#because WofW isn’t commandment I wish wasn’t temple requirement

[nerdygaymormon]

Idk if you'd know this, but has the Word of Wisdom been properly canonized in the Church or are we just... Trusting it? Not that God hasnt asked people to change their diets before, but I'm curious to know how vetted it is.

The short answer is if it is in the scriptures, then it has been canonized. Since the Word of Wisdom is in the Doctrine & Covenants, it is considered part of the LDS canon.

In the LDS Church, usually something is considered canonized if it is included in the scriptures (there's two notable exceptions, each regarding the Bible). The LDS Church currently has 4 books in its scriptural canon:

1. Authorized King James Version as the official scriptural text of the Bible (other versions of the Bible are used in non-English-speaking countries). Although there's two exceptions to this:

a) The manuscripts of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible states that "the Songs of Solomon are not inspired scripture," and therefore it is not included in LDS canon and rarely studied by members of the LDS Church. However, it is still printed in every version of the King James Bible published by the church.

b) Although the Apocrypha was part of the 1611 edition of the KJV, the LDS Church does not use the Apocrypha as part of its canon. Joseph Smith taught that while the Apocrypha was not to be relied on for doctrine, it was potentially useful when read with a spirit of discernment.

2. Book of Mormon

3. Doctrine and Covenants (D&C)

4. Pearl of Great Price (containing the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith–Matthew, Joseph Smith–History, and the Articles of Faith)

The LDS Church's scriptures are printed together with several non-canonized study aids, including the maps, photographs, a Bible Dictionary, a gazetteer, summaries at the beginning of each chapter, a topical guide, an index, footnotes, cross references, and excerpts from Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible

LDS Church president Harold B. Lee taught "The only one authorized to bring forth any new doctrine is the President of the Church, who, when he does, will declare it as revelation from God, and it will be so accepted by the Council of the Twelve and sustained by the body of the Church." Here is the history of this happening in the LDS Church:

June 9, 1830: First conference of the church, The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ, now known as D&C 20. If the Bible and Book of Mormon were not sustained on April 6th at the first meeting of the Church, then they were by default when the Articles and Covenants were sustained. (see D&C 20:8-11)

August 17, 1835: Select revelations from Joseph Smith were unanimously accepted as scripture. These were later printed in the D&C. (this includes the Word of Wisdom)

October 10, 1880: The Pearl of Great Price was unanimously sustained as scripture. Also at that time, other revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants – which had not been accepted as scripture in 1835 because they were received after that date – were unanimously accepted as scripture.

October 6, 1890: Official Declaration 1 was accepted unanimously as scripture. It later began to be published in the Doctrine and Covenants.

April 3, 1976: Two visions (one received by Joseph Smith and the other by Joseph F. Smith) were sustained as scripture and added to the Pearl of Great Price. (The two visions were later moved to the D&C as sections 137 and 138.)

September 30, 1978: Official Declaration 2 was sustained unanimously as scripture. It immediately was added to the Doctrine and Covenants.

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The revelation known as the Word of Wisdom was received in 1833 and first published by the Church in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, it was viewed as scripture but wasn't seen as binding for many years. The original revelation was given “not by commandment or constraint,” but rather as a “word of wisdom.” It would take decades for it to be accepted as a requirement for Latter-day Saints

In 1834, the Kirtland high council decided that those who were taught the Word of Wisdom but didn't follow it were unworthy to hold an office in the Church. A few years later the Missouri high council made a similar decision. Records indicate there were some members who were reprimanded for not following the Word of Wisdom, and even excommunicated for a pattern of disobedience. Which is interesting since the revelation only describes blessings for keeping it and does not give punishments for not following it.

During the Nauvoo period, the Word of Wisdom was not emphasized and there seems to have been a more relaxed attitude about it.

In 1842, Hyrum Smith said that 'hot drinks' refers to coffee and tea. Ever since this has been the accepted interpretation.

After the Saints moved to Utah, in the 1851 General Conference, Church patriarch John Smith spoke on the Word of Wisdom and Brigham Young proposed all Saints formally covenant to abstain from those things prohibited in the Word of Wisdom. (This seems to be where the attitude of only those parts of the Word of Wisdom, what to avoid, are emphasized but not the parts of what we should eat). Despite this, it seems even Brigham Young didn't completely follow this instruction until 1862.

In the 1860s and 70s, there was a renewed emphasis on the Word of Wisdom, but it was not required as a test of membership.

In 1883, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve commit to more fully live the Word of Wisdom, and others are encouraged to follow their example. By 1900, the majority of general and local leaders were following it.

In 1902, leaders were being instructed to refuse temple recommends to flagrant violators of the Word of Wisdom, though to still be lenient with others.

In 1905, it was taught that following the Word of Wisdom is a requirement to hold leadership positions.

In 1906, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve began using water instead of wine in their sacrament meetings.

By 1915, living the Word of Wisdom was required for young or middle-aged men to be ordained to the priesthood or be given a temple recommend.

In 1921, adherence to the Word of Wisdom was required to be admitted to the temple.

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For me, personally, I'm fine with the Word of Wisdom. Dietary rules are common in religion. Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Hinduism also have dietary codes.

In a way, such codes can feel like a parent who is concerned about what you're eating for lunch, it's a way of showing concern for us. However, I think there are two main purposes to such codes.

One is to implement health rules about what to eat, including sanitary measures, and how to ethically/morally approach eating meat (or forbidding meat) because it requires the death of another living creature.

The other purpose of these codes is they are a way to distinguish us as a group, to separate us from other people amongst whom we live. If we're at a company meeting where food is served, Mormons may notice who else has chosen not to have coffee or tea and wonder if they're also members of the LDS church, while non-members are unaware of this shibboleth.

To go along with these codes as cultural markers, I have observed that when someone is separating themselves from the LDS church, often one of the first things they'll do is have their first beer or cup of coffee. It’s s way of breaking that identity marker.

It is interesting that the Word of Wisdom includes prohibitions against alcohol when the consumption of wine is widely reported in the Bible. It highlights that there isn't consistency among these different religious dietary codes.

I think of Peter's vision in the New Testament where he is commanded to eat animals which were prohibited under Jewish law. God declares that all these animals are clean, meaning they are okay to eat. And the apostle Paul taught that non-Jewish converts were not required to eat kosher, however it would be helpful if they'd abstain from eating unkosher foods around their Jewish fellows so as not to offend them.

These two stories inform my opinion about the Word of Wisdom. I am LDS and follow our traditions against coffee, tea, tobacco, and alcohol, however I don't view breaking these norms as a sin. The revelation specifically says this is not a commandment, so it seems to me to be more of a cultural marker. One reason I choose to not drink coffee is it would concern or offend my fellow LDS friends, some because they think of it as a sin and others because they see it as me separating myself from this community