from being complete.

Food fads and fancies have therefore multiplied. Some of these rest upon sound knowledge; many of them are worthless and dangerous. Systems proposed for preserving health and lengthening out life are innumerable. Here are some of them: use no meat; eat no vegetables; eat only fruit; pay attention only to vitamins; minerals are the only concern; eat very little, fast a great deal; drink nothing but grape juice; eat salads to reduce, eat salads to grow fat; etc., etc. Dried vegetables are mixed and sold as “mineral broth” at an exorbitant price, while ordinary senna leaves are mixed with other dried leaves, given a fanciful name, and sold as a famous natural laxative. Those engaged in fraud have taken advantage of such situations, and have undertaken advertising propaganda of some food fad for the purpose of popularizing their own products.

This kind of fraud has been and is very harmful, physiologically and economically, to the public at large.

Refined Foods. Modern knowledge has given man the power to refine his foods, until some of them may become very much changed from the natural conditions in which they are found. The common use of such refined, and in most cases concentrated foods, has at times, for want of adequate knowledge, led to injurious results. Occasionally, also, unscrupulous advertising, unmindful of the facts in the case, has increased the possible danger from the unwise use of refined, concentrated food products. (see chapters 12 and 13)

Since these foods are often advertised inaccurately, the subject comes properly under the warning given by the Word of Wisdom as quoted at the head of this chapter. The power of modern man to refine his foods is not an unmixed blessing. Public education and honest advertising are necessary here as elsewhere.

“Conspiring Men with Evils and Designs”. All persons should inform themselves about the practice of fraud in their country. Before purchasing, one should be sure of the value of the article. Those known to be falsely labeled, or misrepresented by advertising, should be shunned as a matter of public service.

The American nation is fast becoming a people who eat out of packages and cans and drink out of bottles, thus furnishing the opportunity for unscrupulous persons to practice fraud upon their fellowmen.

The principles of the Word of Wisdom point securely to the safe and sane way to health through proper nutrition and the use of natural food products, without becoming subject to the attacks of frauds.

In view of the food frauds perpetrated upon the public, compelling legal action and continual supervision, the warning in the Word of Wisdom concerning evil and designing men who will conspire to harm their fellow men, is fully justified. Indeed, it is a prophetic utterance.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

American Medical Association Publications.

Fishbein, M., Fads and Quackery in Healing, 1932.

Harding, T. S., The Popular Practice of Fraud, 1935.

Jordan, E. O., Food Poisoning, 1931.

Kallet, A., Counterfeit, 1935.

Phillips, M. C., Skin Deep, 1934.

Schlinck, F. J., Eat, Drink and Be Wary, 1935.

Schlinck, F. J., and Chase, S., Your Money’s Worth, 1927.

Schlinck, F. J., and Kallet, A., 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, 1933.

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletins of the Bureau of Chemistry.

U. S. Senate, Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics, Hearings on S. 1944, 1934.

U. S. Senate, Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics, 73rd Congress, Report 493, 1934.

The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation, Footnotes

Footnotes

1. Doctrine and Covenants 89:4.

2. Herring, E. P., Public Administration and the Public Interest, chapter 14.

3. Life, March 13, 1937, p. 13.

The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation, p. 42

Chapter 5

ALCOHOL

“That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, . . . and, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.” [fn1]

Historical. Alcoholic drinks (those containing the substance ethyl alcohol. CH3CH2OH, commonly known as alcohol) have been used from time immemorial. In every land, wine and other forms of fermented liquors have been well known beverages. The warning of the Word of Wisdom is directed against one of the oldest human practices.

The recognition of the injurious effects of alcoholic drinks was not new in Joseph Smith’s day. In almost every country, coincidentally with the record of the existence of alcohol, opposition to its use has been voiced. The Bible, from Noah to the later prophets, contains numerous references to the evil of drunkenness: “Do not drink wine nor strong drink.” (Lev. 10:9); “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1); “Wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.” (Deut. 32:33); “Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess.” (Eph. 5:18).

Little progress had been made, at the time that the Word of Wisdom was given, in the scientific study of alcohol and its effects on man. However, through long and world-wide human experience many of the evil effects of wine and strong drinks were better understood than before. There was no difference of opinion among intelligent people concerning the excessive use of alcoholic drinks, with the attendant drunkenness, disease and squalor. Perhaps a majority were ready to admit that serious danger lurked even in the moderate use of alcohol. It was only to be expected therefore that the Word of Wisdom, a modern code of health, should speak out against this ancient and widespread evil.

The movements against alcohol, from antiquity to recent days, have fought valiantly for the suppression of this ancient and dangerous dietetic habit of man. Curiously enough, the modern organized effort to stamp out the liquor evil, under the advocacy of total abstinence, began about the time that the Word of Wisdom was received. This agitation culminated on September 1, 1832, in Preston, England, when total abstinence pledges were signed by seven persons. [fn2] It was in the Preston Society also that the word “teetotalism” was coined. There is slight probability that the Prophet Joseph Smith knew anything of this activity.

At various times, legislation has attempted to regulate or eliminate the traffic in alcoholic liquors. While the results have not been all that was desired, yet much good has been accomplished. Manufacturers, who by improper means have encouraged the use of alcohol, have been forced by law into less activity, and there has been a general enlightenment concerning alcohol and its physiological, moral, and economic effects. A most notable episode in the history of alcohol was the prohibition experiment of the United States, which unfortunately was not allowed to go on long enough to secure reliable results.

The unqualified statement against alcohol in the Word of Wisdom was courageous, as it was spoken in the name of the Lord in a day of advancing and progressive science. Does the latest knowledge and most modern thought concerning the effects of alcohol on the human body confirm this phase of the Word of Wisdom?

The bitter controversy which has raged around the liquor question has had the good result of inspiring many careful research workers to study the effects of alcohol on the human body and mind. There is now a vast literature on the subject which has been compiled, collated and reduced to a reasonable compass for everybody’s use. All such works must be read, however, with due reference to the likes and dislikes of the authors, for wherever differences are slight, conclusions are likely to favor the appetites of the writers. Yet, out of the labors of such trained investigators much has been learned upon which all now agree.

Consumption of Alcohol. It is very difficult, almost impossible, to secure full and correct facts regarding the consumption of alcohol. According to the annual report of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the United States in 1936, consumed 286,316,731 gallons of distilled and rectified spirits and wine; 179,152,628 gallons of still and sparkling wines, and 1,657,985,984 gallons of beer, or a total of over two billions of gallons of alcoholic liquors. That meant per capita in 1936, 11.8 gallons of beer, .6 gallon of distilled liquors, and .3 gallon of wine were consumed, and the consumption is steadily rising. The approximate retail value of this quantity of intoxicating liquor approaches five billions of dollars. Clearly, the money now spent on alcoholic beverages would in a few years wipe out the national debt, and go far towards removing poverty from the land. The world’s liquor bill shows how men and women by catering to unnatural appetites may bring disaster upon themselves and their loved ones. It is rather foolish to set up systems of political philosophy for the cure of economic and other ills, without including the correction of injurious habits such as those of alcohol, tobacco and the like.

Is Alcohol a Food? The advocates of drink claim as a favorite argument that alcohol is a food.

A food is a substance, that when taken into the body, builds, repairs and nourishes the tissues and cells of the body; provides heat and supplies energy for the processes of life. By this definition alcohol is not a food. It contains no nitrogen with which to rebuild or repair cell waste; no sugar, starch, mineral matters, fats or vitamins, all essential in maintaining the body in good health. It is true that alcohol taken in small quantities is removed from the body largely by combustion and that it does in that way supply some heat, but since it fails utterly to meet the other requirements of a food, and may even cause excessive loss of protein, and besides interferes as a narcotic with all normal functions of life, it cannot be classed as a food. [fn3] Authoritative science is conclusive on that point. Besides, alcohol acts as an irritant to the organs of the body, predisposing them to disease, and it develops a vicious, compelling habit– things not done by a food.

Beer, which has been widely advertised as a liquid food, also fails to meet food requirements. Compared with a glass of milk, as is often done, beer shows its deficiencies.

“Milk contains a valuable nutritive fat (cream), beer none. Milk contains a large amount of useful and nutritive sugar; beer contains only a small amount of sugar, the rest of the carbohydrate being useless for purposes of nutrition. Beer contains about one-fourteenth of the protein found in milk, and even much of this is, to say the least, of very doubtful nutritive value. Milk, unless it has been contaminated through neglect and carelessness, contains no poison; beer contains a powerful poison, alcohol. Then again, milk contains valuable vitamins; beer contains none, or practically so.” [fn4]

The best that can be said about beer, as about certain weak wines, is that the percentage of alcohol in it is smaller (from 2.5% to 6.5%) than in the so-called strong drinks; but the continual use of even small doses of alcohol has been shown to produce harmful results.

Neither wine (often containing 12% of alcohol), beer (about 3.5% of alcohol), nor a distilled liquor (more than 50% of alcohol) has true food value. To claim that alcohol in any form is a food betrays, in this enlightened day, gross ignorance or a purpose to deceive.

All these statements have been confirmed by many careful experiments. Alcohol is not a food; it is a poison, a powerful drug which exerts a marked effect upon many of the organs of the body. The desire for alcoholic drink is not a result of a normal need, but of an acquired appetite. By frequent use this appetite too often becomes the master of the will.

Temperate Use of Alcohol. Is there such a thing? No one argues for drunkenness. Its ugly brood are too evident. The question among intelligent people has always been as to the effect of the moderate indulgence in alcoholic beverages. This matter has been put to frequent experimental test, with results definitely against the use of alcohol in even small amounts. Since human beings react to small doses of alcohol, the effect upon the body and mind is merely one of degree. This has been shown to be so by numerous experiments. It has been wisely said that “a man under the influence of even small doses of alcoholic liquor becomes an altered individual– always altered for the worse.”

Alcohol and the Mental Faculties. Alcohol acts as a narcotic upon the brain. That is, it depresses or benumbs mental activities. The drinker seems to gain a feeling of well-being while under the influence of alcohol, even in small amounts. He feels himself freed from the anxieties and bonds placed upon him by the obligations of life. He rises in self-importance; his moral vision is blurred. If alcohol is used intemperately he moves into forgetfulness; all his mental faculties are impaired– he is “drunk”. When he recovers he craves the experience again; the habit grows upon him, and before he is aware, it is his master. Only with the greatest effort can the habit be overcome– and only too often it is never overcome.

The higher brain centers, the voluntary and most intelligent, are paralyzed by alcohol, leaving the lower centers uncontrolled, which, no longer restrained, often run riot. The ship has lost its captain. That is the most familiar fact in connection with the use of alcohol. This loss of control has been shown to extend from the moral field into that of involuntary body movements, even under the influence of from two to three glasses of the lightest beer on the market.

The impairment of the higher mental faculties, occasioned often by as little as one glass of light beer, is of first concern. The moderate drinker suffers a weakening of his perceptive faculties, such as seeing and recognizing signals; or acting promptly under set regulations. The power of memory is likewise diminished; in one experiment nearly one-fifth of the usual memorizing power was lost under the influence of little more than one glass of beer. The ability to give close, steady attention to any subject in hand, to concentrate upon it, is lowered greatly under the influence of a glass or more of beer. The learning process is slowed up when alcohol is in the system. The average school standing of abstainers, if otherwise alike, is always highest. A diminution of mental alertness and keenness is the price paid for alcoholic indulgence, however slight. Since lapses of memory or consciousness are common, the victims, when they recover, are usually unable to remember what has happened. Clearly, such conditions are not only hurtful to the individual but dangerous to society. Our day needs clear brains.

The words of an eminent psychologist, Dr. Hugo Munsterberg, himself a moderate user of alcoholic beverages, are notable:

“If I were to take a glass of beer now in the morning, I should certainly be unable to write the next page of this essay with the same ease. The ideas would flow more slowly,– of course, alcohol before serious, intellectual work disturbs one– psychologically the case stands thus: Alcohol has indeed an inhibitory influence on mind and body. The feeling of excitement, the greater ease of motor impulse, the feeling of strength and joy, the forgetting of sorrow and pain– all are at bottom the result of inhibitions; impulses are let free because the checking centers are inhibited.” [fn5]

But after this cool analysis of the effect of alcohol, he proceeds to argue for its moderate use when the day’s work is done! He ignores the natural way to refreshment, renewed vigor and happiness. It shows the effect of an unnatural appetite, habit, even on a trained mind.

No one can rationally argue that constant interference with the higher mental faculties, from the moderate use of alcohol, can benefit the brain and nervous system. The effect is clearly deleterious. The mind naturally weakens under the repeated influences of alcohol and often becomes diseased.

Dr. F. R. Mott, British mental specialist, declares that in his opinion, alcoholic intoxication is insanity in miniature. In fact, drunkenness often leads to insanity. The U. S. Census for 1910 shows that of all admissions to mental hospitals, 10.1% were due to alcohol, and of the males admitted, 15.3%.

Alcohol and Physical Fitness. The disorders of the brain, occasioned by moderate drinking, necessarily affect all bodily activities, for all are under the control and direction of man’s mental organization.

One of the commonest observations in connection with drunkenness is the lack of coordination between the brain and the body, resulting in clumsiness. The fumbling of a drunken man with the key and the lock is the most familiar illustration. A drunken man cannot thread a needle. Such lack of muscular control is carried into all the operations of life. Under the influence of alcohol, though only a glass of wine or beer is used, the speed of the typist is diminished and errors increased; and the accuracy of the mechanic and all skilled workmen reduced. The unsteady hand, slow judgment and confused head are effects of alcohol, which more and more disqualify men and women for trustworthy positions and expected promotions.

Fatigue and hardship are endured best by abstainers. The safest automobile drivers are those who do not drink alcohol. The aviator who drinks does the poorest work. During the Great War it was demonstrated that non-drinking pilots could last at the front twice as long as drinkers.

Alcohol is an enemy to success in athletics. Experienced coaches are unanimous on that point. Connie Mack said he “wouldn’t bother with a youngster who drinks”! Knute Rockne insisted that his players should abstain from “poisons such as alcohol”. Many athletic champions are abstainers. [fn6]

Alcohol and physical fitness do not travel together.

In the case of women, the future mothers of the race, the evils of alcohol are of even graver consequence, for the mother tainted in body by the use of alcohol, of necessity produces a weaker offspring.

Alcohol and Disease. It is unthinkable that the daily ingestion of any poison will not in time affect the human body unfavorably. In fact, studies in this field have shown correlations between alcohol and disease that cannot be ignored. The particular disease developed depends on the individual, for the weakest organ is usually first attacked.

Alcohol disturbs the body mechanism by its direct effect upon the blood stream. Contained in the blood are many mineral constituents such as sodium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iodine, chlorine, etc. Calcium has been shown to perform functions of special importance to the body. Alcohol in the blood causes a large diminution of the calcium content and other mineral constituents of the blood. (see chapter 9)

The stomach, which receives all drinks, is definitely affected by alcohol. The digestive process is slowed up in the presence of alcohol. In the course of time, inflammation of the stomach tissues usually ensues and gastritis and other disorders appear. The suggestion has been made that injury to the digestive organs by alcohol may be responsible in part for other disorders attendant upon the continued use of alcohol.

Derangements of the liver have been definitely traced to the effects of alcohol. According to many reports from hospitals in the United States, Canada and Europe, the majority of cases (four-fifths) of cancer of the liver are due to the use of alcoholic beverages.

The following instructive table, based upon the Supplement of the 75th Annual Report of the Registrar General of Great Britain (1927), shows the number out of 10,000 of each class afflicted with syphilis and cirrhosis of the liver. Note how brewers and barmen head the list under cirrhosis of the liver. [fn7]

Occupations Syphilis Cirrhosis Lowest Groups: Ministers …………………………………. 85 531 Anglican Clergy ………………………… 114 521 Iron Miners ……………………………… 140 313 Bank officials ……………………………. 207 1,521 Railway Officials………………………… 214 406 Bus and Tram Conductors…………… 247 0 Highest Groups: Brewers ……………………………………. 4,808 8,000 Actors ………………………………………. 4,649 4,646 Waiters ……………………………………. 2,598 2,354 Cellarmen ………………………………… 2,284 1,537 Bargemen …………………………………. 2,144 646 Barmen …………………………………….. 2,137 5,833

The heart and the circulatory systems are also sensitive to alcohol. Under alcoholic effect the heart is compelled to do more work; the chambers of the heart enlarge abnormally, and the circulation of the blood is interfered with; arterial disease may be set up. The kidneys, always sensitive to disturbances of the circulatory system, suffer from the presence of alcohol. Bright’s disease is a frequent accompaniment. The lungs and other organs of the body likewise suffer from the effects of the ingestion of alcohol.

It must be added and emphasized that the use of alcohol reduces the resistance of the body to infection and other similar dangers. Statistics show that the mortality of drinkers is much higher than of abstainers; barmen and brewers are the highest among occupational groups. A survey of the existing literature convinces the student that abstainers from the use of alcohol have the longest expectation of life.

Alcohol and Society. The behavior of any drunken person is sufficient to show that alcohol leads a person to forget or ignore the usual standards of conduct. The moral sense is blurred by even a small amount of alcohol. Tipplers are not exempt. This is said with due deference to the host of good people who are users of alcoholic beverages, and whose high characters and accomplishments are maintained in spite of this habit.

Certain types of criminals are nearly always drinkers. The United States Department of Justice estimates that 80% of the factors making jails and similar institutions necessary are due to the use of alcohol; that 75% of the causes leading to cruelty to children result from the use of alcohol. The disordered brain, following the use of alcohol, seldom acts properly. Crimes and misdemeanors result from the use of alcohol. This is not unexpected. When the higher, controlling faculties are benumbed, the lower faculties assume the power of directing the acts of man.

Poverty is another fruit of alcoholism. Much of our pauperism may be traced directly to alcohol; more of our child destitution may be followed to the same source. The liquor habit dulls all human emotions. Degradation, disgrace, misery and death are results of the use of alcohol. Even one drink gives effects that point to the evils of intemperance.

A vast number of automobile and other accidents, shooting scrapes and rioting, are found associated with the use of alcohol. In the interest of public safety in this automobile age only abstainers from alcoholic liquors should be allowed to use the public highways. While many factors enter into automobile accidents, it is strikingly suggestive that during the period 1933-1936, traffic deaths in the United States paralleled the consumption of liquor.

The famous, longstanding, “Rule G” of the railroads forbids the use of “intoxicants or narcotics”, by employees. Air pilots, likewise, must refrain from the use of intoxicating beverages for 24 hours preceding a trip and during any time on duty, and they must not frequent liquor-dispensing places.

Sexual immorality usually accompanies alcoholism. The dimming of the moral sense weakens the character of the individual. Soon the defenses that education and religion have built up are broken down. Acts of immorality are committed which at the beginning seemed intolerable. It is noteworthy that in the preceding table syphilis increased in almost every instance with cirrhosis of the liver. The conclusion is inevitable: Alcohol causes moral as well as physical disease. Alcoholism is a menace to society.

Alcohol as a Racial Poison. In yet another way is society deeply interested in this question. Alcohol is a racial poison. The injury from it does not cease with the person who uses it, but harms his children and children’s children as well. This difficult but important subject has been under experimental study, the results of which point consistently to the inheritance of certain of the evils of alcoholism.

An authority on this subject asserts that:

“Alcohol taken in excess, or freely and continuously, has the power of breaking through all the defensive barriers and producing the most profound effect upon the sex glands and consequent interference with the sperm or germ cells. In such cases the alcohol causes degeneration of the protoplasm of the germ-plasm, interferes with what is called spermatogenesis (that is to say, the formation of mature sperm cells), and if the germ-plasm is not actually destroyed, its architecture may be so interfered with as to cause imperfect offspring in the next, immediate generation.” [fn8]

Thus the very future of the race depends upon the use or avoidance of alcohol.

“Because the continuity and essential well-being of the race depends upon germ-plasm, the sex organs are naturally of profound significance, and although remarkably resistant in many ways, it is an accepted fact today that they can be damaged by certain substances and thus cause injury to the immediate and succeeding generations. In 1906 Dr. C. W. Saleeby termed these substances Racial Poisons. The term has passed into current scientific language, and is applied to those substances which may not only damage the individual but the race as well. The three great racial poisons are lead, venereal diseases, and alcohol.” [fn9]

The effects upon the coming generations are altogether too evident to be ignored. Drinking parents have more than the average of mentally and physically defective children; their children also have a high early mortality; in those that survive and are normal there is often a persistence of the weaknesses developed in their parents by intemperance.

The Indictment Against Alcohol. The evidence against alcohol in any form as a beverage is overwhelming. One needs only examine the voluminous literature on the subject to become convinced of the truth of this statement. Let the indictment be summarized.

Alcohol is a poison which injures body and mind, the degree of injury depending upon the amount used. Its use causes poverty, since money that should be spent for food, clothing, shelter and recreation is paid out for this harmful beverage. Alcohol also dulls the moral senses, for a person ever so little under the influence of alcohol, is no longer his natural self, but irresponsible, inexact, careless, often cruel. The unhappy after-effects of alcohol increase the desire for the forgetfulness induced by more alcohol. Thus the habit grows, and becomes the master of the man. In the wake of alcohol are poverty and sorrow, misery and ruin, disease and death.

Almost the worst indictment against alcohol is that those who do not drink are injured through its use by others. The workman spends his week’s earnings on drink and leaves his wife and children to starve. The drunkard loses his job and drags his children down to woe of body and soul. In the presence of alcohol as a beverage, the finer instincts of man vanish, the atmosphere becomes tainted, the finer human impulses stifled. There is no denial of these charges and a hundred others.

The consumption of alcohol has been a monstrous evil throughout the ages and the human misery caused thereby is beyond computation. Its use among intelligent people rests upon two counts: Weakness of the will in the face of the tempting but ugly desire for alcohol; and the lustful greed for money by those who make and sell the poison.

The defender of the alcohol habit declares that he is a moderate user of alcohol, therefore the indictment does not fit him. That is but subterfuge, a vain excuse. It is the moderate drinker who often becomes the immoderate user, and it has been amply demonstrated that small doses of alcohol affect the drinker unfavorably, both temporarily and permanently.

The claim is sometimes made by those who should know better that the use of alcohol does not shorten life. The drinker will point to the drinker who has attained a high age. He is the exception and the argument is unsound. Judgment must be formed from the behavior of a group. The use of alcohol is not the only factor that tends to lengthen or shorten life. From statistics compiled by insurance companies and others it is safe to say that abstinence from alcoholic liquors tends to lengthen out the span of life; and what is of almost greater consequence, to increase health and the joy of living. The fact remains that for one drinker there are many abstainers who reach old age. The one drunkard who lives a long life is uncommon and therefore obtains publicity. Insurance companies with financial interests involved hold moderate as well as heavy alcohol users as poorer risks than those who abstain from the beverage. The user of alcohol must therefore pay more for his insurance. Insurance statistics show that the death rate increases steadily with the degree of alcoholic intemperance.

The indictment against alcohol is complete. Specious arguments by those addicted to the habit do not change facts.

An Official Verdict. In no respect can alcohol as a beverage be said to increase physical or mental efficiency. So well is this understood that the practice of using alcohol in hospitals has almost ceased. Other means, more adequate and less harmful, are now employed. The hospital milk bills have gone up and the alcohol bills down.

The American Medical Association has gone on record against the general use of alcohol in medical practice in resolutions formulated and adopted in 1917 by the House of Delegates:

“Whereas, we believe that the use of alcohol is detrimental to the human economy, and

“Whereas, its use in therapeutics as a tonic or stimulant or for food has no scientific value; therefore,

“Be it Resolved, that the American Medical Association is opposed to the use of alcohol as a beverage; and,

“Be it Further Resolved, that the use of alcohol as a therapeutic agent should be further discouraged.” [fn10]

On the other hand, alcohol is being used, as suggested in the Word of Wisdom, for external use– for rubbing to reduce fevers, for hardening the skin to prevent bedsores, for sterilizing instruments and skin for hypodermic injections and for many other similar purposes. The validity of the Word of Wisdom with respect to alcohol is fully vindicated.

What to Do? Education is the first and perhaps the last step in the fight against alcohol. If the dangers of alcohol were impressed upon the minds of the public as are the rules of arithmetic, alcoholic beverages would lose their present social standing. The foolish hostess who serves a cocktail to her guests, presumably her friends, to ensure a more sparkling conversation at her dinner table, is usually unaware of the fact that “the amount of alcohol contained in a cocktail produces a greater effect on the central nervous system than three or four times its alcoholic content administered as beer” (Dr. W. E. Dixon), that she is helping to destroy the health and ultimate happiness of her friends.

It is very probable that if temperance education in schools, churches and all welfare organizations had accompanied the American prohibition experiment, the vicious, unrelenting propaganda by those interested in making money from alcoholic drinks would not have succeeded in defeating the prohibition amendment.

Alcohol is a poor pick-me-up compared to other, harmless drinks. The story is told that F. W. Kraemer, the famous English film director, while directing the play “Tin Gods”, in the midst of a long, trying work period, called to a new property man to get him some “dynamite”. Half an hour later the man returned with the report that dynamite was not to be had, even at the arsenal! What Mr. Kraemer really wanted as a drink was a special non-alcoholic pick-me-up, which had been found to be so successful in “toning up” the tired actors that it had been nick-named “dynamite”. It was a glass of milk into which two eggs and the juice of an orange were beaten! Alcohol is a poor and injurious tonic; there are others, better and harmless.

The personal methods of overcoming the habit are like those suggested for the conquest of the tobacco habit. (see chapter 6)

Wine for the Sacrament. The Word of Wisdom provides that wine used for the Sacrament, should be “pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.” This statement is understood to mean new or unfermented grape juice, since the Word of Wisdom declares unequivocally against the internal use of alcohol in any form.

This interpretation is reinforced by the fact that under divine command, water was early in the history of the Church substituted for wine, for sacramental purposes. The revelation reads:

“For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory– remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.” [fn11]

Water is always used by the Church in partaking of the sacrament.

Reference is often made to the supposed use of wine by the Savior at the last supper. It is well known, however, that the words “the fruit of the vine” have been translated as “wine”. It is equally well known that in the Old Testament, three different words are translated “wine”, two of which, used most commonly, refer clearly to unfermented grape juice. In the New Testament two Greek words, not necessarily representing fermented grape juice, are translated “wine”. Intoxicating wine was not a common beverage among ancient Israel. [fn12]

The Word of Wisdom Confirmed. Certain it is that the prohibition in the Word of Wisdom against the use of alcohol as a beverage is in full concord with the best knowledge of the day. The direct statement of the Word of Wisdom implying that alcohol is not good for man must be looked upon, in consideration of the knowledge of Joseph Smith’s day, as an evidence of divine inspiration.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Bogen, E., and Hisey, L. W. S., What About Alcohol, 1934.

Chapple, W. A., Evils of Alcohol, 1911.

Corradini, R. E., Narcotics and Youth Today, 1934.

Crichton-Browne, Sir James, What We Drink, 1930.

Emerson, H., Alcohol and Man, 1932.

Fisher, I., Prohibition At Its Worst, 1926.

Fisher, I., and Broughamp, Prohibition Still At Its Worst, 1928.

Gordon, E., When The Brewer Had The Stranglehold, 1930.

Harkness and Fort, Youth Studies Alcohol, 1937.

Horsley, Sir Victor, and Sturge, M. D., Alcohol and the Human Body, 1915.

Koren, J., Alcohol and Society, 1916.

Palmer, B. R., A Syllabus of Alcohol Education, 1935.

Pearl, R., Alcohol and Longevity, 1936.

Samuelson, J., History of Drink, 1878.

Transeau, E. L. B., Effects of Alcoholic Drinks, 1933.

Weeks, C. C., Alcohol and Human Life, 1929.

Williams, A. D., and Stoddard, C. F., The Scientist Experiments with Alcohol, 1935.

Alcohol: Its Action on the Human Organism, British Medical Research Council, 1923.

A Review of the Effects of Alcohol on Man, under the auspices of a British Committee, 1931.

The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation, Footnotes

Footnotes

1. Doctrine and Covenants 89:5, 7.

2. Evans, R. L., A Century of “Mormonism” in Great Britain, 1937, pp. 44-49, Deseret Book Company.

3. Weeks, C. C., Alcohol and Human Life, 1929, p. 63.

4. Weeks, C. C., Alcohol and Human Life, pp. 67, 68, 1929.

5. Munsterberg. H., American Problems, 1910, p. 81.

6. Transeau, E. L. B., Effects of Alcoholic Drinks, 1933, p. 42.

7. Weeks, C. C., Alcohol and Human Health, 1929, p. 107.

8. Weeks, C. C., Alcohol and Human Life, pp. 110-111, 1929.

9. Ibid., pp. 103-104.

10. Manual for Teaching in Massachusetts, p. 25.

11. Doctrine and Covenants 27:2.

12. Gall, An Interpreting Concordance of the New Testament, 1863; Ritchie, Wm., Scripture Wines, 1870; Emerson, R. E., A Lay Thesis on Bible Wines, 1902.

The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation, p. 63

Chapter 6

TOBACCO

“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.” [fn1]

Historical. The use of tobacco by civilized man dates from the discovery of America by Columbus. The early explorers observed that the North American Indians smoked the leaves of the tobacco plant for ceremonial purposes. Some of the early colonists adopted the practice, and carried it to Spain, England and other European countries. The practice spread slowly over Europe and became current among the American Colonists.

At first it was thought that tobacco-smoking was beneficial and health-giving, but later and longer observation of tobacco users convinced the majority of people that it was injurious to the human system. Laws and royal proclamations forbade the use of tobacco, and smoking became a punishable offense. Victims of the tobacco habit found, however, that these laws were not enforced, and the practice grew.

There were always sharp differences of opinion between the smokers and the non-smokers concerning the effect of tobacco on the user of it. Books and pamphlets were written and speeches delivered, for and against the practice; but in that day, when the scientific treatment of human problems had scarcely begun, neither side could bring convincing evidence to its support. All agreed, however, on two points of major importance: that tobacco was not necessary for human welfare, and that the tobacco habit was exceedingly difficult to overcome.

Such was the condition of the tobacco question in 1833, when the Prophet Joseph Smith received the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom. What is the verdict on the use of tobacco, and therefore on this phase of the Word of Wisdom, by the century since then, the period of the world’s greatest scientific progress?

Financial Cost. The use of tobacco has increased greatly during the last half century. During the sixty-year period from 1870 to 1930, the production of tobacco in the United States of America increased from 225,000,000 pounds to 1,635,210,000 pounds or nearly eightfold, far in excess of the increase in population. The per capita tobacco consumption by the American people in 1931 was 3 pounds of snuff and smoking tobacco, 43 cigars and 943 cigarettes– a tidy offering for every man, woman and child in the land. And since there are countless people who are not addicted to its use, some idea may be gained of the per capita amount consumed by those who do use it. In 1934 the national consumption was 134,607,741,257 cigarettes, 4,763,883,947 cigars, 95,875 tons of pipe tobacco and 18,030 tons of snuff. [fn2] In 1936, the consumption had increased to 139,968,684,406 cigarettes and 4,863,191,852 cigars.

America produces about 35% of the world’s supply of tobacco. It also consumes more tobacco than any other country. In 1930, when the total per capita consumption of tobacco in the United States of America was 5.92 pounds, it was 4.90 in Belgium, 4.76 in Egypt, 2.95 in the British Isles, 2.90 in France, and 2.35 in Italy.

During this period of increased tobacco use, from 1914 to 1931, the per capita number of cigars consumed decreased from 73 to 43; pounds of smoking tobacco from 4.2 to 2.7; while the per capita number of cigarettes consumed rose from 172 to 943, implying a tremendous shift towards the cigarette, which is a most notable factor in any discussion of the tobacco problem. In further illustration of this shift: During the decade 1926-1936, the annual consumption of cigars has fallen from nearly seven billion to less than five billion, while the consumption of cigarettes has risen from ninety-two billion to nearly one hundred and forty billion.

Dr. Henry Smith Williams has calculated that:

“The cigarettes smoked annually in America would suffice, if packed sardine-like, to pave a highway eighty feet wide from New York to Los Angeles. The cigars smoked annually would supply material for a three-foot shoulder on the highway, also from coast to coast. And there would remain 150,000 tons of tobacco for chewing and pipe-smoking, which would load, obviously, 30,000 five-ton vans.” [fn3]

The recent increase in the use of tobacco, with the shift towards cigarettes, is undoubtedly due, in chief measure, to the whip of an advertising campaign in behalf of tobacco and cigarettes, unprecedented in the world’s history. Page advertisements, cleverly designed, artistically drawn and beautifully colored, setting forth the supposed merits and desirability of the cigarette and of tobacco in general, have been published in every magazine of consequence, irrespective, apparently, of the facts in the case. Men and women of influence have allowed their names, often for money, to be used in behalf of the campaign. To fasten the tobacco habit upon youth, moral depths are reached by some manufacturers. Cigarettes are “doped” with habit-be-getting drugs. The desire for the repetition of the experience becomes correspondingly urgent. The advertising campaign for tobacco illustrates as nothing else the warning of the Word of Wisdom against “evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men”. [fn4] It is true that some manufacturers are producing denicotinized cigarettes. Some of these are relatively free from nicotine, but the majority contain nearly as much nicotine as the ordinary cigarettes.

The world’s tobacco bill is colossal. The value of manufactured tobacco produced in America in 1859 was $30,890,000; in 1929 it was $1,246,242,000. The value of property destroyed annually by fires caused by the matches and cigar and cigarette stubs of smokers is estimated at $30,000,000. The American people pay, therefore, at least $1,276,242,000 annually for the tobacco that they consume in chewing and smoking; and the retail value of these tobacco products is very much greater, approximating $1,500,000,000.

There can be no justification for the expenditure of so vast a sum of money, for an article which is conceded to be unnecessary and decidedly harmful to human welfare. Education, the conquest of poverty, needed national developments, the reduction of the national debt– all point to a better use of the money now spent for tobacco. The people engaged in the industry could with profit to all concerned be redirected into other industries providing the necessities and comforts of man. The economic verdict of the century is against tobacco.

Effects on the Body. In 1822, several hundred years after civilized man began the use of tobacco, it was discovered that tobacco leaves contain a highly poisonous substance, called nicotine, for the French Ambassador to Portugal about 1560, Jean Nicot, who helped spread knowledge concerning tobacco. Nicotine in its pure state is a colorless, oily liquid, a drop of which (as much as is found in a large cigar), taken internally is sufficient to kill a man. In former days, when tobacco was employed in medicine, numerous deaths resulted from the administration of tobacco, due to the presence of the deadly poison, nicotine. Today, tobacco is seldom used in medical practice. The amount of nicotine found in tobacco varies from about one to nine percent.

In the plant, nicotine is combined with various organic acids, forming nicotine salts which are easily soluble in water. Therefore, when tobacco is chewed, the nicotine is dissolved in the saliva and absorbed into the blood; when it is smoked, the heat of the burning material volatilizes the nicotine which is then brought into the body in a gaseous condition. Whether tobacco is chewed or smoked, the poison, nicotine, enters the body; when smoked, a number of combustion products, such as carbon monoxide, acrolein and furfurol, highly injurious to the body, are also inhaled. The first attempt to smoke, as is well known, usually produces an intense illness because the body reacts against the introduction of the inhaled poison. By repeated use, a certain tolerance is acquired, though the body continues to be injured by the practice. Immediate serious results following the chewing or smoking of tobacco are prevented by the gradual introduction of the injurious substances, a process which gives the body an opportunity to distribute them before they accumulate in excessive amounts. Therefore, tolerance for an otherwise poisonous substance is established.

This information should be sufficient to declare that tobacco injures the human frame. A person who takes poison into his system naturally should expect injury to follow. Yet in the face of the knowledge of the composition of tobacco and tobacco smoke, many smokers and chewers insist that no injury to the body results from the use of tobacco. This has led to a more careful study of the problem.

In 1918, a Committee to Study the Tobacco Problem was formed, consisting of 59 men eminent in their respective fields, some smokers, others non-smokers. Dr. Pierre Schrumpf-Pierron, a distinguished French leader in medical science, was appointed by this committee to gather the world’s knowledge concerning the effects of tobacco upon the human body. The results of his studies were published in 1927 under the title, Tobacco and Physical Efficiency. In this work are gathered the reliable clinical data concerning the subject from all countries. “It is the first really complete compendium of the vast amount of literature of various countries concerning the effects of tobacco upon the human system.”

The general findings of this elaborate study are concordant:

1. Tobacco cannot be freely indulged in without injury to the normal action of the heart. The heart-beats are increased 5 to 10 per minute; the blood pressure rises; there is often palpitation and pains in the head. In the lower animals there are marked changes in the walls of the arteries, which may also be the case with man.

2. The respiratory system is affected adversely by the use of tobacco. Hoarseness, coughs, bronchitis, tonsilitis, smokers’ laryngitis, asthma and tuberculosis, are frequent results of smoking.

3. Disturbances of the digestive tract likewise follow to