Home-brewed beer was a favorite, and after , British-American colonists drank fermented peach juice, hard apple cider, and rum either imported from the West Indies or distilled from molasses made there. By , per capita consumption of distilled spirits alone—to say nothing of beer or cider—stood at 3.
The American Revolution only exacerbated this reliance on alcohol. After molasses imports were cut off, Americans sought a substitute for rum by turning to whiskey. Grain farmers in western Pennsylvania and Tennessee found it cheaper to manufacture whiskey than to ship and sell perishable grains.
As a consequence, the number of distilleries grew rapidly after , boosted by settlement of the corn belt in Kentucky and Ohio and the vast distances to eastern markets. To the astonishment of observers like Trollope, Americans everywhere—men, women, and children—drank whiskey all day long. This elevated alcohol consumption offended religious sensibilities. As early as , both Quakers and Methodists were advising their members to abstain from all hard liquor and to avoid participation in its sale and manufacture.
Alcohol became viewed more as a dangerous tempter and less as a gift from God. In , the Congregational and Presbyterian churches in Connecticut recommended strict licensing laws limiting the distribution of alcohol. Lyman Beecher, a leader in this reform movement, advocated even more extreme measures, endorsing full abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
Members of the organization were encouraged to sign a temperance pledge not just to moderate their alcohol intake but to abstain altogether. By the mids, the ATS had grown to well over a million members, many of them teetotalers.
Encouraged by the ATS, local temperance societies popped up by the thousands across the U. Kirtland had its own temperance society, as did many small towns. Nevertheless, it required time to wind down practices that were so deeply ingrained in family tradition and culture, especially when fermented beverages of all kinds were frequently used for medicinal purposes.
This incubation period gave the Saints time to develop their own tradition of abstinence from habit-forming substances. By the early 20th century, when scientific medicines were more widely available and temple attendance had become a more regular feature of Latter-day Saint worship, the Church was ready to accept a more exacting standard of observance that would eliminate problems like alcoholism from among the obedient.
In , the Lord inspired President Heber J. Grant to call on all Saints to live the Word of Wisdom to the letter by completely abstaining from all alcohol, coffee, tea, and tobacco. I do not think I shall do so.
I have never done so. In , Ezra T. Benson exhorted the Saints to live the law, but seemed to realize that not all the Saints of the time had the capacity:. Supposing he had given the Word of Wisdom as a command, how many of us would have been here? I do not know; but he gave this without command or constraint, observing that it would be pleasing in His sight for His people to obey its precepts. Ought we not to try to please our Heavenly Father? In , Brigham Young again emphasized that this was a commandment of God, but that following was left, to an extent, with the people:.
The observance of the Word of Wisdom, or interpretation of God's requirements on this subject, must be left, partially, with the people. We cannot make laws like the Medes and Persians. We cannot say you shall never drink a cup of tea, or you shall never taste of this, or you shall never taste of that Just before the turn of the century, in , the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve discussed the Word of Wisdom:.
President Woodruff said he regarded the Word of Wisdom in its entirety as given of the Lord for the Latter-day Saints to observe, but he did not think that Bishops should withhold recommends from persons who did not adhere strictly to it.
By , the Church leaders were strongly encouraging the members to keep the law, and were even beginning to deny temple recommends to those who would not. They were, however, still merciful and patient with the older members who had not been born into the system, and for whom change was presumably quite difficult:.
Smith urged stake presidents and others to refuse recommends to flagrant violators but to be somewhat liberal with old men who used tobacco and old ladies who drank tea. Habitual drunkards, however, were to be denied temple recommends.
By , the Council of the Twelve were actively preaching that no man should hold a leadership position if he would not obey the Word of Wisdom.
Smith instructed that no one was to be ordained to the priesthood or given temple recommends without adherence. Grant became President of the Church in , and he continued the policy of Word of Wisdom observance; after that time temple attendance or priesthood ordination required obedience to the principle.
Thus, the Church membership had eighty-five years to adapt and prepare for the full implementation of this revelation. According to Joseph F. Smith, this long period of patience on the part of the Lord was necessary for all—from the newest member to even the leaders:. The reason undoubtedly why the Word of Wisdom was given—as not by 'commandment or restraint' was that at that time, at least, if it had been given as a commandment it would have brought every man, addicted to the use of these noxious things, under condemnation; so the Lord was merciful and gave them a chance to overcome, before He brought them under the law.
Thus, we should not expect perfect observance of the Word of Wisdom especially in its modern application from early members or leaders. The Lord and the Church did not expect it of them—though the principle was taught and emphasized. To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, click here. FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are a volunteer organization.
President Grant clearly taught the revelation as a commandment, not as a guideline or a suggestion. By the s and s, the question was not if the Latter-day Saints would live the Word of Wisdom but how far they would go in their zeal to follow its precepts. In Elder Joseph F. Merrill preached a fiery sermon against excessive use of meat.
Elder John A. Other Church leaders advocated a more measured approach. When a theater employee apologized for giving President David O. Grant and David O. McKay, most faithful Latter-day Saints settle on the common ground of abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, and harmful drugs. Why was there such a gradual approach to accepting the Word of Wisdom as a commandment?
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