The first portion of the promise in the word of Wisdom read like this;
You “shall receive bhealth in their navel and marrow to their bones”
The very first blessing is the most obvious, health. Your body, your insides, your stomach and digestive parts, etc. will receive health from this lifestyle, as opposed to colon cancer I suppose. Out side of this, the navel represents the place of nourishment, the center of the bodies working elements. This is the place that receives all things going in and sends things on their way. Marrow represents the strength, the inner most portion of the skeletal makeup. The fluid that provides heath to your system, enabling a strong working platform. Having strength to begin with, and healthful nourishment, are akin to having all that we needed in sustenance. Receiving these things at the Lords hand is a covenant blessing. The remnant of the last days, those who are left, will be provided for abundantly in this manner (isaiah 7:22). They will receive food when all the world is being condemned, they will be made strong with nourishment of all kinds, spiritually and physically, when the rest of the world are being destroyed. This Promise of health and strength in our bodies is tantamount to giving a promise of deliverance from the degenerate lifestyles now profuse in Babylon. Those ways of living will be the death of the people, but the Lord’s people will receive life in nourishment and strength. The endowment is also alluded to here in the language and wording of the promise, which is designed to draw the minds of a covenantal people to those promises they were given by the Lord when they made covenants with him, and will at the veil. They are promises to be able to pass by guarding angels who stand to block the way of people not living that lifestyle. The wording in this verse then is a promise of health and strength in areas of our temporal bodies, at a time when the delivering/destroying angels are producing their work of the wheat from tares by means of destructive Babylonian consumption and habit.
Next they will “find wisdom”
In Isaiah 29 we are told that one of the destroying problems of the people will be their reliance on sages and rulers. WE are told there will be a covenantal group of people who draw near to him with their lips and mouth, yet in reality their fear is in the precept of men. This group will be confounded as they rely on their sages for wisdom, since the wisdom of their wise men shall perish. The wisdom they seek, that saving knowledge, is not found, since their understanding is only in the precept of men. I find this an interesting contrast to Isaiah’s promise to the righteous, “And wisdom and aknowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his btreasure.” Knowledge refers to the covenant with God, to know him, his voice or his name. The wisdom found in this covenant kept will be stability to them for their time. As they rely on their relationship with God and not men, as we saw in chapter 29, he will be their salvation. Furthermore, whereas the fallen covenant people in chapter 29 found their fear of the Lord in the precepts and teachings of men, these people fear the Lord because of their knowledge of him. One group follows men, follows the word of men, the teachings of men, the precepts of men, the establishment of men. The other group follows God, knows his voice and finds wisdom in it. IT is this wisdom that allows a person to receive the covenantal blessing of health and peace while the world around is in dire turmoil and destruction.
and, “great ctreasures of dknowledge, even hidden treasures”
Going back to these verses in Isaiah (ch 33), we find that the riches of the people of the Lord are to be found in their covenantal knowledge of God. The treasure to them is that relationship and they are blessed abundantly. They realize that moth and rust do not corrupt this type of treasure. They live a simple life of consuming and living the commandments, seeking the face of the lord and are blessed immensely in this endeavor. These are the riches, this is the money, that the gate keeper will require at our hands when the time to pass by the angels with the keys words comes. He will give you those words in that close relationship, tell them in your ear so only you can hear. This is the knowledge that will make you rich, the voice of the Lord in your ear. This is the Treasure that will allow you to pass the angels on their dividing march. The mysteries of God that we are commanded to seek will be found in this way and the relationship found will be the key to unlocking the riches of heaven.
“And shall arun and not be bweary, and shall walk and not faint.”
This is perhaps the most quoted and thought-through portion of the promise. And that base explanation is relevant. WE will be healthy and have strength beyond those who do not live in a healthy manner. However, there is more to this promise. Isaiah 40:30-31 reads,
“But they that wait (…hope…) upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.”
This race we are running is a trying one. It tries the patience of the Lords servants who have to wait for that day when Zion is removed and Babylon destroyed. But Isaiah tells us that the Lord will give strength in that race to those who wait on him, who seek him an his Zion. HE will allow them to last throughout the tribulation that will come. He gives that promise. And in fact the Lord tells us here that they will receive strength in the mere process of waiting, being made better and stronger as the race is prolonged. Another facet of this verse refers to the Davidic Servant. In Isaiah 50:4 the Servant tells us that it is he who gives this strength those that wait in the Lord;
“The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to [him that is] weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.”
Those who wait hear the word of the servant. The weary in the last days, who wait on him, are made strong through wisdom and knowledge, which they receive at the servants hand. HE is the covenant that is delivered, the promise of strength to Zion, the feet and wings of the eagles who fly from the four corners in gathering. They walk and not faint and run without weariness in the strength of God, in the words of his servant. They awake in the morning to hear his words, while the rest of the world is asleep like dumb dogs who love to slumber.
We could belabor these points, but I prefer not too. Suffice it to say that Isaiah uses similar wording to these short words, like fat bones, running like a spring of water, etc. to describe the remnant who remain, recognize the Lords voice in his final servant and sustain their march to Zion. Finally the Lord gives us one final promise, to tie them all together, to give us perspective on this principle’s reach and on the need for the promise;
“And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the adestroying angel shall bpass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.”
This is the only place in scripture that I am aware of that we are given a promise that the destroying angel of the last days will pass by us. This is obvious exodus language, even to the unrehearsed gentile. In the old time, during the original exodus which we have as a type of our own, there was a sign given which would enable them to be passed over. The lambs blood. The promise is that if they put that sign on their door posts they would survive. This is a very basic feat and the promise here to us is obvious. We have been given the lambs blood, the simple act adapted to the weakest of saints which will allow them to be passed over in our own time of destruction. We have been given the sign, told how to receive the key words, in order to pass by in an exodus of the Lords saints and given instruction for hearing and recognizing the Lords servant. We won’t be keeping that sign based on the knowledge of men, on their precepts and interpretation. We wont be keeping the word of wisdom according to the commandments of men, but by the voice of the covenant with the Lord. This sign is not given as a commandment for this very purpose. It is for our interpretation, severally, in concourse with the Lord. By applying its teachings as the voice of the lord directs us we will be blessed with hidden treasures of knowledge and wisdom, which wisdom will in turn lead to strong healthy bodies in the face of destruction, which will lead to the temporal and thus spiritual salvation we seek. For the purpose of developing a people of faith and valor, able to hear the lords voice, there are two interpretations of the word of wisdom available to us today.
One is a commandment, with tenets and instruction based on the precepts of men, in turn tied to a covenant with death. This is the promise of wisdom which men have given us. They have tied to it promises and curses. They control and are responsible for that unjust blood.
The other is not commandment, it is merely fact or a basic principle, and the searching of it in the spirit of humility, leads to instruction from God and temporal salvation. This is the promise to us contained in scripture, a true word of wisdom. This scriptural version of the word of wisdom is tied to Gods voice and direction, he is then responsible for your protection.
Dan,
great thoughts. thanks for your analysis on the Word of wisdom.
as i read your words, i think how hard it is to wait. knowing that something is wrong, and not knowing just when and where the solution is. i’ve heard that one group or another holds the keys. i’ve also been told that there are no keys. and inasmuch as i’ve received no direction on this matter, i wait. i have not received the promise as did simeon of old that i shall see the righteous one, but i still hope. perhaps some of the blessings i have received will find fulfillment.
the other thought that occurred to me is that scripture is not given in isolation of other, previous scripture. so if the lord references the destroying angel and the children of israel in the word of wisdom, perhaps he wishes us to learn a lesson by those earlier brethren and sisters. perhaps as you say the destroying angel today will be followed by another exodus. one can hope, and more especially, that one will be part of such.
thanks again, dan.
WFz:
what’s your interpretation of the following verses:
10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome aherbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—
11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with aprudence and bthanksgiving.
With emphasis on “wholesome herbs”…
or a modern translation of ‘wholesome herbs’ would be the ‘holy herb’
good for the appetite, good for relaxation, non-habit forming( against the current widely assumed belief), good for pain relief, helps one to see through the daily ‘sensory’ input that we are bombarded with. INstead of being concerned with how the books are not straight on the shelf or how the dishes aren’t done or how loud traffic is this allows us to get past the constant input in our lives.
Wow… this particular point you made is huge:
the destroying angel of the last days will pass by us. This is obvious exodus language, even to the unrehearsed gentile.
I’ve never thought that before. now the question it raises is since we currently don’t live the word of wisdom in the church, we don’t. Look around at any congregation, there’s obesity, addiction to soda, sugar, white bread, sugary juices among many other things are abundant, we don’t know herbology, we eat piles of meat, there’s much sickeness, food alergies, we follow along with the mainstream marketing of foods, we rarely cook from scratch, we love processed food, we love to eat out(me included) we follow the mainstream exercise protocols which are spotty at best. if you don’t believe me, simply attend the next potluck. We all think we’re the most healthy people in the world and we are in some aspects(no cigarette abuse or alcoholism). But reading your article makes me think that we have a rude awakening coming.
WE don’t delve into the wow and those that do are severly labeled to the point that they won’t speak out and do what they do in seclusion. i know a lady who has sworn off sugar and she has received nothing but a lambasting from many of the sisters in the ward, instead of compliments and ‘you go girl’ comments, she gets ridiculed. another sister delves into the deeper portions of the word of wisdom and has received real revelations on how she needs to care for her body, but for fear she is silent, the whole ward could be blessed by her, but they won’t receive her.
I also like how you mention the necessity of strong and healty bodies in these days. there’s not enough of this teaching, it’s frightening to see the strong priesthood holders rally around the mainstream philosophies of judging health by how much a person weighs and looking at the scale for confirmation of a healthy diet.
muscle will always outweigh fat and seeing strong men lose their muscle in order to make the scale happy is very depressing. seeing skinny shoulders with round bellies, because the muscle is the first to go when a person starts these calorie restrictive diets.
again, much of what we know about eating comes from mainstream media and corporate marketing agendas.
agreed on all accounts Bobby, and thanks for responding. The biggest reason I wrote this is because this one principle has done so much to change my life and aid in the receiving of real revelation, yet I see it misunderstood, misapplied and ignored by all those who ‘profess’ to know his name.
Thanks again, good to hear from you.
Dan,
Do you agree with fun bobby on the “holy herb” as he calls it? Fun bobby certainly knew what “herb” i was referring to in posing that question, but perhaps you did choose to ignore it. Just curious.
i had the wonderful opportunity of listening to Michael pollan’s book, “Botany of Desire,” on a recent road trip. In that book he talks at length about many things (i.e. how Johnny Appleseed wasn’t planting trees to eat the apples, but rather to make apple jack and other intoxicating apple beverages like hard cider, etc), but perhaps spent the most time discussing the “holy herb.” Needless to say, it was quite enlightening and one of those moments which makes one ponder a bit. Pollan even talked about a “revelation” he had while enjoying the “herb,” though he didn’t term it using the word “revelation.” But, a major portion of his book was dedicated to a thought/ponderment that came about thanks to “forgetting” all the sensory perceptions with which we’re bombarded every second of every minute.
Tom, yes I believe all drinks made of fermentation to be good for consumption and the use of men. Cider is one of these, and mead, all the types of beer, etc.
Distilled drink however are strong drinks, the point of which is intoxication. The only one the Lord makes exception for is wine. And to Joseph he told him to make sure he had made it himself. I think knowing where it came from is within this direction.
There is no doubt in my mind that Marijuana is a healthy herb. An entire post could easily be made on the benefits of this herb to man. Hemp oils, hemps seeds, hemp plants, etc… have so many overwhelmingly positive benefits to our systems that they should be required not discouraged. Along with this, it grows VERY easily, almost anywhere, it rejuvinates the soil where it grows. It makes great paper, rope, oils, and on and on.
Heres a book on the subject that is worth reading, “the emperor wears no clothes”;
http://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Wears-Clothes-Authoritative-Historical/dp/1878125028/ref=pd_sim_b_7
Last year they asked mrs watcher to teach a few lessons in rs.
for one of the lessons on the word of wisdom she pointed out the comma change in section 89 and also spoke about how bad and addicting white processed sugar is when not used in moderation.
the firestorm that ensued made it to the bishops office and she was released from teaching any more within days.
interestingly, the mention of the comma change was not nearly as offensive to the ladies as the sugar comments.
sugar rules our lives.
At the time of js the average annual consumption per person was about 1 lb. it is now about 140 lbs.
the thing that i recognize most with the word of wisdom is that it is the same as all the great things that the lord blesses us with for example beer is something that is relaxing nutritious and very healthy when used in moderations for the purpose that the savior intends but when used in excess it can be used for satins evil purposes to bind men and drag them into the depths it is the same with plural marriage it is one of the new and everlasting covenants with god when practiced in nutritiousness but when it is not commanded to be practiced and is still practiced it one of the most evil abominations before god.