Physical Health

       Physical health in my mind is synonymous with the word of wisdom. I am energized by the example of the apostels who have kept their bodies in amazing physical health. We have control over how we will act in respect to our physical health. Just like our choices added equal who we are, our health choices added up equal our body. One insight that I gained from researching theses quotes was from Marrion G. Romney. He said "priesthood bearers who have entered into the covenants that we enter into--in the waters of baptism, in connection with the law of tithing, the Word of Wisdom, and the many other covenants we make--and then refuse to live up to these covenants will stand in jeopardy of losing the promise of eternal life." WOW so me keeping the word of wisdom is super important. Not just the obvious things like no drugs or alcohol, but excersise is part of the at too. I am excited to start keeping the word of wisdom more fully and start exercising.  

Families need to observe the Word of Wisdom in all ways, never compromising the dos and don’ts of this sacred commandment.
Happiness Is Homemade
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/10/happiness-is-homemade?lang=eng
The Apostle Paul declared, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? … The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Cor. 3:16–17.) Use good eating habits, avoiding fad diets and ignoring the often alluring advertisements which emphasize slimness as the ultimate objective. Hard drugs, wrongful use of prescription drugs, alcohol, coffee, tea, and tobacco products destroy your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Any form of alcohol, including beer, is harmful to your spirit and your body. Tobacco can enslave you, weaken your lungs, and shorten your life.
An example of tobacco’s powerful hold is illustrated in a letter which was written by a mother to the popular columnist and human relations adviser Ann Landers
“Dear Ann Landers:
“A year ago our two-year-old son, Earl, had difficulty breathing, so we took him to a doctor. We learned Earl is allergic to cigarette smoke. My husband said we both had to quit smoking right then and there. He hasn’t touched a cigarette since. I went back to smoking that same night.
“My husband doesn’t know I smoke. I have to sneak around and smoke in the basement, and it is making a nervous wreck out of me. Do you think it would be wrong if we let a nice couple adopt little Earl--a nice couple who don’t smoke? The only problem is that my husband is crazy about the boy. I love him too, but I am more the practical type. What do you think, Ann?
“/s/ Mrs. E. R. M.
“Dear Mrs. E. R. M.:
“I think a lot of people who read this letter are going to say I made it up. It’s utterly fantastic that a mother would put cigarettes ahead of her own child. Don’t present your wild idea to your husband. I wouldn’t blame him if he decided to keep little Earl and unload you!”

President Thomas S. Monson

The Lighthouse of the Lord
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/10/the-lighthouse-of-the-lord?lang=eng

Obedience allows God’s blessings to flow without constraint. He will bless His obedient children with freedom from bondage and misery. And He will bless them with more light. For example, one keeps the Word of Wisdom knowing that obedience will not only bring freedom from addiction, but it will also add blessings of wisdom and treasures of knowledge.5

Elder Russel M. Nelson
Face the Future with Faith
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/face-the-future-with-faith?lang=eng

As we understand the challenge of repenting, we appreciate the blessings of the Holy Ghost to guide our agency and Heavenly Father, who gives us commandments and strengthens and sustains us in keeping them. We also understand how obedience to the commandments ultimately protects our agency.
For example, when we hearken to the Word of Wisdom, we escape the captivity of poor health and addiction to substances that literally rob us of our ability to act for ourselves.

Elder Robert D. Hales
Agency: Essential to the Plan of Life
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/agency-essential-to-the-plan-of-life?lang=eng

As I was running I began to notice something that, frankly, troubled me. Time and again I was being passed by men who smoked, drank, and did all manner of things that were contrary to the gospel and, in particular, to the Word of Wisdom.
I remember thinking, “Wait a minute! Aren’t I supposed to be able to run and not be weary?” But I was weary, and I was overtaken by people who were definitely not following the Word of Wisdom. I confess, it troubled me at the time. I asked myself, was the promise true or was it not?
The answer didn’t come immediately. But eventually I learned that God’s promises are not always fulfilled as quickly as or in the way we might hope; they come according to His timing and in His ways. Years later I could see clear evidence of the temporal blessings that come to those who obey the Word of Wisdom--in addition to the spiritual blessings that come immediately from obedience to any of God’s laws. Looking back, I know for sure that the promises of the Lord, if perhaps not always swift, are always certain.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Continue in Patience
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/continue-in-patience?lang=eng

I learned that you should always take care of your body. Take nothing into your body that will harm it, such as we are counseled in the Word of Wisdom: tea, coffee, liquor, tobacco, or anything else that is habit-forming, addictive, or harmful.

President Boyd K. Packer
Counsel to Young Men
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/counsel-to-young-men?lang=eng

“And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them” (vv. 18–21).
There is no better counsel concerning the Word of Wisdom than that found in the booklet For the Strength of Youth. It states:
“The Lord has commanded you to take good care of your body. To do this, observe the Word of Wisdom, found in Doctrine and Covenants 89. Eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. When you do all these things, you remain free from harmful addictions and have control over your life. You gain the blessings of a healthy body, an alert mind, and the guidance of the Holy Ghost. …
“Any drug, chemical, or dangerous practice that is used to produce a sensation or ‘high’ can destroy your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. These include hard drugs, prescription or over-the-counter medications that are abused, and household chemicals” ([2001], 36–37).
We do not want to harm our mortal bodies, for they are a gift from God, and part of our Heavenly Father’s great plan of happiness is the reuniting of our immortal bodies with our spirits.

Elder L. Tom Perry
Let Him Do It with Simplicity
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/let-him-do-it-with-simplicity?lang=eng

Prophets are inspired to provide us with prophetic priorities to protect us from dangers. As an example, President Heber J. Grant, the prophet from 1918 to 1945, was inspired to emphasize adherence to the Word of Wisdom,10 the principle with a promise revealed by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph.11 He stressed the importance of not smoking or drinking alcoholic beverages and directed the bishops to review these principles in temple recommend interviews.
At that time smoking was accepted by society as an appropriate, even glamorous, behavior. The medical profession accepted smoking with little concern because the scientific studies linking cigarette smoking with several kinds of cancer were far in the future. President Grant counseled with great vigor, and we became known as a people who abstained from drinking and smoking.
Starting in the late 1960s, illegal drug use reached epidemic proportions throughout the world. While there were some members who rebelled, the vast majority of LDS youth were able to avoid the devastating use of drugs.
Obeying the Word of Wisdom gave our members, especially our youth, a preventive inoculation against drug use and the resulting health problems and moral hazards. Unfortunately, there appears to be a resurgence of drug use in our own day. Living the Word of Wisdom today will free you from some of the most serious dangers you can face in this life.

Elder Quentin L. Cook
Give Heed unto the Prophets’ Words
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/04/give-heed-unto-the-prophets-words?lang=eng

In 1908 in a general conference, President Joseph F. Smith read section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants--the Word of Wisdom. Then he, both of his counselors, and the President of the Twelve all spoke to the same subject, the Word of Wisdom. Then a vote to accept it as binding upon the members of the Church was unanimously passed.
That revelation begins, “In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation” (D&C 89:4).
It is a shield and a protection unto our people, particularly to our youth. It becomes a part of that “whole armor” of God promised in the revelations to protect them from the “fiery darts” of the adversary (see D&C 27:15–18).

President Boyd K. Packer
The Spirit of the Tabernacle
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/the-spirit-of-the-tabernacle?lang=eng

Now, I do not think this means that all who fail to magnify their callings in the priesthood will have committed the unpardonable sin, but I do think that priesthood bearers who have entered into the covenants that we enter into--in the waters of baptism, in connection with the law of tithing, the Word of Wisdom, and the many other covenants we make--and then refuse to live up to these covenants will stand in jeopardy of losing the promise of eternal life.

Elder Marion G. Romney
The Covenant of the Priesthood
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1972/04/the-covenant-of-the-priesthood?lang=eng

Is observance of the Word of Wisdom necessary? The Brethren have long felt that it certainly must be. Observance of the Word of Wisdom is concerned with the care of one’s body, which, the Lord has assured, is of itself a temple, a tabernacle of the spirit. He has said, “Yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple.” (D&C 93:35.)

President Gordon B. Hinkley
Keeping the Temple Holy
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/04/keeping-the-temple-holy?lang=eng

Families need to observe the Word of Wisdom in all ways, never compromising the dos and don’ts of this sacred commandment.

LeGrand R. Curtis
Happiness Is Homemade
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/10/happiness-is-homemade?lang=eng