Anywho, what I want to talk about tonight is something that has been on my mind since we have been hanging out with Dr. Laury. DL is a Pescatarian. That is: a person who does not eat meat but does eat fish. When you hang out with someone who doesn't eat meat you realize something- You realize how much meat you eat. Which for me and my family is a lot! Really, I eat meat about twice a day, lunch and dinner. When I plan my dinners I usually plan it around a meat; I do a chicken meal, a hamburger meal, roast, pork, etc. We had a long conversation about eating meat. And I have really been thinking about it lately. Is eating meat everyday keeping the Word of Wisdom?
I went straight to the source- the temple recommend questions- what does it say specifically? Does it ask if you eat meat? Well here it is..
10. Do you keep the Word of Wisdom?
What does that mean exactly? Well, lets go straight to the source.
Doctrine and Covenants 89.
1 Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion—
2 To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—
3 Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.
4 Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—
5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine
or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the
sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up
your sacraments before him.
6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.
8 And again, tobacco is not for the body,
neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for
bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.
10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs 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 prudence and thanksgiving.
12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;
13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
14 All grain
is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life,
not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of
heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;
16 All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—
17 Nevertheless,
wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for
the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley
for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.
18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.
First of all.. HELLO... We can make our own wine? Why did I not know this? Why haven't I done this before? Oh wait, I just re-read it and I guess that's just for the sacrament. Dang.
Ok, so doesn't eating meat sparingly seem like something LDS people should take pretty seriously? So from what I read He said: 1 time: to not use tobacco, 1 time: to not drink hot drinks (coffee), 2 time: not drink strong drinks (alcohol) and 3 times to eat meat sparingly. Hmmmmm. Three times is a lot.
It's funny to me in our LDS society drinking coffee is a total
huge sin, but we can eat all the meat we want and no one thinks twice.
Is one really worse than the other? Wouldn't eating meat be more of a sin than smoking, and drinking-
really?
This is all so interesting especially with all these new studies about meat and colon cancer.
We had a conversation with DL about all this and it was very interesting. He talked about how our bodies were designed to be herbivorous. We weren't born to be hunters. We weren't born with claws and sharp teeth. Our intestines are also designed like herbivorous. Another thing he said I thought was fascinating was our "dominion" over animals. I always just thought it meant we could eat them- right? What exactly does dominion mean? The word dominion means “rule or power over.” Ok, so if I'm the queen and I rule over a group of people does that mean I can eat them? Or does it mean it's my job to take care of them?? Just because you rule then and have power over them doesn't mean you should eat them- it's means more that we should take care of them. Definitely a new way of looking at things. It kind of reminds we of how in the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve were told to take care of the garden. Same thing with animals. Take care of them.
Take a look at this article on what else the church has to say about animals. It's fascinating.
We know we aren't going to be eating meat during the millennial- so wouldn't that be the higher law?
I am very conflicted about this, because honestly- I really like meat! And it seems like it was be a HUGE change to cut meat out of my diet. What would I eat? What dinners would I feed my family? Would we get sick of food really fast? Beans and rice gets old. And Fish is expensive for a family of 7. I'm not sure that I can cut meat out entirely, but I am defiantly going to start cutting back. I think if I start slow it will get easier and easier. I am thinking I will start by cutting out all meat and only eat chicken just a couple of times a week. I'm nervous and not sure I can do it. I really admire people who eat meat sparingly or not at all and hope someday I can get there. Baby steps.
What are your thoughts about eating meat? Anyone else tried to cut back?
I love all your thoughts on this! I agree, and I would love to redesign my family's entire menu from the ground up, but you're right, it's expensive. I try not to eat a lot of meat, too, but sadly, meat is cheap. Let me know if you find some good ways to cut it out! I have a friend who is vegan, and is always posting pictures of her food. It looks incredible, but it would cost us a fortune!
ReplyDelete