Monday, June 2, 2008

Regarding the Word of Wisdom and my paper

OKAY- I KNEW this would come up. I am prepared. You will all drop your jaws at this, but I think the word of wisdom AGREES WITH ME! You will see. In this post I will use doctrine as well as my own interpretation. Of course, I'm no Prophet, so my opinions are stricktly MY INTERPRETATIONS! I feel very right about them though:) Like I have time to do this...I am sitting at school, but hey, I want to so I'm going to!

D&C 89:12-14
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;

Okay- I bolded verse 13 for a reason. This is my opinion before even THINKING about the word of wisdom (and I didn't include any of this in my paper becuase it was strictly academic and it was meant for non-LDS audiences as well). Think about the times that the Word of Wisdom was given. Think about Bible times and Book of Mormon times, when Nephi had to go get animals for food. Did they have refridgeration systems? Did they have greenhouses? Did they have UPS and Airplanes? I am HOPING you all realize that they DID NOT have these things. Therefore, how in the world could they get their protein besides meat in the winter? They could not. You do realize that the Word of Wisdom is constantly talking about "The season thereof". Why do you think this is? I believe it is because in that day, herbs, grains, fruits, veggies, didn't all grow in all seasons. ESPECIALLY in the winter! People don't easily make things grow in the winter, AND natural growing isn't very quick- without greenhouses and special seeds or fertilizer. They had very little options back then in the ways of food and protein. OF COURSE Heavenly Father is going to tell them to use the animals because he didn't want them to DIE! To repeat the verse,
13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
Now. Do we have winter or famine in this present day and age? You may say, YES- hello? November through February (or if you live in idaho, September through May). Think about it. This was when there were no refridgerators. This was when people lived in TENTS. This was when ovens were wood and fire. This was when people had NO WAYS of growing things or storing things or shipping things from Africa and California. Do we have a winter? OF COURSE NOT! We live indoors with the heat cranked to around 70 degrees throughout the entire winter. We are never without food because we have the entire world to ship it to us in an instant. This doesn't apply to us anymore. Winter and famine dont exist for the world today. Heavenly Father said that it is pleasing to Him if we DON'T use it unless we have winter or famine. The fact is- we are able to get our protein from grains, legumes, ANYTHING, YEAR ROUND! Also note that D&C 49: 21 says,
21 And wo be unto man that sheddeth blood or that wasteth flesh and hath no need.
Do we need to shed the blood of these animals? I am no animal rights person, though I do kind of feel bad considering they will be in the spirit world- but we really don't need this meat. There is a scripture that Mom can quote but I can't remember the reference that says we will be accounted for every animal killed that wasn't needed. HELLO BURGER KING! I feel bad for whoever invented the triple patty burgers- whatever they're called. Anyway- I understand where you are all coming from, but I feel like the scriptures agree with me. We all say moderation in all things, but if we thought that way, it would be okay to eat a lot of things or do a lot of things that aren't good for us- I think that you can still apply this here. I mean- moderation doesn't include coffee or alcohol. It shouldn't include meat either- it causes cancer! We can still have moderation in all the hundreds of foods we can still eat as vegans.

Why hasn't Heavenly Father revealed this to the present day saints? Because we couldn't handle it! You can see that in the comments of my paper. People LOVE MEAT. The society hasn't even accepted it, and the church wouldn't do something so far out that would lead investigators, and in fact MEMBERS, away because they think we are crazy. The Lord waits for the people to be ready to unleash new things. I'm not telling you NOT to eat meat. I'm telling you what I believe is the truth. I don't think Heavenly Father is going to be angry with us for eating meat every once in a while, but I do think that he will be angry if we are eating it more than necessary. I am still working out my moral dilemma of what I want to do exactly, but I really do want to try to eventually be full vegan. I know, logically, scientifically, and even spiritually that this is the healthiest way. It may not be the tastiest way, but are our bodies not temples? I know many of you probably have a billion scriptures to counter me, and that's fine. I don't want this to turn into scripture bashing and such. This is just what I have come to find, and if you don't agree that's just fine! I will never be one of those people that MUST eat my diet, even if I'm a guest at someone's house. If they serve me meat, I will eat it. But within my own life and own home, that's another story. It's hard, but isn't everything that's worth it?

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope I didn't offend anyone. This has just been the focus of my life the past monthish. So I'm a little passionate about it:)

**Side note to Megan and anyone that is inlove with the twilight series.
Okay- so there was a special edition of Eclipse that came out on saturday- I don't know what's so special about it, but it probably had a nice cover- WHO KNOWS! The important part though, is that IN IT- like her other books, had a preview of the next book. The first chapter of the book coming out in August, Breaking Dawn. So the night before the book came out with the chapter, Stephenie Meyer was so excited she couldn't stand it, so she gave a preview of the preview. Meaning, she gave like the first 2 pages of the first chapter of Breaking Dawn. The next day, the book came out and tons of people got it and typed it up online. That is what the link is. Someone typing it up, copying it from their book they bought with the chapter in it. I'M SO EXCITED! I'm sorry, but I just love Bella. I think she is SO hilarious. Those of you who are annoyed of Bella, PROBABLY are annoyed at the first chapter. She is just so funny, I love her. That is the story with the chapter and that one post. I hope it all made sense!

6 comments:

Jenni said...

well I think you did a great job on your paper :) and I think that meat should be eaten sparingly as well. I don't eat it very often, but I also really feel just as strongly that those who love to eat meat should be able to do it without grief just as those who choose to not eat meat should be able to do it without grief.

Animal products are delicious! such as cheese and ice cream and such. And just like everything else in the world... moderation in all things. :)

great job on all your research though. I'm impressed!

Sharon/Mom/ Grandma said...

Good job! I hope you can do it. I wish I could. I will cut back though. I love you !! thank you for today!

Megan and Greg said...

Well I'm still a little confused about twilight, but it doesn't matter. I LOVE YOU!!! I'm so excited for the reunion! I hope you don't think I'm going to hell because I kill bugs and eat butter and eggs. I'm curious to see if you can really hold out on butter and cheese for a lifetime. You'll be missing out on some GOOD things. By the way, what does Clay think about all this? And a couple different people told me that soy and tofu are really bad for you. So look into it before you make the big switch. Make sure whatever you're losing (like protien and calcium) make sure you're still getting the good stuff (and not other bad stuff). I'm glad you feel good about it. You had some interesting points.

AMY AND MIKEY said...

I think you are an incredible writer, and I just am amazed at how many things you are good at. You can be an accountant, journalist, writer, debater, speaker. I am really hooked with the whole milk part. That makes complete sense to me, that we are the only mammals that drink other mammals' milk. So that one is really easy for me. I just realized butter comes from milk- hahahahha- now meat- I wonder about that, definetely atleast what the word of wisdom says- in moderation. When they say in times of winter, I wonder if that's because of the whole refridgeration thing- or the whole not being able to grow things in the winter, so they had to live off of meat, etc. All the things you pointed out. But the weird thing is- we're all going to be vegans in teh second coming- so doesn't that count for something? I feel like Heavenly Father wants us to be vegan, otherwise why would he have us be vegan in the second coming? Megan said soy is bad for you- but doesn't soy come from a bean, and beans are good- plus, that would ahve to be healther than dairy. I am convinced through and through with dairy. I love you. I'm so proud of you that you can speak your mind and give your opinions, it's easy for me to do with people I don't know, but people who I'm close to I get nervous, you are so grownup and mature, it's supposed to be the other way around :) I love you so much.

Patty said...

I think you are a great writer. You really did a great job on the research. I love how you countered. Did you take debate in High School. I really do agree with you about the meat. As you know I have never been a great lover of eating meat. I really enjoyed all of the knowledge that you shared with everyone. Keep up the good work and wishing you the best in keeping to your standards. Love you. bye now.
p.s. thanks for the info on the Twilight series which I love.

Unknown said...

Nicely written! I was horrible at college papers! :) Make sure Clay gets what he needs however! :) He's got to keep his gaming abilities in tight focus! :)

Romans, Chapter 14

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God' ".

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.

So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.