An Historical Analysis of the Word of Wisdom
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1972 An Historical Analysis of the Word of Wisdom Paul H. Peterson Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the History Commons, Mormon Studies Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Peterson, Paul H., "An Historical Analysis of the Word of Wisdom" (1972). Theses and Dissertations. 5039. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5039 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. AN historical ANALYSIS OP THE vordWORD OF WISDOM A thesis presented to the department of history brigham young university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree master of arts by paul H peterson august 1972 this thesistthemistthesisy by paul H Peterpetersonpetersonssonssony is accepted in its present form by the department of history of brigham young university as satisfying the thesis requirement for the degree of master of arts r ark eugeiiq E campbell commitzrteetwee chairman jawjam 4 s al n tteeatee member 00 I1 daitdartee de lamareamarr jensendebartmentjensenvuebarguebardo ent chairman ii acknowledgments the writer would like to acknowledge with gratitude the encourageencouragementmentr suggestions and criticisms ofor drdrw eugene E campbell and drdredrw james B alienailen gratitude is expressed to the staffs ofor the histor- ical department ofor the church and the special collections library at brigham young university for their assistance andd cooperation special thanks is extended to the writerwwlterwritersls lifeywifewifey bobbiebobblefor her encouragement and supportsupports liiill TABLE OF CONTENTS chapter page I1 introduction 1 II11 THE ORIGINS OF THE WORD OF WISDOM 6 the earlynineteenthearly nineteenth century temperance movement 6 the health reform movement 14 variant explanations of the origin of the word of wisdom 17 III111 A TIME OF TRIAL AND moderation THE FIRST tii DECADE OF THE WORD OF WISDOM 22 the move to nauvoo 31 joseph smiths personal approach 36 IV NOT BY commandment OR constraint 42 veV A PERIOD OF ECONOMIC adjustment 54 VI AN ERA OF repentance AND REFORM THE WORD OF WISDOM IN THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES & 0 0 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 69 VII THE WORD OF WISDOM AND THE ADOPTION OPOFprohibition 82 VIII THE WORD OF WISDOM A STANDARD OF CHURCH ORTHODOXYORTHOD OXY & a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 90 IX SUMMARY AND conclusions 0 0 0 0 104 bibliography 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 109 iv CHAPTER I1 introduction the word of wisdom comprises section 89 of the doctrine and covenants and is accepted as scripture by members of the church of jesus christ of latterlatterdayday saints as are the rest of the revelations contained in this volume it was first announced by joseph smith on february 27 1833 at kirtland ohio the name of the revelation is taken from the first verse which reads A word of wisdom for the benefit of the council of high priests assembled in kirtland and the church and also the saints in zion the revelation can be logically broken doundown into six main divisions 1 it is not good to drink wine or strong drink except for sacramental purposes when used in the sacrament the wine must be pure wine of the grape of the vine 2 tobacco is not good forfox man 3 hot drinks are not good for man hot drinks the doctrine and covenants salt lake city the church of jesus christ of latterlatterdayday saints 1952 section 89 in objective historical writing all revelations should be dealt with by using qualifying adjectives to facilitate readinreadingreadingsgt the use of such adjectives has been avoided this does not mean of course that historical proof beyond refutation is in the possession of the author 2 are interpretinterpretatedatedabed by church leaders to mean tea and coffee 4 herbs and fruits are ordained for the co- stitnstitutionution nature and use of man they are to be used with prudence 5 the flesh of beasts and fowls is to be used sparingly by man 6 all grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts to be the staff of life 0 0 the revelation was a greeting rather than a commandment but showed forth the order and will of god in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days t122 those who obey admonitions are promised that they will receive health and strength find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge run andnotand not be weary walk and not faint and escape the destroying angel who will not slay them althoughthealthough the revelation contains much of a positive nature this study will be confined to those verses which prohibitprohibits the use of alcohol tobacco tea and coffee church leaders generally have chosen to place emphasis in this area and abstinence from these items has been made a test of church fellowship to almost all MormonMorcormonsmormonsmormonsgmonssg adherence to the word of wisdom athe2the2the fact that it was not given as a literal commandment has caused considerable controversy and this a 1 ifillwill be examined in latter chapter I 3 implies such abstinence interpretations stresses and attitudes regarding this aspect of mormonismMonnonismibm have fluctuated and changed over the yearbyearspearsoyearso r today the revelation has literally become a badge of distinction for members of the church of jesus christ of latterlatterdayday saints and mormons every- where are known for adherence to this doctrindoctrineeo nearly every recent nonnonmormonmormon writer who has written of mormon society has made note of the practice among church members 3 the purpose of this thesis is to trace the historical development of the word of wisdom and deter- mine its influence both past and present on the lives of latterlatterdayday saints many articles pamphlets and books havhawhavehawee been written in support of the health code which the revelation advocates 4 but with two exceptionexceptionsst 3eeaee3see for exemexamexamplepletplespies the following accounts written by nonnonmormonmormon visivlsivisitorstorstt thomas F odeaodemoldem the mormons chicago university of chicago press 1957y1937 PP s 41469144146144 146 william J vhalwhelenwhalenwhalwhaten the latterdayday saints in the modelmodemmodern wo latter DMdaydeyworldrid new yorks john day coatco 1964 IV appp 22122221228221 22228 1 robert mullen the latterlatterdayday selntsaintsaintsa new yorks doubleday and coecovco 1966 ppa 262726 27 wallace turneraturnervturner the mormon establestabaestablishmentI1 ent bostonebostontBostont houghton mifflin 00cooo 1196666 PP 545554 55 4 the most prominent works of this nature aresamesamexareg frederick Jjo pack tobacco and human efficiency salt lakelekelaake citycityx deseret neastnewstnews 1919 leL weston oaks medical aspectsAs eectsejects oftheodtheof the latterlatterdayday saint word of wisdom provcipicospioosprovoi brigham young university 1929a1929 john A and leah Ddirder widtsoeWidtsoe the word of wisdom A modeamodemmodern interpretation salt lakee city deseret book coycosco 19501950 david geddes oo our word 0 ofof WIwisdomadom salt lake citticity deseret book 00co t9157t51964 4 no one has attempted to trace its development historically leonard jeJ arrington wrote ashorta short but perceptive paper which stressed the importance of economic factors in utah during the 1863 as one reason for stressing the word of wisdom then 5 david geddes included a brief chapter on the historical background of the revelation in a book that was primarily concerned with the health aspects of 6 the doctrine thus the need for this study becomes readily apparent it is hoped that such an effort will dispel many prominent myths about the word of wisdom and by separating truth from error mekemakee more clear a sensitive phase of mormon history that has never been adequately linedminedexaminedex the approach is chronological chapter two discusses the prevailing environment in which the revelation was given and examines various explanations of its origin the remaining chapters examine the interpretations and applications of the principle beginning with the administration of joseph smith and concluding with present church policies the writer has obtained his materials primarily from published speeches of mormon leaders minutes of 5leonardbleonardleonard Jje arrington an economic interpretation of the word of wisdomvibwisdomswisdomnwibWisdomn bribrighama tountoungyounyoung versifyverbifyuniversitytoliversifynolinollTOli studies vol 1 winter 1959 PPppe 5749374937 4990 cdavid6daviddavid geddes our word of wisdom salt lake citticitycityi deseret book cotcosco 1964dr1964 important latterlatterdayday saint meetings mormon diaries journals and letters accounts of nonnonmormonsmormons who lived and traveled among church members and contemporary newspapers and periodicals by structure the mormon church is strongly authoritarian and because of this a good deal of emphasis has been placed on learning the attitudes of church leaders toward this doctrine in this thesis the words church mormon and saint will be used interchangeably and will refer to members of the church of jesus christ of latterlatterdayday saints the word gentile n will refer to nonmembers of the church of jesus christ of latterlatterdayday saints CHAPTER II11 THE ORIGINS OF THE WORD OF WISDOM the early nineteenth centurycen temtomtemperanceberanceserance