Vaping, Coffee, Tea And Pot — Part 2

Answering questions by Bill McKeever during Johnson deals with 36 commonly asked questions by your LDS friends and neighbors. It's a great resource for Christians want to share their faith with friends and loved ones. Be sure to pick up your copy today at your favorite Christian bookstore viewpoint on Mormonism program that examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective viewpoint when Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect.

And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism. Does the New Testament have a health code comparable to what Mormons call the word of wisdom. Welcome to this edition viewpoint on Mormonism. I'm your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at MRM yesterday. We began looking at an article that was in the new era magazine for August 2019 new era is a publication put out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, written more for a young adult audience and there was this article titled shaping coffee, tea, and marijuana. It opens up by saying let's clear up a few items that young people today may be confused about when it comes to the word of wisdom, and as we explained yesterday the word of wisdom is a health code that Mormons have had since 1833 when Joseph Smith claimed he received a revelation on February 27 that came to be known as the word of wisdom, and as we explained yesterday when this first came out it was not looked upon as a commandment that did not come about until later on.

So the question I raised yesterday. That doesn't seem to bother a lot of members of the LDS church is they really think it's okay for their moral leaders to subvert or override something that they believe God originally told their founding prophet, and in this case, the fact that it says it's not by commandment or constraint but yet today the Mormon church is most definitely made it into a commandment.

And yesterday Eric you read a couple of quotes that supports that conclusion well. The question I asked at the beginning of the show had to do with does the New Testament have any type of health code know it doesn't, and in fact it's not that Jesus didn't even talk about this, but what did Jesus say he said don't worry about the stuff that goes in your body worry more about what comes out of your mouth and it's not what goes in that the files it's what comes out of you that the files a man in the book of Colossians. There is something that is written that I think we can use as a guideline and I would argue that what Paul writes in Colossians certainly doesn't sound what Joseph Smith writes in the word of wisdom.

This is what he says at the beginning of Colossians chapter 2 verse 16 therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

These are a shadow of the things that were to come.

The reality however is found in Christ. Skip down to verse 20 and it continues since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belong to the world, do you submit to its rules do not handle. Do not taste do not touch these roles which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. It's interesting that Paul uses that word wisdom human wisdom and yet the same word that's used in this health code. The word of wisdom seems like if Paul knew about Joseph Smith at the time that would've been kind of a little dig at Joseph Smith but of course he wasn't aware that we know that but here's the point when all against a Christian organization talking to their flock about physical health as well as spiritual health and as I mentioned yesterday, I'm not even against the Mormon organization doing that with their people. There are some things I think in the word of wisdom that are probably pretty good ideas. I think there's some things in this article that are some pretty good ideas where we would draw the line is when they cross the line to say that if you violate what's written in the word of wisdom.

Section 89 of the doctrine and covenants. Now you're in the area of sinful behavior. In fact, as you read yesterday, you can't even get a temple recommend, which is your little card that permit you to go into a temple to partake of the endowment ceremony. If you don't follow the word of wisdom that's not what it says in section 89 that came about. Later on, in fact, that came about 1921.

That's how long it took before. This actually became a requirement order to enter into the temple, and of course if you don't go through the temple is a latter-day saying you don't qualify for celestial exultation so you could say your salvation hinges on whether or not you comply with what it says in section 89 is fascinating when you look at Colossians chapter 2 and he talks about human regulations, human wisdom, and a latter-day St. might say, well, the word wisdom comes from God. But as we looked at Galatians. We did a whole series on the book of Galatians, Paul had to deal a lot with people who wanted to rely on the law and still call themselves Christians. In one part of that law was the dietary law and there were religious people, as here, religious festivals, new Moon celebration Sabbath day.

I mean the Jews were very famous for for following those kinds of dietary kosher laws and Paul said no this is not part of the gospel that has been given to us by grace, and in fact if you go to acts chapter 15 at the Jerusalem Council. They wanted to make all of the new believers not only get circumcised. They also had to follow this dietary kosher lot and they agreed that that was not part of this and so Bill you say there are some good things found in the word of wisdom and I would agree with you but to make that into spiritual commandments to be able to be righteous before God certainly goes against the book of Galatians. It goes against the book of Romans. It goes against the whole gospel that we read about in the New Testament, and certainly what Paul writes about here in Colossians 216 and following talking about freedom from human roles. We don't have rules that are going to justify our going into heaven are not going into heaven based on what man has put together and I I meant to say outright. I don't believe that God did give Joseph Smith the word of wisdom. I believe that there were other factors involved with why he came up with this list go back to this article because it explains some facts about the word of wisdom and then it goes on to say.

So with those facts in mind, let's try to clear up a few items that latter-day St. youth today may find a little confusing, so this is an article written for younger people in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is one reason why I'm sure it's found in the new era magazine is that publication is geared towards that audience and they're going to talk about some of the things that our young people in America and probably throughout the world. Many of the developed countries. I would say especially the habits that are starting to grow that they feel LDS youth should not be a part of. In one of those that starts off right off the bat with fate been in E cigarettes. What is it say in the paragraph to Caesar small little paragraphs. It gives you very quick position and then it goes on to the next topic but what is it say about VP. Many cigarettes are electronic vaporizers or E cigarettes are device people used to inhale missed. Usually with various flavors. One study showed that nearly 2/3 of teen e-cigarette users thought that the pods they were vapor and contained only flavoring that's way way far from the truth. Most shaping pods contain nicotine which is highly addictive and all of them contain harmful chemicals they penis clearly against the word of wisdom.

First of all, I don't think this is a huge problem in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and this is why it is too close to cigarette smoking the most Mormons, they would tell you right off cigarette smoking is certainly a sin. It's going to disqualify you from getting in the temples, disqualify you from being exulted in the next life. So here's VP, which looks very similar and I've heard many Mormons when they talk about avoiding the very appearance of evil that I would think they would probably apply that verse with fate been because it looks very much like cigarette smoking, but there a lot of health risk with fate been. It doesn't take long to find out some information on this. I found one website that I thought was quite fascinating.

It's called science news for students so this is a website that's geared towards reaching a younger audience and when you look up very been on the sidebar. There are a lot of other articles that dealt with the subject. Let me just read some of the things that it said these were the article titles heart risks seen in regular vapors of vapor is a person who partakes in the pain another article E cigarettes don't need nicotine to be toxic. Another one vape tricks could increase health risks. Experts warned this these vape tricks are what you can do with the smoke that comes out of your mouth are out of your lungs.

You could say another one E sigs create toxic vapors from harmless E liquids another one vape bean may put your smile at risk. Another team vape soars past cigarette use and another VP may threaten brain immunity and more not just those titles would tell me this is probably not a good habit to get involved in so I don't have a problem with the church cautioning its young members to stay away from this because there are some health risk involved in and I think that we should honor our bodies that God is given us and we don't go out of our way to do things that are going to bring health risk to our body. So I don't have a problem with that again. It's when you cross the line and you start saying now you're in the area of sin, and if you partake of this particular habit that's going to have a detrimental effect on your spiritual welfare in the next life. See that's where I think the church goes beyond the boundaries of what the New Testament tells us there's some common wisdom that I think all of us as Bible believing Christians should follow and I think there are a lot of unspoken rules.

You might say, even within Christianity when it comes to the imbibing of certain substances, but to say that that would prevent you from going to heaven or in the morning case to say that will prevent you from spiritual exultation or celestial exultation. I just think is going past the boundaries of the New Testament will that's one of the things the church is known for having all the different commandments that you have to keep in order to be able to get the forgiveness of sins is a very much works oriented religion and so yes, of course, we don't have a problem with them encouraging their youth did not vapor to use E cigarettes, etc. but again, if you're making this into a commandment that is going to give you spiritual blessing. If you do it. I'm not sure there's a spiritual blessing so much as a physical blessing.

Yes, of course, but not to somehow gain God's approval or are again as we said to be able to be qualified so that for a young person at the start.

At the age of 11 to be able to go into the temple and do the temple ordinance work they do. Baptism for the dead. That's the regular work of those who are of that age before they can actually go through the whole ceremony themselves there, doing baptisms for the dead and they have to not be doing these things either. Or they won't get approved to be able to go do that work. Yeah, it's all connected folks there certain types of behavior that the word of wisdom prohibits that if you violated it's going to have some significant spiritual consequences.

In the context of Mormonism.

We should say. Now some of them all be quite honestly I think are silly, especially the hot drinks thing hot drinks has been defined as referring only to coffee and tea. I would think that if God wanted really get his message across. He could've been more specific. Actually say that, but it doesn't say coffee or tea in the word of wisdom. It merely says hot drinks and tomorrow show were going to look at that topic, under the subheading of mocha latte Maki auto etc. thank you for listening you would like more information regarding this research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website at www.mrm.org you can request a