Ok so my last post was all about WHY I want to go on this Word of Wisdom journey (In a nut shell- to look good and feel AMAZING....physically, emotionally and most of all spiritually!). I have a few more reasons to add to this list. These have come straight from the scriptures: Doctrine and Covenants 89
1) Firstly it states right at the beginning that the word of wisdom is "the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days" (Doctrine and Covenants 89:2)
Ok I won't argue with that!!
2) "... adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints" (Doctrine and Covenants 89:3)
Ouch! soooooo His way of living has been adapted for the weakest of people. So If I can't do this then I rally am in trouble!
I certainly have a lot of work to do for me to be counted as one of the weakest let alone anything higher. That's ok though because it's why I'm here...to become as good as the weakest and then just get better.
3) " 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—" (Doctrine and Covenants 89:4)
So we have been warned! Warned to look after our bodies (and minds). Warning us of the evil designs of conspiring men. To me this is advertising and processed food. Most of us have NO IDEA what the heck we put into our bodies on a daily basis. There are many many toxic chemicals out there that have been approved by the Food Standard agency. I don't want to go too deeply into this right now and get my facts wrong but I know Dr's/scientists (or whoever they are) have 'approved the safety' of certain chemicals to be put into food!! This is obscene!! Especially as this is the stuff that our children eat! Truly the work of evil and conspiring men who are greedy and put their on wealth above the health of every single person who shops for their food!
I have this fantastic book which has opened my eyes and completely changed the way I look at food and the so called 'healthy' foods. My sister has it at the moment which is why I can't refer to it but BUY IT AND READ IT!! it will change your life! Plus my brother in law wrote it so its doubly awesome!
His name is Ben Pratt and he is a nutritionist. Check his website out called The Natural Food Finder. It's a fantastic site where you can educate yourself a little and find where in the UK you can get food in its most natural state. Read the blogs, they are great! Here is one of his 2min taster video on MSG. Note how these 'conspiring men' are sly and lead us to believe something is healthy when it clearly isn't.
So we know we are being warned. I believe that this means that we (or I, rather) shouldn't be so naive towards food....any and ALL foods.
It just makes me want to grow my own that much more! I have been brought up on fruit and veg from the garden so its always been a given that that is what I would do once I grew up etc. Well I think I'm classed as a grown up now but I'm doing a pretty lousy job at the moment. My dream has always been to have a house with a little land so that I can have my chickens and maybe a goat and a plot to grow whatever I like.....aaaaaaah ONE DAY! 
Ok so moving on to the don'ts of the Word of Wisdom:
1) Alcohol is not good for the body "And again, strong drinks are not for the body or the belly, but for the washing of bodies." D&C 89:7
We all know the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. Many millions of people are very ill physically and mentally because of this liquid, many millions have and will still die from alcoholism.
Many people would argue that a glass of wine a week is good for you. I'm sure it could well be but how many people are able to stop at just one glass??? The word of wisdom has been "adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest" so its much easier to not drink at all than it is to struggle to drink only a little. How is it that a substance such as this is the norm to consume to the point of extreme intoxication? In a short space of time the body is poisoned to the extent that speech, vision and coordination is severely hindered. Personalities change and inhibitions disappear but this is how people 'have fun' and relax. Very quickly many become increasingly reliant on it in order to have any kind of fun...aaand so the the slippery road begins.
When I think about the affect that alcohol has on the body/mind it scares the heeby jeebies out of me. I start thinking about why it's even legal to consume enough to get drunk?! people end up accidently killing themselves because their judgement is impaired for crying out loud...people die from doing stupid things!!! Why would you do that to yourself?? Why would you drink something that turns you into a thug or a slut?? I'm able to talk from experience - it changes people, it changed me and I am forever ashamed of the person I became whilst under the influence.Luckily I never did anything stupid! Thankfully this phase I had didn't last long and I was able to turn my back on that lifestyle very easily- once I'd realised what I was missing out on. I'm now utterly petrified of 'going out'. I don't find it fun at all simply because drunk people scare the life out of me!! To see someone drunk makes me so sad, all I can think is 'why are you doing this'??? and also please don't come anywhere near me because I'm not ready to die just yet! lol
I feel sooooo lucky to have escaped the slippery road of alcohol. I'm far happier when I can actually remember 'that awesome night I had'.
2) Tobacco "...is not good 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." D&C 89:8
Luckily I have never had a personal problem with tobacco...its gross! But what I do find interesting is that it is a powerful herb. As a complementary therapist I'm very pro natural medicine and a little intrigued to know how it can be used in that way. After doing a little research I have found that tobacco leaves/juices applied outside the body can heal many many disorders. Here are but a few: ringworm, bites of poisonous reptiles or insects, hysteria, pain, ulcers, wounds, gout, neuralgia.....and the list goes on. Interestingly however we have managed to turn this powerful plant into something that is consumed internally which is addictive and kills us....ah.but of course! we are human, we like to destroy things.
3) Hot drinks "...are not for the body or belly." D&C 89:9 Prophets have explained that this means coffee and tea, which contain harmful substances. We should avoid all drinks, whether hot or cold, that contain harmful substances.
I am not an expert on tea and coffe but I know many believe that its the caffeine content in them that makes them a 'no no' for the W of W. I think there is far more to it than just caffeine. However I wont delve into any more detail in this area because its nothing I personally have a problem with.
And there we have it! the don'ts of the word of wisdom. It surprised me to find how few there are to be honest. Growing up in the church you sometimes feel like there are so many restrictions but here we can see there are only three suggestions of things to avoid!! Of which make so much sense especially the first two...anybody from anywhere can tell you that.
Prophets have also warned us to avoid drug abuse of any kind. The over use and abuse of prescription drugs are just as harmful as recreational drugs. For a clean and healthy body it should be clear to anyone that avoiding all these things makes so much sense!!!
In my next post I will continue with the Do's of section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants and how I think they apply to me.
