The Temptation to Disbelieve the Counsel of the Prophets When Their Advice Conflicts With the World’s Health Experts

To the law

and to the testimony:

     if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.    

(Isaiah 8:20)

A modern version of this scripture might read something like:

To the doctrine

and to the covenants:

     if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

     Section 89 of the Doctrine & Covenants is our guide as to what the healthiest diet is.  If dieticians recommend foods contrary to what is in that section, you can be sure that they are wrong.

     What about the Atkins diet, which advocates a high protein intake?  Well, one thing we know is that if all our protein comes from meat, then it can’t be good, because the Word of Wisdom says meat should be eaten sparingly except in cold, winter, famine, or excess of hunger.

     What about scientific studies claiming that one or two glasses of wine a day can prevent cancer?  That is in direct opposition to the direction of the Word of Wisdom to not take wine, so we know there is no light in that, huh?  In fact, we could say that those who advocate drinking wine for one’s health are those to whom Isaiah was referring when he said:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;

that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;

that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

(Isaiah 5:20)

     The Word of Wisdom is especially for us so that we can really know what substances are good and which are bad for our bodies, since the Lord knew that men would conspire to spread misinformation about the effects of what they would sell.

The Temptation to Think That You Can Handle Breaking the Word of Wisdom

The Temptation to Be Lulled Into a False Sense of Security About What Others Give You to Eat or Drink

Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine,

and men of strength to mingle strong drink:

(Isaiah 5:22)

     [T]hem that are mighty to drink wine - What is it about “them that are mighty” and “men of strength” that draws Isaiah’s ire?  Not only do they break the word of wisdom, they probably also dismiss all warnings with the following sentences: “I know what I’m doing.”  “I can handle it.”  “I can quit any time” “It doesn’t really affect me.”  If we find ourselves saying any of those things to ourselves we are dangerously overestimating our own strength and underestimating the danger of the substance we are about to use.

     But really, what is so great about the ability to take lots of toxic substances into our bodies without immediately observing any harmful and lasting effect?  That’s actually a bad thing, because if our bodies are not sensitive to the toxicity of something, we will use it for long periods of time, and by the time the terrible effects show up, our bodies would not be able to handle being deprived of the substance, or be able to heal itself.

     [M]en of strength to mingle strong drink - On the teenage level, this could describe people who “spike” the drinks.  They mingle something strong and dangerous with what should be harmless, which is like digging a pit for their neighbors.

     I narrowly avoided falling into one of these pits myself.  I went to a high school homecoming dance and unbeknownst to me the punch had been spiked.  I didn’t find out about it until the next week at school.  How did the Lord keep my friends and me safe?  Somehow the Lord helped me cultivate the habit of ahead of time of going out to the drinking fountains for a drink of water when I was at stake dances, and that’s what I did without thinking at the homecoming dance.  The Monday after the homecoming dance we heard about some guy who drank so many glasses of that spiked punch that he got drunk and humiliated his date by the way he behaved.

     How can you avoid getting your drink spiked or your food tainted?  First, you must let the Spirit guide you.  If you get a bad feeling about something you are given to eat at a party, don’t eat it.  If you suspect the punch, get yourself some water instead, and don’t let your cup out of your sight.

     When I was in high school, I once heard a girl in one of my classes say that she wanted to see me on acid.  She didn’t care about me; she just wanted to see how it would destroy me.  If there was someone who wanted to see me on acid, there are also people who will want to see you drunk, or high, or whatever.  You must be cautious. 

The Temptation to Think You Can Avoid the Terrible Effects of Harmful Substances Forbidden By the Word of Wisdom    

1 Woe to the crown of pride,

to the drunkards of Ephraim,

whose glorious beauty is a fading flower,

which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!

2         Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one,

     which as a tempest of hail

     and a destroying storm,

     as a flood of mighty waters overflowing,

     shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

(Isaiah 28:1-2)

     This scripture sounds really similar to the one at the beginning of the chapter, but there is new stuff to get from it. 

     [T]he crown of pride - What could “the crown of pride” be?  Hmm.  Let’s analyze this.  A crown indicates royalty.  How does royalty relate to pride?  Well, royalty tends to think they are better than everyone else and that they are above the rules.  That makes sense.  Now, if we relate this to the Word of Wisdom, the expression “crown of pride” seems to mean we tend to think the Word of Wisdom doesn’t apply to us.  It may be beliefs and attitudes such as “Just once won’t hurt me” or “I won’t get addicted” or an “I can quit anytime I want to” attitude.  We’ve seen that before; that’s the “men of strength” attitude.

     In verse two, Isaiah compares being overcome by alcohol to being in a really bad storm complete with hail, wind, and a downpour of rain that causes a flood of mighty waters overflowing, the result of which is that a person under the influence falls down on the ground.

     Why does Isaiah compare drunkenness to a storm?  Well, let’s see..  Just like people think they can handle being out in a storm, people also tend to think they can handle the effects of alcohol.  Just like wind-driven torrents of rain in your face make it difficult to see, alcohol blurs a person’s vision and judgment.  Just like the roar and whistle of the wind and booming thunder in your ears make it difficult to hear anything else clearly, alcohol messes with a person’s hearing.  Just like it is difficult (and dangerous) to walk through a deep, rushing, flash-flooded river, it is difficult (and dangerous) to walk when under the influence of alcohol.  (If it weren’t, police wouldn’t test people for drunkenness by asking them to walk a straight line on the ground.)  Having never touched alcohol in my life, I find this storm analogy very enlightening.  I hope you do too.

     These comparisons don’t fit just the small picture; they also fit the big picture.   A hailstorm destroys tender plants, and alcohol destroys tender lives.  A tornado merely destroys a house, but alcohol destroys the people that make a house a home.  Just like anything in the way of a tsunami wave gets swept away and destroyed, anything in the way of a drunken driver gets destroyed.

     Do these verses apply only to people who drink alcohol?  What about drug use?  Let’s try some substitution and see what we get:

Woe to the crown of pride,

to the drug users of Ephraim,

whose glorious beauty is a fading flower,

which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are high on drugs!

     Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one,

     which as a tempest of hail

     and a destroying storm,

     as a flood of mighty waters overflowing,

     shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

     Hmmmm.  Now I get the impression that “shall cast down to the earth with the hand” could mean the “crash” of deep depression after being high on drugs.  Like coming back to the real world and finding reality feels horrible; like finding the world stormy, dreary, and dark. (Which it isn’t, because the rest of us deal with reality just fine)

     “[S]hall cast down to the earth with the hand” could also describe “hitting rock bottom” after a long addiction and realizing we’ve lost everything we hold dear like family, job, respect, and the Spirit.  And realizing that we can’t escape anymore; we must face the consequences.  By whose hand will we have been cast down?  Our own!

     “[S]hall cast down to the earth with the hand” could also describe an addict who dies of an overdose and finds their spirit cast down into spirit prison because they have long yielded themselves to be led captive by the devil, while their body is cast down into a grave six feet deep...

     Wow!  Three different meanings came from applying those verses of Isaiah to doing drugs, and all of them are true!

The Temptation to Think That Harmful Substances Can Help You Have Fun and Forget Your Troubles

There is a crying for wine in the streets;

all joy is darkened,

the mirth of the land is gone.

(Isaiah 24:11)

     [T]here is a crying for wine in the streets - One reason people drink or do drugs is to escape and forget their troubles.  They frequently acquire a chemical dependency on these substances before they have learned how to deal constructively with sorrow, grief, or frustration.  I had a calculus teacher (a grown adult, can you believe it?!) that got so frustrated with our class’s ignorance that he told us we were driving him to drink, like that would cure our ignorance or something.  Elder Neal A. Maxwell said,  “Violence abounds, often to purchase drugs in order to “tune out” of the world instead of overcoming it.”2

     [A]ll joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone - This describes what will happen if we drink and do drugs to be happy. We will lose interest in the wholesome forms of recreation we enjoyed before, and depend solely on the chemical substances for good feelings.  However, whatever good feelings we experience from those substances will not last.  Dr. Robert L. Dupont, in his book The Selfish Brain: Learning From Addiction, notes the following from his experience of treating addicts:

In the early stages of addiction, the addict seeks euphoria, a good feeling.  As the drug use continues over months and years, the low point in the feeling cycle drops so that in time the addict is no longer seeking “good” feelings as much as “better” feelings.  Experienced addicts sometimes say, “I use now just to feel okay for a little while.”  As the disease of addiction progresses, addicts are “treating” their own drug-caused bad feelings, known as dysphoria.3

     That dysphoria sends addicts crying for wine or drugs to make the sad feelings go away.  It is also what is meant by “the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin” (Mormon 2:13).

     Even more disturbing is what Dr. Dupont says in particular about the effect of chronic cocaine use upon the pleasure center of the brain. 

Cocaine users not only feel terrible after a run of cocaine use, but they find they are unable to experience life’s normal pleasures.  Their brain’s DA [dopamine] pleasure system has been overstimulated and exhausted by cocaine use.  The brain requires weeks or even months to reestablish a normal equilibrium in the DA synapses.  After years of work with chronic cocaine users, I am concerned that after prolonged heavy abuse, the DA system of some chronic users may never again function normally, producing a lifelong state of diminished ability to experience normal pleasures.4

     This diminished ability to experience and enjoy normal pleasures would certainly cause the mirth of the land to disappear as Isaiah said. 

     I strongly remember the testimony of a young man who witnessed to the destructive effects of drugs upon him.  He said that he had been drug-free for a year and he had been sure that he would never be able to have fun ever again and it had only been a few days before that he had gone and hung out with his friends, talked, and actually experienced feelings of pleasure.  He was so grateful to the Lord that he could have fun without doing drugs or drinking and that he had felt the Spirit in the testimony meeting.  It impressed upon my mind that the Lord is the source of the cleanest, happiest feelings—bright joy, not darkened joy—and that while drugs and alcohol cause the mirth of the land to disappear, the Lord can cause it to reappear.. in time.

The Temptation to Break the Word of Wisdom Because You Think It Makes You Look Good

The Temptation to Think That Using Harmful Substances Won’t Affect Your Life Span

3 The crown of pride,

the drunkards of Ephraim,

     shall be trodden under feet:

4 And the glorious beauty,

which is on the head of the fat valley,

     shall be a fading flower,

     and as the hasty fruit before the summer;

     which when he that looketh upon it seeth,

     while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.

(Isaiah 28:3-4)

     The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: And the glorious beauty. . . shall be a fading flower - This says quite plainly that the use of alcohol will cause our good looks to fade just like a flower withers and shrivels up.  But not only will they wither, Isaiah also says that they will get eaten up like “hasty fruit before the summer”.  That means our good looks will fade before everyone else’s good looks even ripen!  Yikes!  That will cause our pride in our looks to be “trodden under feet” for the rest of our lives.

     Does this only apply to drinking?  I don’t think so.  I did some research and found that it also applies to smoking.

 

. . .creases, furrows, and lines around your mouth and eyes, and nicotine-stained nails, not to mention skin cancer, are just a few of the legacies smoking leaves on your looks. . . a less than glowing complexion. . . .for every ten years of smoking, your face ages 14 years. . . .Identical twin studies have revealed that smokers have thinner skin, more gray hair and more facial wrinkling than their smoke-free counterpart. . . .A study by dermatologists in Seoul, Korea and published in the International Journal of Dermatology, reported that smokers are three times as likely to develop unsightly lines and creases, and that premature wrinkling caused by smoking can show up in people as young as 20 years old. What’s more is that their wrinkles are twice as rough and pronounced as those found on their non-smoking peers.1

     (Quick note: You may think that it is shallow to make a big deal about these substances’ effect on our looks. It would be shallow, but only if that was the only thing I made a big deal about.  Actually, what I’m trying to do is show you as much of the whole picture of the consequences as possible, and appearance is one of the things that is affected by the use of these substances.  Thank you, end of note.  Move along, move along.)

     I also tried to see if the long-term cosmetic effects of illegal drugs had been documented, and I couldn’t find anything.  I’d like to say that this implies that users of illegal drugs don’t live long enough for a long-term cosmetic effect to be observed, but that would be a logical fallacy of ignorance, so I have to do more research. 

     If it were to turn out that the above implication is true, then another meaning in these verses becomes clear; “as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up” is talking about the early harvest by the Grim Reaper.  Death will eat us up early if we use harmful substances. 

The Temptation to Deny an Addiction

     The more I’ve studied Isaiah, the more I’ve realized that the things he wrote are so useful for today.  How useful?  Take the following scripture; it is a fabulous way to judge if something has become an addiction. 

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning,

     that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night,

     till wine inflame them!

(Isaiah 5:11)

     How simple can it get?  If a person is using a substance constantly—first thing in the morning, continuing to use it throughout the day, and even at night—that indicates using that substance is the ONLY thing they really care about.  THAT is addiction.  It doesn’t matter if it is wine, coffee, caffeinated drinks, drugs, sugar, Googly-Snitzelbeans, or whatever.  If using it is the only thing you care about, then you have an addiction.  This definition is useful for not just recognizing addictions to what we take into our bodies, but also for recognizing other kinds of addictions.

     I’ll give you an example of how this definition has helped me.  There was a time when I was so interested in reading stuff on the internet that I would spend hours doing it.  I would get up in the morning and read all the news I could find on the Internet.  I would avoid doing my schoolwork until almost too late.  I would read on the Internet for hours before I went to bed at night.  I didn’t really care much for anything else.  According to Isaiah’s definition, I had an addiction to the Internet.  (I overcame it by going cold turkey for a while.  Since then, I’ve used the Internet much, much, much less, trying to make life more worth living offline than online.)

 

The Temptation to Think There Is No Way to Escape Addiction

     One of the tools for escaping the slavery of addictions is fasting.  In Isaiah 58 about fasting, it says:

Is not this the fast that I have chosen?

     to loose the bands of wickedness,

     to undo the heavy burdens,

     and to let the oppressed go free,

     and that ye break every yoke?

(Isaiah 58:6)

     Spencer J. Condie said:

Satan would have you surrender your moral agency to various forms of addictive behavior, but a loving Heavenly Father has promised you through His prophet Isaiah that through sincere fasting, as you subdue your physical appetites, He will help you “loose the bands of wickedness” and “break every yoke.”  Claim that promise through fasting. Our emptiness will provide more room for the fulness of the gospel. The hollowing precedes the hallowing.5

     Why does fasting help break addictions?  Well, in order to fast, you have to control yourself and discipline yourself.  One of the things you learn from fasting is that you can live with that feeling of gnawing hunger and you don’t have to satisfy every craving you get.  You learn that cravings come and go.  You learn that being patient and not giving in while you are suffering from a craving will cause you to eventually overcome it.  You learn not to go where you would be tempted to break your fast.  (Wouldn’t it be silly to go to a restaurant while you were fasting?)

     All these lessons are still true when trying to break addictions.  You use self-control and self-discipline.  You can live with the craving without giving into it.  The cravings come and go.   Being patient and not giving in to cravings will cause you to eventually overcome it.  You avoid places and situations and people that would tempt you. 

The Temptation to Avoid Eating Fruits and Vegetables

In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious;

the fruit of the earth excellent and comely

     to them that are escaped of Israel.

(2 Nephi 14:2, compare to Isaiah 4:2)

     The above scripture seems to say that someday we will consider “the fruit of the earth” (vegetables, fruits, and grains) to be the most beautiful (“comely”) foods of all.When I started writing this section of the chapter, I started to think carefully about why I didn’t eat the vegetables I should.  I decided it was because I didn’t like the way they tasted when they were cooked.  I’ve always thought of fruits as nature’s dessert, and I started to wonder why vegetables needed to be cooked but not fruits.  Then, the thought occurred to me that maybe vegetables aren’t meant to be cooked, and that was a staggerer.  Maybe they were supposed to be raw too.  Maybe they taste better raw.

     With all these startling thoughts going through my head, I decided I had to try an experiment on some vegetables to see if my hypothesis about uncooked vegetables tasting better than cooked vegetables was true or not, at least in the case of one vegetable.  And what could be a better vegetable to try this experiment on than a vegetable I didn’t like?  I decided to try eating half of a green pepper to see if I liked the taste of it raw or not.  (I already knew I certainly didn’t like the taste of it when the living bejabbers had been cooked out of it.)  So I pulled one out of the refrigerator, washed it, cut it up, cleaned the seeds out, and took a bite.   I discovered that green peppers are so crisp and fresh that when you bite into them sometimes they squirt a very small, fine spray of juice in your mouth.  And I liked it.  A lot.  I felt so weird, walking around the kitchen munching on an entire half of a green pepper.  I decided my experiment had been a success, and since then I’ve found other vegetables to be also tastier in their raw state than they are in their cooked state.

     I decided I wanted to try another experiment.  Although I already stay away from lots of red meat, I decided I wanted to see how a more strict Word of Wisdom diet would affect my health.  I decided to eat mostly fruits, raw vegetables, grains, and dairy, and avoid sugary dessert food as much as possible.  I also wanted to avoid eating lots of processed foods, like too many canned goods, frozen foods, or fried foods.

     At first, it was difficult, because my husband hardly knew what to make for dinner anymore; I was trying to avoid so much of what we ate before.  Also, it suddenly seemed like most foods in the grocery store became off-limits, except the produce section, the dairy section, and the baking aisle.  At first this made me a little sad, but then I realized that it was just like being extra careful about what movies to watch and what music to listen to - only a small portion of all that is available is actually good.  That thought cheered me immensely.  If you stick with just the good part, you stay healthy!

     Now, let me tell you about some fascinating things that have happened since I’ve been on this careful Word of Wisdom diet.

     First, I noticed that discoveries about Isaiah and what it meant were coming more quickly to my mind than they had before.  And things I’d never thought about occurred to me.  I was receiving wisdom and hidden treasures of knowledge.

     Second, although I wasn’t getting much exercise, I noticed that my muscles didn’t get sore the day after I did something particularly strenuous.  This was very surprising to me.  I didn’t realize that “run and not be weary” also meant “run and not have sore muscles afterward”.  I decided to start running regularly to see what would happen.  I made daily running a habit and after a few months I discovered that I felt ready to run more very soon after finishing my run.  (I’d stop running, walk about 20 steps and then feel like I could run some more!)  It was literally true that I could run and not get tired.

     Third, I noticed that I wasn’t getting the sicknesses that were going around.  That was amazing to me.  Every winter since I could remember I had always gotten a two-week-long cold in the nose and then a bad, hacking cough that had to be treated with prescription antibiotics or something, but this winter during my experiment I was perfectly fine!  This, I’m sure, was the destroying angel passing me by.

     Now, lest you think this is just a fluke, I found the story of a similar experiment, only on a national scale.  Check this out:

During the World War [I] Dr. Hindhede had the opportunity of carrying out the greatest large scale nutrition experiment in the world's history. The war blockade compelled Denmark which imported cattle and hog feeds, to slaughter and sell four-fifths of its hogs and to reduce the dairy cattle by 34%. The farm products thus saved were made a part of the new dietary of the Danish people. A low meat, that is a low protein diet, became necessary. A "war bread" was made from whole rye flour, mixed with about 15% of wheat bran. By governmental order, under Hindhede's advice, each person (from October, 1917) was allowed a daily diet, carefully weighed out, of very little meat, small amounts of butter and milk, and substantial quantities of the above bread, cereals and potatoes. Alcoholic beverages were forbidden; tea and coffee were unavailable. Ordinarily, the average person would turn up his nose at such a diet. Within a few months, the beneficial effects of this diet upon the national health became evident. During the year of the experiment the Danish death rate fell nearly one-fifth, and became the lowest ever known in Europe. When, in October, 1918, the influenza epidemic broke out, Denmark was the only non-combatant nation in Europe with a death rate, during the course of the disease, below the pre-war mortality records. Abstinence from alcohol, tea and coffee, no doubt was a great factor in winning these remarkable results, but careful statistical studies have shown that the simple, natural diet was a prime factor in reducing the normal death rate and in giving the nation resistance against the influenza scourge.6

     Notice, it said the simple, natural diet was a major “prime factor” in reducing the death rate and building resistance against disease, even against a world epidemic.  This shows us that it is not enough to abstain from alcohol, tea, coffee, tobacco, and drugs.  If that is all we are doing, we are only enjoying half the benefits of the Word of Wisdom!  The other half of the benefit comes from eating, simple, natural foods in the proportions recommended by the Lord. 

     I challenge you to live the Word of Wisdom more carefully, eating more whole grains, more fruit, and more fresh vegetables.  Figure out what vegetables taste good to you in their raw, natural state and then ask your Mom to get them for you.  (And watch her get excited about the prospect of you eating vegetables and the prospect of not having to cook them!)  The more careful you are about eating the most healthy stuff and keeping away from unhealthy stuff, the greater the blessings you will see!  I so want you to enjoy the same blessings that I experienced!

     So what have we learned from Isaiah about the Word of Wisdom? 

1. 1)If people’s advice about what to take into our bodies goes against the scriptures, then there is no light in the advice of those people.
   

2. 2)Overestimating our body’s strength to handle breaking the Word of Wisdom means we’re underestimating the danger.
   

3. 3)Taking harmful substances into our bodies destroys our abilities like storms destroy property.  It also destroys our lives.
   

4. 4)Drugs and alcohol tend to replace other wholesome, fun activities, but sooner or later they cease to bring enjoyment.
   

5. 5)Breaking the Word of Wisdom will cause our good looks to get eaten up prematurely, and will bring an early death.
   

6. 6)If taking a substance is the only thing we care about all day, we are addicted to it.
   

7. 7)Fasting helps break addiction.
   

8. 8)Someday we’ll consider the fruit of the earth to be the most desirable food.
   

Notes

1 Karmen B. Saran, “Smoking and Your Skin”, Dermadoctor.com, <http://www.dermadoctor.com/pages/newsletter232.asp (accessed May 5, 2007).

2 Neal A. Maxwell, “Behold, the Enemy Is Combined,” Ensign, May 1993, p. 76.

3 Robert L. Dupont, The Selfish Brain: Learning From Addiction, (Washington D.C., American Psychiatric Press, 1997), 220.

4 Ibid., 158.

5 Spencer J. Condie, “Becoming a Great Benefit to Our Fellow Beings,” Ensign, May 2002, p. 44.6 John A. Widtsoe and Leah D. Widtsoe, The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation, 1950,  http://www.ldsveg.org/WidtsoeWordOfWisdomAModernInterpretation.htm (accessed May 3, 2007), chap. 15.