Word of Wisdom (Latter Day Saints)
The "Word of Wisdom" is the common name of an 1833 section of the Doctrine and Covenants,[1] a book considered by many churches within the Latter Day Saint movement to be a sacred text. The section defines beliefs regarding certain drugs, nutritious ingredients in general, and the counsel to eat meat sparingly; it also offers promises to those who follow the guidance of the Word of Wisdom.[2]
For the Pentecostal usage of this term, see word of wisdom.Word of Wisdom
Revelation
As practiced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the largest Latter Day Saint denomination, the Word of Wisdom explicitly prohibits the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee (with tea and coffee being labeled as "hot drinks"), and recreational drug use, and encourages healthy practices such as nutritious eating, the sparing use of meat, regular exercise, proper hygiene, and getting sufficient rest.[2]
Compliance with the Word of Wisdom is necessary in the LDS Church to become a member and to participate in various church functions,[3][4] however, violation of the code is not normally cause for a church membership council.[5]
Enstrom study regarding members of the LDS Church[edit]
A 14-year selective study conducted by UCLA epidemiologist James E. Enstrom tracked the health of 10,000 moderately active LDS Church members in California and ended in 1987.
Of these non-smoking, monogamous non-drinkers, Enstrom concluded from the study "that LDS Church members who follow religious mandates barring smoking and drinking have one of the lowest death rates, including from cancer and cardiovascular diseases—close to half that of the general population. ... Moreover, the healthiest LDS Church members enjoy a life expectancy eight to eleven years longer than that of the general white population in the United States." For LDS high priests who exercised, had proper sleep, and never smoked cigarettes, the mortality rate was even lower.
The results were largely duplicated in a separate study of an LDS-like subgroup of white non-smoking churchgoers in Alameda County, California.[66]