Latter Day Vegetarian » Brigham Young http://latterdayvegetarian.com Healthy Living for Latter Day Saints Fri, 18 May 2012 05:18:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.utahkrishnas.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=183:latter-day-saints-and-concern-for-animals&catid=87:articles-on-diet&Itemid=337 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/httpwww-utahkrishnas-orgindex-phpoptioncom_contentviewarticleid183latter-day-saints-and-concern-for-animalscatid87articles-on-dietitemid337 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/httpwww-utahkrishnas-orgindex-phpoptioncom_contentviewarticleid183latter-day-saints-and-concern-for-animalscatid87articles-on-dietitemid337#comments Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:41:54 +0000 admin http://latterdayvegetarian.com/?p=378

Latter Day Saints and Concern for Animals

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A vegetarian, Joseph Fielding Smith in 1978 delivered a strong denouncement of killing for sport and advanced humaneness in general, quoting the previous prophets extensively. Noting that “it was important the animals be on the earth” he called the destruction of wildlife “wicked” and said “every soul should be impressed by the sentiments of all the prophets preceding me.”

Joseph Smith’s inspired version of Genesis read: “And surely, blood shall not be shed, only for meat, to save your lives: and the blood of every beast I shall require at your hands.” The concept that we would be accountable to God for every animal killed indicated that killing them should be limited to a serious choice only to save human lives.

Joseph Smith’s brother, Hyrum, said in 1844 of the Word of Wisdom, “Let the Saints be sparing of the life of animals; it is pleasing saith the Lord that flesh be used only in times of winter, or famine – and why to be used in famine? Because all domesticated animals would naturally die, and may as well be used by man, as not.”

The dictionary definition of “sparingly” is not “moderately.” It is “to be used in an emergency.” A “spare” tire is not used daily.

At Zion’s camp in 1834 Joseph Smith prevented his followers from killing three rattlesnakes and exhorted them “to become harmless before the brute creation, and then the animal kingdom will follow.”

Brigham Young’s sermons in Utah frequently mentioned animals. He held that “the more kind we are to our animals the more peace will increase and the savage nature of the animal creation will vanish away.” He blamed rich food, especially beef and pork, for shortening lives, claiming that “the foundations of longevity,” living even to “hundreds of years” would be found in a prudent diet, especially that of our parents in Eden.

At age 72 George Canon wrote, “To inflict pain or death unnecessarily upon any of the creation is not a commendable pursuit. To delight in slaughter and blood is not an indication of a pure heart. How is the time to come when enmity between man and beast shall cease If man, the superior animal, does not take himself the first steps by getting rid of his blood thirstiness and by regarding all life as sacred.”

Lorenzo Snow said of an incident in his youth, “While moving forward in pursuit of something to kill, my mind was arrested with the reflection on the nature of my pursuit – that of amusing myself by giving pain and death to harmless creatures that had as much right to life as myself. I realized that such indulgence was without any justification, and feeling condemned, I laid my gun on my shoulder, returned home, and from that time to this have felt no inclination for that murderous amusement.” In a later comment, he said he felt “the Word of WIsdom was violated more in the improper use of meat as in other things.”

Joseph F. Smith in 1912 spoke thus to the Deseret Sunday School Union, “It is wrong, and I have been surprised at prominent men whom I have seen whose very souls seemed to be a thirst for the shedding of animal blood. They go off hunting ‘Just for the fun ot if.’ Not that they are hungry and need the flesh of their prey, but because they love to shoot and destroy life. I am a firm believer in the words of one of the poets” Take not away the life you cannot give / for all things have an equal right to live.”

In 1945 at a general Conference, Heber J. Grant said, “I think that another reason I have splendid health for an old man (88) is that during the years we have had a cafeteria in the Utah Hotel I have not, with the exception of not more than a dozen times, ordered meat of any kind. I have endeavored to live the Word of Wisdom.”

http://www.utahkrishnas.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=183:latter-day-saints-and-concern-for-animals&catid=87:articles-on-diet&Itemid=337.

]]> http://latterdayvegetarian.com/httpwww-utahkrishnas-orgindex-phpoptioncom_contentviewarticleid183latter-day-saints-and-concern-for-animalscatid87articles-on-dietitemid337/feed 0 Healing the Sick http://latterdayvegetarian.com/healing-the-sick http://latterdayvegetarian.com/healing-the-sick#comments Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:56:30 +0000 admin http://latterdayvegetarian.com/?p=295

Healing the Sick

Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

We have this priesthood power, and we should all be prepared to use it properly.

Elder Dallin H. OaksIn these times of worldwide turmoil, more and more persons of faith are turning to the Lord for blessings of comfort and healing. I wish to speak to this audience of priesthood holders about healing the sick—by medical science, by prayers of faith, and by priesthood blessings.
I.

Latter-day Saints believe in applying the best available scientific knowledge and techniques. We use nutrition, exercise, and other practices to preserve health, and we enlist the help of healing practitioners, such as physicians and surgeons, to restore health.

The use of medical science is not at odds with our prayers of faith and our reliance on priesthood blessings. When a person requested a priesthood blessing, Brigham Young would ask, “Have you used any remedies?” To those who said no because “we wish the Elders to lay hands upon us, and we have faith that we shall be healed,” President Young replied: “That is very inconsistent according to my faith. If we are sick, and ask the Lord to heal us, and to do all for us that is necessary to be done, according to my understanding of the Gospel of salvation, I might as well ask the Lord to cause my wheat and corn to grow, without my plowing the ground and casting in the seed. It appears consistent to me to apply every remedy that comes within the range of my knowledge, and [then] to ask my Father in Heaven . . . to sanctify that application to the healing of my body.”1

Of course we don’t wait until all other methods are exhausted before we pray in faith or give priesthood blessings for healing. In emergencies, prayers and blessings come first. Most often we pursue all efforts simultaneously. This follows the scriptural teachings that we should “pray always” (D&C 90:24) and that all things should be done in wisdom and order.2
II.

We know that the prayer of faith, uttered alone or in our homes or places of worship, can be effective to heal the sick. Many scriptures refer to the power of faith in the healing of an individual. The Apostle James taught that we should “pray one for another, that ye may be healed,” adding, “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). When the woman who touched Jesus was healed, He told her, “Thy faith hath made thee whole” (Matthew 9:22).3 Similarly, the Book of Mormon teaches that the Lord “worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men” (Moroni 10:7).

A recent nationwide survey found that nearly 8 in 10 Americans “believe that miracles still occur today as [they did] in ancient times.” A third of those surveyed said they had “experienced or witnessed a divine healing.”4 Many Latter-day Saints have experienced the power of faith in healing the sick. We also hear examples of this among people of faith in other churches. A Texas newspaperman described such a miracle. When a five-year-old girl breathed with difficulty and became feverish, her parents rushed her to the hospital. By the time she arrived there, her kidneys and lungs had shut down, her fever was 107 degrees, and her body was bright red and covered with purple lesions. The doctors said she was dying of toxic shock syndrome, cause unknown. As word spread to family and friends, God-fearing people began praying for her, and a special prayer service was held in their Protestant congregation in Waco, Texas. Miraculously, she suddenly returned from the brink of death and was released from the hospital in a little over a week. Her grandfather wrote, “She is living proof that God does answer prayers and work miracles.”5

Truly, as the Book of Mormon teaches, God “manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles . . . among the children of men according to their faith” (2 Nephi 26:13).
III.

For this audience—adults who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood and young men who will soon receive this power—I will concentrate my remarks on healing blessings involving the power of the priesthood. We have this priesthood power, and we should all be prepared to use it properly. Current increases in natural disasters and financial challenges show that we will need this power even more in the future than in the past.

Many scriptures teach that the servants of the Lord “shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18).6 Miracles happen when the authority of the priesthood is used to bless the sick. I have experienced these miracles. As a boy and as a man I have seen healings as miraculous as any recorded in the scriptures, and so have many of you.

There are five parts to the use of priesthood authority to bless the sick: (1) the anointing, (2) the sealing of the anointing, (3) faith, (4) the words of the blessing, and (5) the will of the Lord.
Anointing

The Old Testament frequently mentions anointing with oil as part of a blessing conferred by priesthood authority.7 Anointings were declared to be for sanctification8 and perhaps can also be seen as symbolic of the blessings to be poured out from heaven as a result of this sacred act.

In the New Testament we read that Jesus’s Apostles “anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them” (Mark 6:13). The book of James teaches the role of anointing in connection with the other elements in a healing blessing by priesthood authority:

“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” (James 5:14–15).
Sealing the Anointing

When someone has been anointed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the anointing is sealed by that same authority. To seal something means to affirm it, to make it binding for its intended purpose. When elders anoint a sick person and seal the anointing, they open the windows of heaven for the Lord to pour forth the blessing He wills for the person afflicted.

President Brigham Young taught: “When I lay hands on the sick, I expect the healing power and influence of God to pass through me to the patient, and the disease to give way. . . . When we are prepared, when we are holy vessels before the Lord, a stream of power from the Almighty can pass through the tabernacle of the administrator to the system of the patient, and the sick are made whole.”9

Although we know of many cases where persons blessed by priesthood authority have been healed, we rarely refer to these healings in public meetings because modern revelation cautions us not to “boast [ourselves] of these things, neither speak them before the world; for these things are given unto you for your profit and for salvation” (D&C 84:73).
Faith

Faith is essential for healing by the powers of heaven. The Book of Mormon even teaches that “if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them” (Ether 12:12).10 In a notable talk on administering to the sick, President Spencer W. Kimball said: “The need of faith is often underestimated. The ill one and the family often seem to depend wholly on the power of the priesthood and the gift of healing that they hope the administering brethren may have, whereas the greater responsibility is with him who is blessed. . . . The major element is the faith of the individual when that person is conscious and accountable. ‘Thy faith hath made thee whole’ [Matthew 9:22] was repeated so often by the Master that it almost became a chorus.”11

President Kimball even suggested that “too frequent administrations may be an indication of lack of faith or of the ill one trying to pass the responsibility for faith development to the elders rather than self.” He told about a faithful sister who received a priesthood blessing. When asked the next day if she wished to be administered to again, she replied: “No, I have been anointed and administered to. The ordinance has been performed. It is up to me now to claim my blessing through my faith.”12
Words of Blessing

Another part of a priesthood blessing is the words of blessing spoken by the elder after he seals the anointing. These words can be very important, but their content is not essential and they are not recorded on the records of the Church. In some priesthood blessings—like a patriarchal blessing—the words spoken are the essence of the blessing. But in a healing blessing it is the other parts of the blessing—the anointing, the sealing, faith, and the will of the Lord—that are the essential elements.

Ideally, the elder who officiates will be so in tune with the Spirit of the Lord that he will know and declare the will of the Lord in the words of the blessing. Brigham Young taught priesthood holders, “It is your privilege and duty to live so that you know when the word of the Lord is spoken to you and when the mind of the Lord is revealed to you.”13 When that happens, the spoken blessing is fulfilled literally and miraculously. On some choice occasions I have experienced that certainty of inspiration in a healing blessing and have known that what I was saying was the will of the Lord. However, like most who officiate in healing blessings, I have often struggled with uncertainty on the words I should say. For a variety of causes, every elder experiences increases and decreases in his level of sensitivity to the promptings of the Spirit. Every elder who gives a blessing is subject to influence by what he desires for the person afflicted. Each of these and other mortal imperfections can influence the words we speak.

Fortunately, the words spoken in a healing blessing are not essential to its healing effect. If faith is sufficient and if the Lord wills it, the afflicted person will be healed or blessed whether the officiator speaks those words or not. Conversely, if the officiator yields to personal desire or inexperience and gives commands or words of blessing in excess of what the Lord chooses to bestow according to the faith of the individual, those words will not be fulfilled. Consequently, brethren, no elder should ever hesitate to participate in a healing blessing because of fear that he will not know what to say. The words spoken in a healing blessing can edify and energize the faith of those who hear them, but the effect of the blessing is dependent upon faith and the Lord’s will, not upon the words spoken by the elder who officiated.
Will of the Lord

Young men and older men, please take special note of what I will say now. As we exercise the undoubted power of the priesthood of God and as we treasure His promise that He will hear and answer the prayer of faith, we must always remember that faith and the healing power of the priesthood cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him whose priesthood it is. This principle is taught in the revelation directing that the elders of the Church shall lay their hands upon the sick. The Lord’s promise is that “he that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed” (D&C 42:48; emphasis added). Similarly, in another modern revelation the Lord declares that when one “asketh according to the will of God . . . it is done even as he asketh” (D&C 46:30).14

From all of this we learn that even the servants of the Lord, exercising His divine power in a circumstance where there is sufficient faith to be healed, cannot give a priesthood blessing that will cause a person to be healed if that healing is not the will of the Lord.

As children of God, knowing of His great love and His ultimate knowledge of what is best for our eternal welfare, we trust in Him. The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and faith means trust. I felt that trust in a talk my cousin gave at the funeral of a teenage girl who had died of a serious illness. He spoke these words, which first astonished me and then edified me: “I know it was the will of the Lord that she die. She had good medical care. She was given priesthood blessings. Her name was on the prayer roll in the temple. She was the subject of hundreds of prayers for her restoration to health. And I know that there is enough faith in this family that she would have been healed unless it was the will of the Lord to take her home at this time.” I felt that same trust in the words of the father of another choice girl whose life was taken by cancer in her teen years. He declared, “Our family’s faith is in Jesus Christ and is not dependent on outcomes.” Those teachings ring true to me. We do all that we can for the healing of a loved one, and then we trust in the Lord for the outcome.

I testify of the power of the priesthood of God, of the power of the prayer of faith, and of the truth of these principles. Most of all, I testify of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose servants we are, whose Resurrection gives us the assurance of immortality, and whose Atonement gives us the opportunity for eternal life, the greatest of all the gifts of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

]]> http://latterdayvegetarian.com/healing-the-sick/feed 0 George Q Cannon & Brigham Young Jr., 19 Sept. 1877 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/george-q-cannon-brigham-young-jr-19-sept-1877 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/george-q-cannon-brigham-young-jr-19-sept-1877#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:46:21 +0000 admin http://latterdayvegetarian.com/?p=213 If objection is raised against the laying on of hands because its effects are not uniform in every case, the poet’s advice, “Throw physic to the dogs” should be followed, for there is nothing more uncertain than the results of medical treatment, and we should therefore use no drugs and fee no doctors. [“The Ordinance for the Sick,” The Deseret News, vol. 26, no. 33 (Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Brigham Young Jr., 19 Sept. 1877,  p. 518

]]> http://latterdayvegetarian.com/george-q-cannon-brigham-young-jr-19-sept-1877/feed 0 Brigham Young, President of the Church, 5 April 1860 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-5-april-1860 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-5-april-1860#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:12:41 +0000 admin http://s193230248.onlinehome.us/latterdayvegetarianwp/?p=82 Our bodies are organized to derive enjoyment from their proper use. There is enjoyment in eating when you are hungry, and in resting when you are fatigued, to the extent the body rightly requires; but if appetite is so gratified that your body, when you wake, is tormented with a raging fever, where is the pleasure of eating so much of this or that delicious food? Satisfying the appetite brings to an end the pleasure of eating; and where food is partaken chiefly to gratify the pleasurable sensation derived from eating, disease is gendered, and true misery springs out of this unwise gratification. Some healthy, strong-constituted persons can eat large quantities of food with apparent impunity; but, in so doing, the tax they place upon their systems will ultimately bring disease and death. [“Light of the Spirit—Laws of Health—Joy In the Gospel, etc.,” reported by G. D. Watt, Journal of Discourses, vol. 8 (Liverpool: George Q. Cannon, 1861), p. 139.]

]]> http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-5-april-1860/feed 0 Lorenzo Snow, President of the Quorum of the Twelve, 11 March 1897 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/lorenzo-snow-president-of-the-quorum-of-the-twelve-11-march-1897 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/lorenzo-snow-president-of-the-quorum-of-the-twelve-11-march-1897#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:02:42 +0000 admin http://s193230248.onlinehome.us/latterdayvegetarianwp/?p=52 [President Lorenzo Snow] introduced the subject of the Word of Wisdom, expressing the opinion that it was violated as much or more in the improper use of meat as in other things, and thought the time was near at hand when the Latter-day Saints should be taught to refrain from meat eating and the shedding of animal blood. [in Journal History of the Church, 11 March 1897, LDS Archives; see also Leonard J. Arrington, “An Economic Interpretation of the ‘Word of Wisdom,’ ” Brigham Young University Studies, vol. 1, no. 1 (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, Winter 1959), p. 47.]

]]> http://latterdayvegetarian.com/lorenzo-snow-president-of-the-quorum-of-the-twelve-11-march-1897/feed 0 Brigham Young, President of the Church, 20 May 1860 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-20-may-1860 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-20-may-1860#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:01:40 +0000 admin http://s193230248.onlinehome.us/latterdayvegetarianwp/?p=48 If the days of man are to begin to return, we must cease all extravagant living. When men live to the age of a tree, their food will be fruit. . . . If every woman in this Church will now cease drinking tea, coffee, liquor, and all other powerful stimulants, and live upon vegetables, etc., not many generations will pass away before the days of man will again return. But it will take generations to entirely eradicate the influences of deleterious substances. This must be done before we can attain our paradisaical state. [“Privileges of the Sabbath—Duty of Living Our Religion—Human Longevity, etc.,” reported by G. D. Watt, Journal of Discourses, vol. 8 (Liverpool: George Q. Cannon, 1861), pp. 63–53; emphasis added; spelling modernized.]

]]> http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-20-may-1860/feed 0 Joseph Fielding Smith, President of the Twelve, 30 Dec. 1966 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/joseph-fielding-smith-president-of-the-twelve-30-dec-1966 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/joseph-fielding-smith-president-of-the-twelve-30-dec-1966#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:59:42 +0000 admin http://s193230248.onlinehome.us/latterdayvegetarianwp/?p=40 This is my answer to you in relation to President Brigham Young’s statement that mothers should not feed their small children meat. Yes! Small children do not need the flesh of animals. May I add also that adults would be better if they would refrain from too much eating of meat. As far as I am concerned the eating of meat should be very sparingly. In fact I will be contented if the Millennium was to be ushered in next week. When it is, we will learn that the eating of meat is not good for us. Why do we feel that we do not have a square meal unless it is based largely on meat. Let the dumb animals live. They enjoy life as well as we do.

In the beginning the Lord granted man the use of the flesh of certain animals. See Genesis 9:1-6, but with so many fruits of the soil and from the trees of the earth, why cannot man be content? Naturally in times of famine the flesh of animals was perhaps a necessity, but in my judgment when the Millennium reaches us, we will live above the need of killing dumb innocent animals and eating them. If we will take this stand in my judgment we may live longer. [In a letter to a member sister in El Paso, Texas, dated 30 Dec. 1966, quoted in Health Is A Blessing: A Guide to the Scriptural Laws of Good Health, by Steven H. Horne, advance publication copy (Springville, Utah: Nature’s Field, 1994), p. 34.]

]]> http://latterdayvegetarian.com/joseph-fielding-smith-president-of-the-twelve-30-dec-1966/feed 0 Brigham Young, Brigham Young, President of the Church, 14 April 1867 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-brigham-young-president-of-the-church-14-april-1867 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-brigham-young-president-of-the-church-14-april-1867#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:57:34 +0000 admin http://s193230248.onlinehome.us/latterdayvegetarianwp/?p=34 You get up in the morning and have your cup of tea, your fried ham, and cold beef and mince pies, and everything you can possibly cram into the stomach, until you surfeit the system and lay the foundation for disease and early death. Says the mother—“Do eat, my little daughter, you are sick; take a piece of pie, toast, or meat, or drink a little tea or coffee; you must take something or other.” Mothers in Israel, such a course engenders disease, and you are laying a foundation that will cut off one-half or two-thirds of the lives of your children. . . .

You may think that these things are not of much importance; no more they are, unless they are observed, but let the people observe them and they lay the foundation for longevity, and they will begin to live out their days, not only a hundred years, but, by and bye, hundreds of years on the earth. Do you think they will stuff themselves then with tea and coffee, and perhaps with a little brandy sling before breakfast and a little before going to bed, and then beef, pork, mutton, sweet-meats, and pastry, morning, noon, and night? No; you will find they will live as our first parents did, on fruits and on a little simple food, and they will never overload the stomach. [“General Instructions to the Missionaries Going Abroad,” reported by David W. Evans, Journal of Discourses, vol. 12 (Liverpool: Albert Carrington, 1869), p. 37.]

]]> http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-brigham-young-president-of-the-church-14-april-1867/feed 0 Brigham Young, President of the Church, 19 July 1877 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-19-july-1877 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-19-july-1877#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:56:13 +0000 admin http://s193230248.onlinehome.us/latterdayvegetarianwp/?p=30 Swine’s flesh . . . is more susceptible of diseases than any other flesh that we eat. It is not like fish or fowl. It is susceptible of disease of every kind, and will impregnate the system with disease far quicker than any other food that we eat. [“Relief Societies—Talk to Mothers—Improvement Societies—Domestic Matters—Training Children—Home Production—Silk Interests,” reported by James Taylor, Journal of Discourses, vol. 19 (Liverpool: William Budge, 1878), p. 67.]

]]> http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-19-july-1877/feed 0 Brigham Young, President of the Church, 16 September 1860 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-16-september-1860 http://latterdayvegetarian.com/brigham-young-president-of-the-church-16-september-1860#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:55:40 +0000 admin http://s193230248.onlinehome.us/latterdayvegetarianwp/?p=28 Good pure air is the great sustainer of animal life. Other elements of life we can dispense with for a time, but this seems to be essential of well ventilated dwelling-houses, especially the rooms occupied for sleeping. You can live without water and food longer than you can without air, and water is of more importance than meat and bread. [“Covetousness, etc.,” reported by G. D. Watt, Journal of Discourses, vol. 8 (Liverpool: George Q. Cannon, 1861), p. 168.]

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