The Healthiest Religion in the World

Mormons are the healthier than anybody in the world because of the Word of Wisdom. Actually, Seventh-day Adventists are the healthiest religion in the world. They don’t eat pork, don’t smoke or drink but they do drink coffee. Most are vegetarians. How did Joseph Smith get it wrong?

I am grateful that my parents taught me not to smoke or use drugs. My health education was greatly influenced by the Mormon church’s code of health, called the Word of Wisdom. How did this policy come about in the church? The story goes that Joseph’s wife Emma, got tired of cleaning up the mess of chewing tobacco in the school of the prophets. So Joseph got a revelation that told him that not only was tobacco bad, but so was alcohol, tea, coffee and eating too much meat wasn’t a good idea, either. Interestingly enough, these were ideas that were circulating around within Joseph Smith’s religious environment so the LDS probably weren’t the only ones to adopt such a policy in that time. The dean at my dental school related to us that he never tried beer until he turned 60 because the backwoods Baptist church he went to as a kid said that you’d go to hell if you drank or smoked.

My biggest point of disagreement with the Mormon code of health is with regards to coffee. Recent research has proven that it is good for you. So why do Mormons treat it like poison? I think most Mormons take pride in the fact that they can function without it. While I don’t advocate any addiction, imagine how much more effective Mormons would be in carrying out their ministry if they DID drink coffee? That’s food for thought. Or a refreshing beverage for consideration. Or if you’re a Mormon, it’s poison for your eternal soul.

The worst part of the way the Mormon code of health is enforced is that it focuses on outward manifestations of compliance and not on actually taking good care of yourself. While the revelation discusses the importance of eating grains and vegetables, this part is rarely taken seriously and has no enforcement within the church (except in the sense that missionaries must be within a certain weight/fitness bracket). Many Mormons are overweight and wherever the Mormons meet to share a treat, we ask the Lord to “Bless these treats that they will nourish and strengthen us” or as one stake president said “after the meeting we will enjoy those wonderful treats- which we all need so much”. Mormons should take a page out of the Adventists’ book and focus on being healthy. Granted, there are plenty of blonde Utah trophy wives who spend all week at the gym so that they can look good for their husbands. But if you really believe the Word of Wisdom is God’s word, shouldn’t you try and keep ALL of his commandments, not just the parts that are required to get a temple recommend?

And for the record, while coffee has a bitter taste, the caffeine is wonderful for helping me stay alert and focus when i get up early to study on test days. I don’t know how my TBM colleagues do it. I guess they have more faith than I do. Actually, I think I can say with some level of confidence that I know they have more faith than I do.