I had a revelation on the WOW

[hawkgrrrl]

the weakest need the literal law

This is pretty universally true I suppose and would be interesting for the church to consider overall. However, the rub is that the weakest don't consider themselves weak. Even the majority of budding alcoholics think they are social drinkers. I think a new WOW should be written that prohibits the use of cream of mushroom soup in casseroles. If you can't make a simple white sauce, you have no business in the kitchen.

I'm with Brown, though. Even if I don't think the WoW is as big a deal as it is portrayed, I always just drink a water or Diet Coke. I don't see the point to drinking alcohol or coffee; neither is vital, and both are so expensive (and in the case of alcohol, all those empty calories)! I certainly don't judge others who do differently, though.

[Brown]

Most Americans eat meat for 2 meals a day. I would consider that excessive, wouldn't you? Certainly not "sparingly".

I think it depends how much there is, and how much in the way of greens is getting eaten as well. Processed meat is a lot worse for you than simple joints etc.

In this particular context, I wouldn't include chicken and fish in the same bracket as red meat either. Red meat's great for protein, but high in fat... venison is probably the exception here.

Well we can sit and debate what is meat and what is "sparingly", but the point that bothers me is that it is just completely ignored in the TR interview, whereas one sip of alcohol and you are SOL. It just seems like a strange double standard. I have never been asked if make grains the staff of my life, but I always get asked about coffee and tobacco. Is an occasional glass of wine worse than an occasional 24oz ribeye? Many of us eat very poorly. I know I do. But I can eat whoppers for every meal and be living the "code of health" as long as I skip that cup of joe.

[doug]

As is often the case in the church, the rule and the scriptural justification for the rule are not necessarily the same thing. The WoW as implemented as a litmus test for temple attendance, and section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants are certainly related, but more like distant cousins. While originally it may have been all about personal health, it now seems to be more about obedience and promoting a sense of being different from the rest of the world. Though the church may continue to co-opt language of 'the Lord's law of health' etc, it's really about obedience. The church owns the temples and makes the rules for temple attendance, and the rules can and do change from time to time. Whether the rules match the original intent of whatever it is that the rule is based on is irrelevant. I think it helps to make that distinction.

While we're on the topic, I might as well make a plug for the blog of a relative of a friend: thesparitarian.blogspot.com Lots of good ideas for meatless cooking.

[SamBee]

Most Americans eat meat for 2 meals a day. I would consider that excessive, wouldn't you? Certainly not "sparingly".

I think it depends how much there is, and how much in the way of greens is getting eaten as well. Processed meat is a lot worse for you than simple joints etc.

In this particular context, I wouldn't include chicken and fish in the same bracket as red meat either. Red meat's great for protein, but high in fat... venison is probably the exception here.

Well we can sit and debate what is meat and what is "sparingly", but the point that bothers me is that it is just completely ignored in the TR interview, whereas one sip of alcohol and you are SOL. It just seems like a strange double standard. I have never been asked if make grains the staff of my life, but I always get asked about coffee and tobacco. Is an occasional glass of wine worse than an occasional 24oz ribeye? Many of us eat very poorly. I know I do. But I can eat whoppers for every meal and be living the "code of health" as long as I skip that cup of joe.

I agree with you. I actually get very annoyed at the spreads in some of our leaving do's etc. Lots of starch and cakes. Thankfully some people DO bring fruit, like grapes, and veg such as broccoli and carrots for dips.

[Ray Degraw]

Interestingly, the following published on my personal blog today - totally independent of this thread being revived. (Sometimes, the timing of stuff like this is almost eerie.)

"My Simplistic, Summary Explanation of the Word of Wisdom" (http://thingsofmysoul.blogspot.com/2011 ... on-of.html)