The Word of Wisdom

A Word Ahead of Its Time

The Word of Wisdom was given in 1833. Here's what science has spent nearly two centuries catching up to.

In 1833 — decades before anyone understood germs, vitamins, or how cells turn cancerous — a short revelation on health was recorded in Kirtland, Ohio. It's known to Latter-day Saints as the Word of Wisdom, and it opens with a striking phrase: given "not by commandment or constraint," but as a loving word of wisdom, "adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints."

What has always moved me is how far ahead of its time it turned out to be. It was written in an age when doctors prescribed tobacco, whiskey was practically a food group, and the science of nutrition simply didn't exist. And yet, principle after principle, modern research keeps arriving — sometimes a century and a half later — at the very same doorstep. Let me walk you through it, honestly, science and scripture side by side.

Wine and strong drink

"Inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink... it is not good." (v. 5)

For most of my life, the headlines said the opposite — a daily glass of red wine was supposedly good for the heart. Then the science caught up. In 2023 the World Health Organization stated plainly that, when it comes to our health, no level of alcohol is safe. Alcohol has long been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen — the same category as tobacco and asbestos — and it's now linked to at least seven cancers, including breast and colon. The old "moderate drinking protects the heart" story has largely unraveled under better research methods. The direction of the science, in other words, has been steadily bending back toward that quiet 1833 caution.

And there's a lovely footnote: the revelation adds that strong drink is fine "for the washing of your bodies" (v. 7). We now disinfect skin and wounds with exactly that — alcohol, one of the most reliable antiseptics we have.

Tobacco

"Tobacco is not for the body... but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle." (v. 8)

This one is almost hard to believe given the era. In 1833, tobacco was widely thought to be medicinal. It took until the U.S. Surgeon General's landmark report in 1964 for the science to formally declare what we now consider obvious: smoking is the leading preventable cause of death, driving lung cancer, heart disease, and more. The verse said "not for the body" more than 130 years early.

Even the odd little detail lands — "an herb for bruises and all sick cattle." Nicotine turns out to be a potent insecticide and was long used on livestock and crops, and tobacco poultices were a genuine folk remedy for bruises and stings. A plant with a real external, veterinary use — just "not for the body."

Hot drinks

"Hot drinks are not for the body or belly." (v. 9)

I want to be especially careful and honest here, because this is the one with the most nuance. Latter-day Saints have long understood "hot drinks" to mean coffee and tea, and abstaining from them is observed as a matter of faith and obedience. On the science of those two drinks themselves, I'll be straight with you: research is actually fairly kind to them — coffee is not considered a carcinogen, and both coffee and tea carry some documented benefits (though caffeine has real effects on sleep and can be habit-forming).

But then there's an intriguing, separate thread. In 2016 the WHO's cancer agency concluded that very hot beverages — anything above about 65°C / 149°F, hot enough to scald — are "probably carcinogenic," linked to cancer of the esophagus. Their conclusion: it's the heat, not the drink, that does the damage. A revelation that said "hot drinks are not for the... belly" pointing, generations later, at the temperature of what we pour down it — I find that quietly remarkable, whatever one makes of it.

Wholesome herbs and fruits, in their season

"All wholesome herbs... every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving." (vv. 10–11)

Here the revelation and the research simply hold hands. If there is one thing the last century of nutrition science agrees on without argument, it's this: eat more plants. Vegetables, fruits, herbs — their fiber, antioxidants, and phytonutrients are tied to lower rates of nearly every chronic disease we worry about. And "in the season thereof" reads like a modern farmers'-market manifesto: seasonal, local, fresh produce, received "with prudence and thanksgiving." My whole kitchen is built on this verse.

Meat, used sparingly

"Flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air... are to be used sparingly." (vv. 12–13)

Not forbidden — sparingly. And modern science lands in a strikingly similar place. In 2015 the WHO classified processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen and red meat as "probably carcinogenic," and plant-forward diets are consistently associated with better heart and metabolic health. Meat still offers real nourishment — protein, B12, iron — which is why the counsel was moderation rather than elimination. "Sparingly" turns out to be a pretty good summary of current dietary guidance.

Grain, the staff of life

"All grain is ordained for the use of man... to be the staff of life." (v. 14)

Whole grains are tied to lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, and more — the fiber and nutrients really do make grain a "staff of life" for most people. And here's where this verse gets personal for me. As many of you know, my own body can't tolerate wheat; celiac disease makes gluten genuinely harmful for me. I used to feel a little caught between that verse and my own gut — until I noticed something. The revelation doesn't say only wheat. It names a whole pantry: "wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye... and barley." A generous variety of grains — and for those of us who need them, the naturally gluten-free ones (rice, corn, certified oats, and more) are still very much part of that good, ordained abundance.

And then, the promises

"...shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones... shall run and not be weary... and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge." (vv. 18–20)

I don't read these as a medical guarantee — they're a spiritual promise, and I hold them as one. But it's hard to miss how tenderly they map onto what a truly nourishing life gives a body: steady energy ("run and not be weary"), strong bones and healthy blood (that lovely, ancient phrase, "marrow to their bones"), and a clear, capable mind ("wisdom and great treasures of knowledge"). Good food doesn't earn us those things like a vending machine — but it does, quietly and faithfully, help lay the foundation for them.

I'll end where the revelation began — with the reminder that all of this was offered gently, "not by commandment or constraint," but as wisdom, "with prudence and thanksgiving." I don't share any of this to prove a point or win an argument. I just find it beautiful when the things I believe and the things we're learning turn out to be walking the same road. Truth, from wherever it comes, tends to agree with itself in the end.

With much love and gratitude,

Steffanie

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Nothing here is medical advice. Science is always developing, and I've done my best to represent it fairly and accurately; please consult a qualified healthcare provider for guidance on your own health.