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We are taught that our spirits came to earth to gain physical bodies
like those of our Heavenly Parents. We are also taught that in the resurrection
our spirits and bodies will be permanently reunited (Alma
11:42-45). Because spirit and body together constitute the soul
(D&C 88:15), our bodies are integral to
who we are. A disembodied existence would be incomplete and undesirable
(D&C 138:50). Only in our bodies can we
experience fullness of joy (D&C 93:33-34).
These teachings undercut the notion that our "flesh" is corrupt
and sinful. Instead we learn that our bodies are part of our divine nature
(Moses 6:8-9) and that the pleasures of the
physical world are a gift to be relished, albeit judiciously (D&C
59:18-20). The Word of Wisdom and the temple garment remind us
to nourish our bodies so we can enjoy good health and long life. In the
temple, our bodies are blessed to grow, physically and spiritually, into
God's image.
By learning to value the body, we also learn to take seriously the scandal
of physical suffering. A religion which acts as if people's spiritual
welfare overshadowed their material wants makes no sense if, as modern
revelation declares, the temporal and the spiritual are one (D&C
29:34). God's salvation is a temporal salvation. Christ took on
flesh so he could succor us according to the flesh (Alma
7:11-12). Likewise, Christ's disciples are called to alleviate
physical, not just spiritual, need (Mosiah 4:26)—the
two being, in fact, inseparable.
| Joseph F. Smith: The
spiritual and the temporal are blended together. It is absolutely
necessary in the cause of redemption, in which we are engaged, that
the temporal welfare of the people should be looked after, and their
temporal salvation secured unto them as well as their spiritual salvation. |
| Conference Report,
October 1898 |
James E. Talmage:
We Latter-day Saints do not regard the body as something to be condemned,
something to be abhorred, and something to be subdued in the sense
in which that expression is oft-times heard in the world. |
| Conference Report,
October 1913, 117-118 |
Marion D. Hanks: I
am grateful to understand that my physical body is an eternal, non-evil
component of my eternal soul, . . . a great gift of God.
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| Conference Report,
October 1958, 109 |
Lowell L. Bennion:
The Word of Wisdom is more than a set of rules . . . It was given
for a principle; it is an outlook and a way of life. The principle
of the Word of Wisdom might be stated as follows: All things good
for man, let him enjoy with prudence and thanksgiving; from all
things not good for man, let him abstain. . . . The Word of Wisdom
means moderation, prudence, and thanksgiving in every aspect of
life. It leaves room for common sense and insight and encourages
initiative, freedom, and a wholesome positive outlook on life.
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| An Introduction to the
Gospel (Salt Lake City: Deseret Sunday School Union Board, 1955),
252-253 |
John S. Tanner: The
Word of Wisdom is but one of many ways the Doctrine and Covenants
establishes the intimate link between body and spirit. Commending
tasting and smelling (D&C 59:19), singing and dancing (D&C
136:28; D&C 25:12), loving and grieving (D&C 42:45; D&C
130:2), the Doctrine and Covenants is truly a book for our entire
being. It reveals a God who cares for the wholeness of our souls—body
and spirit. |
| “The Body as a Blessing,”
Ensign, July 1993, 7 |
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