- Does the Word of Wisdom have a restriction on meat?
- Yes. The Lord states that the “flesh…of beasts and fowls of the air…are to be used sparingly.” He goes further on to say that they should be eaten in times of winter (cold) or famine.
There is no mention of a restriction on poultry (fowl of the ground), seafood, eggs or dairy products.
- Are the terms “cold” and “winter” referring to something different than how we interpret it today?
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When the Word of Wisdom was revealed, methods for preserving meat were still primitive. Spoiled meat can be fatal if eaten, but the chance of spoilage is not as great in winter as in summer. Modern methods of refrigeration now make it possible for meat to be frozen and thereby preserved for later use in any season. The key word with respect to the use of meat is ‘sparingly'” (Student Manual, Religion 324-325, p. 210).
- Why should meat be eaten during times of “famine”?
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Let them be sparing of the life of animals, it is pleasing saith the Lord that flesh be used only in times of winter, or of famine. And why to be used in time of famine? Because all domesticated animals would naturally die, and might as well be made use of by man as not.(Oliver Cowdery, Times & Seasons 3:799-801
- Doesn’t the revelation say that meat “should not be used only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine”?
- Often some people forget the comma between “used” and “only” and thus misinterpret the entire verse. The sentence fragment following the commandment is further conditions from the Lord to the instructions he has given concerning the consumption of flesh of beasts and flying fowl.
In this case, as in many instances of its usage within the scriptures, “only” is used as an adversative, being synonymous with “save” or “except.” In other words, it “should not be used, [except] in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.” A handful of other occasions of this usage can be found within the following passages:
Notice in these verses, as well as in the others which have a similar usage of the word, that the placement of punctuation is nearly identical to that of D&C 89:13.
- Does this mean that vegetarianism is a preferred diet for the Lord’s people?
- Perhaps. However, in previous revelations, He counseled that animals have been ordained for our use for food and clothing (see D&C 49:19; 59:16-20).
Of course the Lord advised eating meat sparingly, but He did not ban it altogether” (Elder Mark E. Peterson, Patterns for Living [Bookcraft, 1962], pp. 235-37).
- Didn’t Paul teach that vegetarianism is a sign of apostasy?
- No. He taught that commanding to abstain from meats was a sign of apostasy (1 Tim. 4:3).
5 Replies to “Meat”
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I just wrote about this topic — and the history related to it. You may find it interesting.
http://www.skepticalthayne.com/?p=2161
Thayne Andersen
I am a vegetarian. Just wanted to get that out there. And I’m not commanding anyone to “be like me” so to speak. But I did want to say that from my point of view, I always thought that the meat being allowed “in times of winter, cold, or famine” had to do not with its ability to be preserved, but because in these times, there is an acute lack of “fruits” to be eaten. You have to imagine yourself as a man or woman, living off the land. If it were winter, what would you eat to preserve your life? There wouldn’t be an abundance of fruits, vegetables and grains, unless you had stored them up — Nature just wouldn’t be providing that for you like it does most of the year. In this time of cold and famine, it would be wise for you to preserve your life off the lives of animals. However, again, if you were able to store up dried fruits and vegetables, or canned varieties, along with grains and seasonings, and you were not in a state of famine because you had done so, I would see no reason why you would have to eat meat during the winter and the cold.
Again, this is just my own personal interpretation of the Spirit of the Law. The lives of animals are ordained for use to preserve the life of Man, but I believe the Spirit of the Law is that if they don’t NEED to be used as a preservative, and if vegetation is a viable option, it should always be used over the lives of animals.
As a side note, milk, while it carries the spirit of life, is not the same form of intelligence and “life” as the animal which it comes from. It is not flesh and is destined to be food by Nature herself. Unfertilized eggs would also carry life force, but would not yet be a body which carried intelligent life. Now I’m REALLY getting into my own interpretation, but I thought I’d put it out there. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED meat for a long time, and I stopped eating it for an entirely different reason than the Word of Wisdom (acid reflux), but since then, not eating meat has helped me take a step back and think about what was meant by the Word of Wisdom, without the intense desire to justify my carnivorous tendencies. 🙂 If you eat meat, and feel right about it, then by all means BE HAPPY WITH YOURSELF! You’re doing right by your conscience, and this means more than anything I, or anyone could say to you! 🙂
Coming from someone who has lived a carnivorous life, my entire 33 years on this earth, I find your point difficult to disagree with. To me, it says it pretty clearly, it pleases the Lord if we don’t eat meat, unless famine, hunger, or the unavailability of other foods necessitate it.
If this is indeed the correct interpretation (as I think and feel it is) then there are a LOT of Mormons and others are breaking the Word of Wisdom… makes me wonder if that has anything to do with the rising depression and suicide rates in this world… just a thought.
I would love to recommend a fantastic book on this topic written by a PhD at BYU Jane Birch. It’s called Discovering the Word of Wisdom through a Whole Food Plant Based Perspective. She very thoroughly covers this topic and it’s a great read! I too have stopped eating animals and dropped my blood pressure about 40 points in 2 months. The Lord does indeed know what He is talking about and it is there in black and white. Also, I can testify to the hidden treasures of knowledge as my mind is far more clear and my spirit more in tune. As Neal said I don’t expect the entire church to stop eating meat (although we will have to during the millenium according to President John Taylor) but I certainly believe we should all cut way back for many reasons but most importantly because the Lord asked us to.
I’ve been vegetarian for 4 years. Doing so did not affect my blood pressure, nor has my mind become any clearer.