D&C 89 | Discovering the Word of Wisdom

Archive for D&C 89 – Page 2

“I have now lost 163 pounds”

By Jane Birch · Comments (22)

Saturday, August 2nd, 2014

By: Carol Wolf

Four years ago it was getting progressively hard for me to get around. Something as simple as getting in and out of the tub became a safety issue.  I had my bathroom remodeled and the tub removed. Safety bars were installed in the shower.

When shopping, I had to decide which side of the grocery store to shop as I couldn’t cover the entire store in one visit. I gave up my Sam’s Club membership and stopped shopping at Wal-Mart. I obtained a handicapped parking permit and started using a cane.

I had very low energy and stamina. Just the act of showering and getting dressed wore me out for the day. I never got a second wind. I learned to shower the night before for an activity the following day.

I told myself that I was feeling the effect of polio from when I was a child. There is such a thing as post-polio syndrome. Both my sister and my cousin have it, so it wasn’t a long stretch for me to think I had it too.

The one thing that set me apart from them was my weight. I decided it was time to eliminate weight from the equation. Then if I still had the symptoms I would go from there. My problem was the “how to.” I had already tried weight loss programs, yo-yo’ing through different diets, as well as starving. I fit the definition of insanity: repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results. I knew it had to be a lifestyle change.

I picked up my scriptures. I turned to Section 89 of the Doctrine of Covenants and whispered softly, “Help me to understand what this is really telling me.” With those words things were about to change.

Comments (22)

Categories : Single Adult

Tags : D&C 89, energy increase, featured, headaches, meat, weight loss, Word of Wisdom

“Do I believe the Lord means what he says?”

By Jane Birch · Comments (34)

Saturday, June 7th, 2014

By: Sam Swenson

In 1997 I was starting out as a new missionary in the Taiwan, Taichung mission. I had just moved into my second area and was assigned as a junior companion to Elder Olmstead, a muscular football player from Oregon. Elder Olmstead was on his last assignment before heading home so he was getting up early each morning to run on a track at a nearby school to get back into shape before heading back to football. It was while I was running on the track early one morning that I first noticed it: a slight aching sensation on the right side of my lower back that radiated into my right hip. It felt a little like a charley horse so I didn’t think much of it and figured I must not have stretched enough before running. But stretching had nothing to do with it.

The pain continued throughout the remainder of my mission. In fact, as time went by, the pain intensified and spread. My ribs began aching too. After a while, breathing became painful and sneezing caused so much pain that my vision would temporarily go black and I would see stars for a few moments.

After returning from my mission, my mom noticed me limping up the stairs and saw me wincing whenever I breathed deeply or sneezed. She told me I moved like a 90-year-old man. She made me see doctors and after a few frustrating visits to a number of doctors without getting any answers, I made my way to a rheumatologist office where I first learned the term “Ankylosing Spondylitis” or “AS.” AS is a disease of the immune system that causes severe inflammation throughout the spinal column and the adjoining tendons. If untreated, it leads to the fusing of bones in the spine, eye and skin problems, difficulty breathing, and possibly heart problems.

Comments (34)

Categories : Married-2 WFPB

Tags : Ankylosing Spondylitis, chronic illness, compassion for animals, D&C 89, serving a mission, spiritual blessings, spiritual promptings, Word of Wisdom

“I just wanted to feel normal” (Long Version)

By Jane Birch · Comments (12)

Saturday, May 17th, 2014

Note from Jane: I also published a much shorter version of the following story. I’ve always wanted to share the original, long version, so I’m happy to do so here. The entire story is well worth reading, but if your time is limited, you may want to read the abbreviated version instead. Either way, this is a remarkable story!

By: Kevin Tunstall

My journey to a plant-based diet began soon after my diagnosis of prostate cancer. However, to begin fully, I should probably start earlier than the diagnosis as a series of events that some could call miracles led me to review my understanding of the Word of Wisdom and renew my understanding of the gospel, a journey that is still evolving.

My grandmother passed away from cancer after being terrified of dying of the big ‘C’ from a young age—she was in her eighties when it caught up with her. My mother passed away from lung cancer on my birthday in 2002, then a few years later my wife’s only sister developed breast cancer, which was aggressive and had started to move through the lymph nodes. She ended up having a mastectomy and her ovaries removed due to her age. This was followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

I had been called as bishop of a very busy ward here in New Zealand just four months earlier and ironically one of my first challenges was dealing with a single sister in the ward with two teenage children who had breast cancer but refused to get treatment or let me tell anyone.

Comments (12)

Categories : Married-2 WFPB

Tags : athletes, cancer, D&C 89, energy increase, food cravings, International, Mormon, spiritual blessings, spiritual promptings, The China Study, WFPB experienced, Word of Wisdom

Sincere Reflections on The Word of Wisdom

By Jane Birch · Comments (11)

Tuesday, May 13th, 2014

By: Scott Stover

So much has been written about Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants, commonly known as the “Word of Wisdom,” that one might well have to be either a prophet or a fool to risk writing any more, yet I actually hope to share a point of view that is just unique enough to help the reader be stronger, cleaner, and more committed to the values contained therein. I have no intention of offering any kind of historical rehash of how it came about, or how the early saints, including the Prophet Joseph himself, apparently took it rather lightly. There is no need for another account of how it gradually, over the space of 60 years, came to be enforced in 1921 as a requirement for entering the temple. Instead, I hope to offer a very personal, more spiritual testimony of this revelation as a light shining in the darkness. I will leave it to you to decide how important this testimony is to you.

Comments (11)

Categories : WoW Reflections

Tags : D&C 89, meat, spiritual blessings, spiritual promptings, Word of Wisdom

“So That’s What A Drumstick Is!”

By Jane Birch · Comments (8)

Saturday, May 3rd, 2014

By: Byron H. Elton

I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1954. Back then, we went to church twice on Sundays and on occasion between the meetings we would stop off at the local “Kentucky Fried Chicken” and grab a bucket so that Mum wouldn’t have to cook. If we were particularly hungry, or we had guests, we would get a “barrel.” When the cardboard box with “finger lickin’ good” chicken was delivered, I would volunteer to hold it until we got home. I remember it was wonderfully warm in my lap, and the aroma of the Colonel’s magical blend of “11 herbs and spices” filled our Buick and my nostrils with a wonderful aroma and the promise of a chicken chow down.

I suppose they have changed the recipe since, but in those days, the bucket would be soaked in grease, inside and out. No amount of washings could erase the smell from my church pants, and I was a walking advertisement for the Colonel from Kentucky. We typically dispensed with more formal dining protocol and sat in front of the TV watching “Jungle Jim” and “77 Bengal Lancers” while feasting on chicken parts. There were wings, breasts, and the coveted drumsticks. The latter were the favoured selection for the youngest as they were the easiest to hold.

One Sunday afternoon, we were watching some cartoons while eating. One featured a group of chickens being hunted by a ravenous fox. They proved particularly elusive, and Mr. Fox never did catch one, but every time he looked at them, he imagined them as various parts to be eaten. Each body part would become enlarged and labeled and great drops of saliva fell from his mouth. I was just finishing my drumstick when he started fantasizing about the chicken’s legs. In an instant, I made the connection. I looked down at the drumstick in my hand and suddenly saw the bone, tendons, ligaments and skin. For the very first time I thought, “So that’s what a drumstick is!” I never looked at a chicken or any other animal that we ate the same way.

Comments (8)

Categories : Married-2 WFPB

Tags : compassion for animals, D&C 89, meat, Mormon, serving a mission, weight loss, Word of Wisdom

“Out of compassion for animals, I became a vegan”

By Jane Birch · Comments (3)

Saturday, March 22nd, 2014

By: Christine Bradley

I originally didn’t give much thought to the verses in D&C 89, except to follow the directions needed to be baptised in my early 20’s in 1972 and to obtain a temple recommend a year later….until….I became vegan in May 2011. Then I embarked on considerable study of the full Word of Wisdom and gained a great appreciation of the inherent wisdom afforded us.

It all began when I watched a video called “Best Speech You Will Ever Hear” by Gary Yourofsky. He is an American animal rights activist and presented his speech at Georgia Tech in summer of 2010. His presentation was about the atrocities to animals that we humans do and allow, for unnecessary food and entertainment, etc. The video was posted on Facebook by a man named Carl Scott who lives in Dunedin, New Zealand.

That very day, out of compassion for animals, I became a vegan. My youngest daughter who still lives at home here was very happy to join me in this new way of living, and my husband, without even looking at the information, was okay about it too.

Comments (3)

Categories : Married-2 WFPB

Tags : compassion for animals, D&C 89, International, Mormon, Word of Wisdom

“I would eat grass for the promises in the Word of Wisdom!”

By Jane Birch · Comments (6)

Saturday, February 22nd, 2014

By: Tim and Ellen McGaughy

Our nutrition quest began many years ago, long before we became converts to the LDS church. Ellen and I met in 1970 in Boston, Mass., while I was in graduate school at Tufts University. Ellen was working for American Airlines and was traveling all over the world. Eventually, I followed my doctoral advisor and relocated to the University of Oklahoma in Norman. I began to frequent a vegetarian restaurant in Norman, and it changed my course, planting a desire in me to eliminate meat from my diet completely. Meanwhile, Ellen decided to take a year off and move to Telluride, Colorado. She soon befriended neighbors who were vegetarians. She decided that not only did it make sense intellectually, but she also felt compelled to make the change. Up to this point, neither of us had been exposed to anything other than the Standard American Diet. So, nearly 900 miles apart, independently, we both decided to become vegetarians. That was an interesting telephone call.

Comments (6)

Categories : Married-2 WFPB

Tags : children, D&C 89, meat, Mormon, Word of Wisdom

“I just wanted to feel normal” (Abbreviated Version)

By Jane Birch · Comments (3)

Saturday, December 21st, 2013

Note from Jane: This is a remarkable story. The original is quite a bit longer, so I’ve published an abbreviated version here. If you prefer, you can read the long version.

By: Kevin Tunstall

My journey to a plant-based diet began soon after my diagnosis with prostate cancer. However, to begin fully, I should probably start earlier. My grandmother passed away from cancer, after being terrified of the big ‘C’ from youth. My mother passed away from lung cancer; then a few years later, my wife’s only sister developed breast cancer. She ended up having a mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy and radiation.

I had been called as bishop of a very busy ward in New Zealand. One of my first challenges was dealing with a single sister with two teenage children who had breast cancer, but refused to get treatment or let me tell anyone. The week my sister-in-law finished her radiation treatment, our 15-year-old daughter developed what was thought to be a form of leukemia. We were devastated. It was a harrowing time but through a ward fast and miracles, her life was spared.

Comments (3)

Categories : Married-2 WFPB

Tags : athletes, cancer, D&C 89, energy increase, food cravings, International, Mormon, spiritual blessings, spiritual promptings, The China Study, WFPB experienced, Word of Wisdom

“I just felt clean!”

By Jane Birch · Comments (2)

Saturday, December 7th, 2013

By: Victor Johnson

While I was growing up, healthy eating was important in my family. My mother had been a vegetarian for most of her married life, so she always insisted on our eating “healthy” food. We were far from vegan (we still consumed dairy), but we hardly ever had meat in our house, except when my dad made his delicious tri-tip steaks. We also had very few processed foods.

Later, both my parents became vegan, and the few animal products still in the house gradually began disappearing. Dairy milk was replaced with soy, almond, or rice milk. Meat was no longer an option, even on special occasions. More emphasis was placed on eating fruits and vegetables. I begrudgingly went along with the plan, seeing there weren’t many other food options at home. I loved going to friends’ houses or eating out because I could eat all the junk I wanted. I had no appreciation for a healthy diet.

Comments (2)

Categories : Under 20

Tags : athletes, D&C 89, energy increase, Mormon, serving a mission, The China Study, Word of Wisdom, young author

Archive for D&C 89 – Page 2

“I have now lost 163 pounds”

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“Do I believe the Lord means what he says?”

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“I just wanted to feel normal” (Long Version)

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Sincere Reflections on The Word of Wisdom

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“So That’s What A Drumstick Is!”

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“Out of compassion for animals, I became a vegan”

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“I would eat grass for the promises in the Word of Wisdom!”

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“I just wanted to feel normal” (Abbreviated Version)

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“I just felt clean!”

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Archive for D&C 89 – Page 2

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