How has the Latter-day Saint interpretation of the Word of Wisdom changed over time? Ep. 173

Latter-day Saints today adhere to a rather strict interpretation of the Word of Wisdom, but it wasn’t always that way. In this episode, David Snell talks about how the Latter-day Saint interpretation of the Word of Wisdom has evolved over time.

Transcript:https://bit.ly/3Lsgltv

— Doctrine and Covenants Section 89: https://bit.ly/3wrBU6o
— “An Historical Analysis of the Word of Wisdom,” thesis by Paul H. Peterson, 1972: https://bit.ly/3yJwc2w
— “Revelations in Context: The Word of Wisdom,” by Jed Woodworth: https://bit.ly/3MGQdv6
— “The Word of Wisdom: Development and Practice,” via the Church’s website: https://bit.ly/3PlA3sJ
— “The Word of Wisdom” by Jed Woodworth via Church’s website: https://bit.ly/3xlu8vr
— “Brigham Young’s Word of Wisdom Legacy” via BYU Studies: https://bit.ly/3tsOVfn
— LDS Perspectives Podcast, episode 41, with Jed Woodworth: https://bit.ly/3Lu3Mwu
— “Discovering the Word of Wisdom Pioneers” via Meridian Magazine: https://bit.ly/3G5l2ai
— “How Our View of the Word of Wisdom Has Changed from 1833 to Now” by Casey Paul Griffiths, Susan Easton Black, & Mary Jane Woodger: https://bit.ly/3Hgt3tA
— “Did the Word of Wisdom Become a Commandment in 1851?” by Robert J. McCue: https://bit.ly/3aJHBFU
— “The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement,” by Thomas Alexander: https://bit.ly/3NY8YdA
— Chapter 13 from “Mormonism in Transition,” by Thomas Alexander: https://bit.ly/3ztMXPE
— “Scripture Roundtable: D&C Gospel Doctrine Lesson 22, ‘The Word of Wisdom’” via Interpreter Foundation: https://bit.ly/3yJiEEn
— “‘Near everyone drinks wine in Southern Utah’: A brief history of Dixie Wine” via St. George news: https://bit.ly/3MyxzFB
— “Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, Chapter 21: Observing the Word of Wisdom” via the Church’s website: https://bit.ly/3wtSHXR
— Oct. 29, 1845 edition of the “Nauvoo Neighbor,” which lists supplies needed for pioneers heading west (including alcohol, tea, & coffee). See “Bill of Particulars” on pg. 3: https://bit.ly/3lsclNq / see also this precursory list: https://bit.ly/39WYXhV
— “Why did Brigham Young build a whiskey distillery in Utah?” via FAIR: https://bit.ly/3Pv9m4M
— “Did Joseph Smith Obey the Word of Wisdom?” via Steven C. Harper: https://bit.ly/3G9mmJe
— “The history and implementation of the Word of Wisdom” via FAIR: https://bit.ly/3PAgIUz

Notes:

— A quote about Brigham Young, who had his own struggles with the Word of Wisdom: “He had been in the habit of using tobacco, but he had left it off; he did not drink whisky, brandy, rum, wine, tea nor coffee, and he felt so much better for his abstemiousness that he would recommend others to follow his example.” Deseret News, Oct 15, 1862.

— Fun fact: During the early Utah era, the Saints raised their own tobacco and wine-grapes. Leadership figured that if the Saints were going to spend a bunch of money importing these products from outside the territory, it made more economic sense to just produce the products within the territory.

— In 1877, Emily Dow Partridge gave a good overview of how the Saints were doing with the Word of Wisdom at the time (spoiler alert: they weren’t doing very well). It’s longer than I can include here, but you can find it on page 66 of this thesis: https://bit.ly/3yJwc2w

— The Saints in Utah, for many years, even grew their own tobacco and wine grapes. These items were used for medicinal and sacramental purposes (respectively), but recreationally (for lack of a better word) as well, as far as I can tell. More on this in the thesis linked above.

— Despite the 1921 date when obedience to the WoW became a requirement in order to receive a temple recommend, it’s not until 1933 that the change shows up in the Church’s handbook of instructions. Source: https://bit.ly/3NY8YdA

— “The greatest concentration of emphasis on the Word of Wisdom in the history of the Church came during the late Thirties and early Forties.” Source: Pg. 98 here (read for additional context): https://bit.ly/3yJwc2w

— Speaking within the context of the 1870s: “[Brigham Young] increasingly put his hope in Zion’s youth, and to reach them he used the recently established Church auxiliaries of Sunday School and the young men’s and young ladies’ organizations. These organizations taught Word of Wisdom abstinence and even encouraged temperance pledges.” Source: https://bit.ly/3tsOVfn

— Particularly in the 1800s early Utah era, adherence to the WoW was largely encouraged for economic reasons. The Saints were spending a good chunk of change in order to import substances discouraged by the WoW.

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