physical

Acetaldehyde: A Good Reason For the Word of Wisdom

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Chemical composition of Acetaldehyde. (UAwiki, Wikipedia)

Chemical composition and structure of Acetaldehyde. (UAwiki, Wikipedia)

Ever since the revelation referred to as the “Word of Wisdom,” and now contained in D&C 89, was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith there has been talk of whether or not it is an effective physical health standard. I think it is perhaps beyond argument that it is effective spiritually, at least for those who believe that obedience to God’s word will bring them closer to Him (John 14:23), but the revelation also notes physical and mental benefits for keeping this word of wisdom, which can also have spiritual side effects:

  • “shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones” (v18)
  • “shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures” (v19)
  • “shall run and not be weary” (v20)
  • “shall walk and not faint” (v20)
  • “the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them” (v21)

I shared my relative’s story, Creed Haymond, in my last post (or rather Creed shared it), which is a clear example of obedience to the Word of Wisdom blessing one to be able to “run and not be weary” and “walk and not faint.”

But there are many who still question the physical benefits of the Word of Wisdom, for one reason or another. For example, some might point to studies which show that there might be a health benefit to a low consumption of alcohol, as evidence against the Word of Wisdom. However, I believe there exists an abundance of scientific evidence that the proscriptions contained in the Word of Wisdom are for our general health benefit, both physically and mentally, and therefore also spiritually, much of which evidence has come to light since the revelation was given to Joseph Smith in 1833.  I will give only one good example, which I just today came across. [Read more…]

Death Before the Fall? First Impressions

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Omo 1 skull remains, considered the oldest Homo sapiens fossils discovered, scientists date to 200,000 years old

Omo 1 skull remains, considered the oldest Homo sapiens fossils discovered, scientists date to 200,000 years old

This is a follow-up to “The Age of the Earth” post, although I suppose that one was really laying the groundwork for this one.  This is where everything comes to a head (like the one shown here).  Was there death before the Fall of Adam and Eve?  It is a very delicate question, because there are very strong feelings on many sides of the issue, some of which may have tremendous gospel implications as well.  So here we will tread lightly, and attempt to not make any dogmatic conclusions.  I’m not sure I have any besides.  These are simply some first impressions on the subject.  Because that is the case, we will ask more questions here than we attempt to answer in any substantial way.

This is a point of presumed doctrine in LDS belief that causes consternation for many members.  Similar to the age of the Earth question, it causes cognitive dissonance for some, insofar that some even lose their faith in the Church, and even leave the Church.  I perceive that this should not be.  There are answers, even if preliminary, to most of these difficult questions.  It should also be noted that questions such as these are not necessarily central to the gospel, nor to our salvation, but they do affect some people’s ability to function in the Church because of the cognitive dissonance it causes them.

The belief, as I introduced above, is that there was no death before the Fall of Adam and Eve.  No death, period.  On the other hand, the world and its legions of scientists of all stripes inform us that there were dinosaurs, dating back 230 million years, with bones scattered in all parts of the world (one of the largest caches is located right here in Vernal, Utah).  There were trilobites, perhaps the most common fossil, dating back 526 million years (again, one of the richest quarries is just west of Delta, Utah, where you can actually “farm” for trilobites to take home.)  There were ancient forests, plant life, zooplankton, and algae, dating back millions of year, which helped give us the crude oil that powers much of our world today.  There are even bones of hominids that used stone tools that most scientists concur died a couple million years ago.  Indeed, there are even bones of anatomically modern humans that have been dated to up to 200,000 years old (see the image above). [Read more…]

Radically different views of Death

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A couple months ago I received an email from someone who stumbled onto TempleStudy.com.  It read in part,

[The Bible] is purely a creation of man to placate the ego’s fear of death and nothing more. All religion was invented to buffer the ego against the fear of death.

That’s certainly one way to think of death.  Another way to think of it is that religion gives meaning to life and death.  Hugh Nibley often quoted a poem by A.E. Housman about man’s preoccupation with death:

. . . men at whiles are sober
And think by fits and starts,
And if they think, they fasten
Their hands upon their hearts. ((Qtd. in Nibley, “Prophets and Glad Tidings,” The World and the Prophets, 259-67,http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/bookschapter.php?bookid=54&chapid=515))

The prominent literary scholar Harold Bloom once said,

What is the essence of religion? … Religion rises inevitably from our apprehension of our own death. To give meaning to meaninglessness is the endless quest of all religion. ((http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/what-is-this-thing-that-men-call-death))

I recently came upon two vastly different modes of thinking about death.  The juxtaposition of these two starkly different views is very interesting.   [Read more…]

Seeing the Face of God in the Temple – Part 2

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Moses Seeing Jehovah, by Joseph Brickey

Moses Seeing Jehovah, by Joseph Brickey

(Continued from Part 1)

In the last part of this post we explored what it means to see the face of God in the temple.  Seeing the face of God is promised to us in the scriptures, and as we showed, it was one of the foremost purposes of the prophet Joseph Smith in building up temples.  Such a witness was key to what was called the endowment.  As Joseph described the endowment,

All who are prepared, and are sufficiently pure to abide the presence of the Savior, will see him in the solemn assembly. ((DHC VII p. 308-310))

In the first part we discussed one interpretation of seeing the Lord – in a physical sense.  Many early members of the Church literally saw the Lord, Jesus Christ, and even God the Father, within the walls of the temple on several occasions, and have seen Him since in the temples of the Lord.

What else might “seeing God” mean?  [Read more…]

Seeing the Face of God in the Temple – Part 1

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The Israelite high priest sees God face-to-face upon the Ark of the Covenant

The Israelite high priest sees God face-to-face upon the Ark of the Covenant

The Doctrine and Covenants section 93 verse 1 reads:

Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am; (D&C 93:1)

This superlative promise was one of the foundations of Joseph Smith’s restoration, and whose revelations repeated throughout his calling as God’s prophet:   [Read more…]