A recent post at Doctrinal:net (a chatty new LDS blog I recently added to the sidebar Weblog list) makes the odd claim that the Atkins Diet is in conflict with the Mormon Word of Wisdom. On behalf of low carb Mormons everywhere, let me dispel this foolish notion. The "Word of Wisdom" is the shorthand term for the dietary laws of the Mormon Church. A Mormon must abide by these dietary laws to remain in good standing in the Church and to qualify to enter Mormon temples. D&C 89 is offered as the textual basis for the Word of Wisdom. The text makes the dietary directives "not by commandment or constraint" and counsels against use of "wine or strong drink," tobacco, and "hot drinks." Modernly, this is interpreted as a commandment proscribing the use of all alcoholic beverages, coffee and tea, tobacco products, and illegal drugs. Many Mormons also abstain from caffeinated soda pop on the grounds that it is proscribed by the Word of Wisdom, although there does not seem to be any "official" LDS statement to support this. For what it's worth, the cafeteria and the soda pop machines on the BYU campus do not offer Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, or Mountain Dew. Maybe the soda pop thing just applies to Utah Valley Mormons.
The differences between the text of D&C 89 (dated 1833) and the modern interpretation are instructive. Note how what is expressly stated to be "not by commandment or constraint" can be "interpreted" to mean the exact opposite in later generations. If the text in no way constrains the "interpretation," it's not really an interpretation of the text, is it? In other words, the modern Word of Wisdom bears no particular relationship to the text of D&C 89.
This becomes clearer when considering the positive directives included in D&C 89, which carry no weight in the modern interpretation. "[T]obacco . . . is an herb for bruises and for sick cattle" is one such injunction. Vegetarianism is somewhat discouraged, as the "flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man." Yet, meat is "to be used sparingly," and only "in times of winter, or of cold, or famine." In practice, all of these D&C 89 injunctions are simply ignored under the modern Word of Wisdom. It is therefore incorrect to suggest that a low carb, high protein, meat intensive diet is against the Word of Wisdom as presently practiced in the Mormon Church. They don't care what you eat, as long as you don't wash it down with a glass of wine or a can of beer.
Verse 11 of D&C 89 allows the use of "every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving." But the term "every herb" does not apparently extend to coffee beans and tea leaves. Of course, vanilla beans and chocolate are okay. Vanilla beans good, coffee beans bad. Just seems a bit arbitrary to me; I think "all herbs are good if used with prudence" is a more reasonable and defensible principle. And don't think that health concerns justify the arbitrary labelling of some herbs as proscribed. Sugar does a lot more harm than caffeine ever could. The adverse health effects of our hyper-sugared diet--tooth decay, blood sugar disorders, and excess weight gain come to mind right off the bat--far outweigh any harm caffeine might cause. If the Word of Wisdom were a health law, coffee and tea would be allowed and sugar would be proscribed. If you really think the Word of Wisdom is a health law, take a stroll through the BYU Bookstore snack shop sometime.
For further reading, there is a nice pro-LDS summary of the Word of Wisdom at the FAIR site which also, to my mind, illustrates some of the confusion surrounding the doctrine as noted above. Also, there are longer excerpts on the Word of Wisdom from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism and from Mormon Doctrine over at All About Mormons; click on "Word of Wisdom" under the "Daily Living" heading. The Encyclopedia material gives some consideration of the historical development of the current Word of Wisdom. Bruce R. McConkie, while characteristically but charmingly blunt ("Some unstable people become cranks with reference to this law of health"), does note that "the partaking of cola drinks, though not included within the measuring standard here set out, is in violation of the spirit of the Word of Wisdom." This, of course, suggests that it does not violate the letter of the Word of Wisdom.
12:27:55 PM 
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