As the church of Jesus Christ, we have received revelation concerning the substances we should and should not put in our bodies called the Word of Wisdom.
It was made, as revelation from God, in 1833. It stated that we should NOT smoke.
Since then, the world has seen a huge incline and then decline in smoking usage.
It was once good and fun to smoke. We now know what the prophets knew in 1833.
A great talk from Elder Cook:
The Word of Wisdom revelation was received in 1833. In 1921 President Heber J. Grant, inspired by the Lord, called on all Saints to more fully live the Word of Wisdom. At the time, mass marketing and glamorization in the movies made cigarette smoking appear fashionable, sophisticated, and fun. It wasn't until 1964, forty-three years later, that the surgeon general of the United States concluded, "Cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action."
The statistics today with respect to cigarette smoking are not in dispute. Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. It is estimated to increase the risk of lung cancer by twenty-five times.
So what the adversary portrayed as fashionable, sophisticated, and fun has in fact resulted in misery and untimely death for millions of people.
Over many years I have followed a research project that commenced in the 1940s. Initially there were 268 men attending Harvard University who were periodically studied over their entire lives. Later, others, including women, became part of the study. The goal of the original study was to find out about success and happiness. The study showed that college entrance scores and grade averages did not predict either success or happiness in later life.
This study contains three significant insights for me. First, adult happiness has a high correlation with childhood family happiness, especially love and affection from parents. Second is the importance of a healthy, stable marriage to lifelong happiness. Third is the negative effects of alcohol on marital and lifetime success and happiness. Alcohol abuse touches one-third of families and is involved in one-fourth of hospital admissions. It plays a major role in death, bad health, and diminished accomplishment.
In "Wine, Women and Danger," a recent Washington Post front-page article based on U.S. federal health data, it was reported that "women in America are drinking far more, and far more frequently, than their mothers or grandmothers did, and alcohol consumption is killing them in record numbers." The article concluded with comments by Robert D. Brewer that "the current and emerging science does not support the purported benefits of moderate drinking" and that "the risk of death from cancer appears to go up with any level of alcohol consumption."
In the last two or three years, many universities across the world have been trying to diminish alcohol use because of its connection to serious antisocial behaviors, including sexual assault and serious health concerns, especially from binge drinking. The terrible impact of alcohol on young brains is now medically established.
We need to give heed to the prophets.
Listen to General Conference this weekend. Pray beforehand with a question. Know God is working hard and what he wants you to hear will be said during conference.
LOVE YOU ALL,
ELDER AMANN
17 POUNDS OF ICE CREAM FOR ELDER STARLEYS BIRTHDAY (eat in moderation hahah)
A sweet water fall in a place called the Jewel
AND OUR DAY AT SCHOOL!!! We taught 5th graders about the USA and about the importance of taking care of our bodies!
