“Joseph Smith as an Administrator,” Gary Dean Guthrie, Master’s Thesis, Brigham Young University, May 1969, p. 161 “Joseph tested the Saints to make sure their testimonies were of his religion and not of him as a personable leader Amasa Lyman, of the First Presidency, related:
‘Joseph Smith tried the faith of the Saints many times by his peculiarities. At one time, he had preached a powerful sermon on the Word of Wisdom, and immediately thereafter, he rode through the streets of Nauvoo smoking a cigar. Some of the brethren were tried as was Abraham of old.'”
Colossians 2:14-16 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days”.
I can still remember the first time I saw Paul’s encouragement to the Colossians. I visually pictured the ‘no caffeine law’ of Mormonism being nailed to His cross, and I would imagine my dear friends who’ve also left Mormonism and other ‘isms’ have felt the same burdens lifted by the apostle’s descriptive words.
Affirming my thoughts is Matthew Henry’s commentary in reference to this passage:
“Christ’s death is our life…When he was nailed to the cross, the curse was as it were nailed to the cross. And our indwelling corruption is crucified with Christ, and by virtue of his cross. When we remember the dying of the Lord Jesus, and see him nailed to the cross, we should see the hand-writing against us taken out of the way.”
Sadly, millions are still chained to the ideologies Smith employed as he mockingly smoked his cigars. I often wonder what the average Mormon would think of such a scene if they knew…
Pray for them won’t you? Pray for them as others prayed for your salvation before you knew Him who was crucified.
FYI: This is an updated article from 2015.
With Love in Christ;
Michelle †
1 Cor. 1:18
The Word of Wisdom (D&C 89:12,13) speak of “eating meat sparingly and then only in times of winter, or cold or famine.”. The Mormons totally ignore this part of the WOW. Ever been to a Mormon party? There is always a huge supply of meat (ham, roast, pok, chicken) on hand, more than enough to feed every attendee second helpings, if desired.
I heard the story about why the Word of Wisdom came to pass. Joe’s wife, Emma, got sick and tired of cleaning up tobacco juice off the floor of her home. Apparently, many of the saints used chewing tobacco and rather than to use a spittoon, they let loose on her floor. She told Joe that he needed to do something about this nasty behavior. And so, lo and behold, suddenly the Lord grabbed Old Joe and told (revealed) to him, the WOW.
Here is the hypocrisy.. A healthy person that jogs three miles a day, goes to the gym daily and lifts weights,has little or no body fat, watches his diet but still drinks coffee, can not receive a Temple Recommend. On the other hand, a person that overeats, never exercises, is 40 pounds overweight, but complies with the Word of Wisdom, can receive a Temple Recommend
If the purpose of the Word of Wisdom is to keep us healthy, how come it is OK to ignore part of the WOW and enforce other parts? How come overeating and not exercising is OK, but drinking the occasional cup of coffee or wine is not OK? Also, does the church really believe that members living in Italy have stopped drinking espresso and coffee and wine? Does the church honestly believe that members living in the UK have stopped drinking tea?