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For those of you who want a copy of the quotes used on our first Return to Sparingly video (posted on YouTube), here you go.
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You can download a copy or scroll down to find it typed below the PDF download.
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Video Transcript: published 9 June 2015
Sparingly
Cherished Beliefs of Latter-day Prophets
The Word of Wisdom is a beautiful doctrine not only about human health, but also the sanctity of life and man’s responsibility to provide Christlike care over it.
Joseph Smith
Prophet
How will the serpent ever lose his venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition, and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the sucking child can play with the serpent in safety.
Documentary History of the Church, vol. 2, pp. 71–72
Hyrum Smith
First Presidency
“[God] has appointed the word of wisdom as one of the engines to… remove the beastly appetites, the murderous disposition and the vitiated taste of man… to promote peace between him and the brute creation.”
“Word of Wisdom”, Times and Seasons: Truth will prevail. Vol. 3, No. 15, City of Nauvoo, ILL. 1 June 1842, p. 800
“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 of famine.”
Times and Seasons 3:799-801
Heber C. Kimball
First Presidency
“It is not pleasing in [God’s] sight for man to shed blood of beasts… except in times of excess of hunger and famine. Go and read it for yourselves… It is not the Spirit of God that leads a man or woman to shed blood—to desire to kill and slay.”
Shedding Blood - God’s Provision for His Saints, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 50,
15 Nov. 1857
Brigham Young
Prophet
“If the people were willing to receiv3e the true knowledge from heaven in regard to their diet they would cease eating swine’s flesh. I know this as well as Moses knew it.”
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, 6 April 1868, p. 269-271
“Mothers, keep the children from eating meat; and let them eat vegetables.”
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 19, p. 68 – p. 69, Brigham Young, July 19, 1877
Orson Hyde
Quorum of the Twelve
“…take care of [animals] well; then we can enjoy ourselves, and we are not the authors of misery to any part of creation.”
Oct. 7, 1865 General Conference address
George Q. Cannon
First Presidency
“Even beasts have rights which must be respected.”
Editorial thoughts Juvenile Instructor 9, No. 25, 1874, p. 294
“We should by every means in our power impress upon the rising generation the value of life and how dreadful a sin it is to take life. The lives of animals even should be held far more sacred than they are.”
Juvenile Instructor, No. 31, 1896, p.218
Wilford Woodruff
Prophet
“The Word of Wisdom is a commandment and all members should observe it, but for the present, no definite action should be taken except that the members should be taught to refrain from eating meat.”
Diary of Heber J. Grant, Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Church Archives, 5 May 1898
Lorenzo Snow
Prophet
“The Word of Wisdom [is] violated as much or more in the improper use of meat as in other things, and the time is near at hand when the Latter-Day Saints should be taught to refrain from meat eating and the shedding of animal blood.”
Journal History, 11 March 1897, p. 2
“We have no right to slay animals or fowls except from necessity, for they have spirits which may some day rise up and accuse or condemn us.”
An Apostle’s Record: The Journals of Abraham H. Cannon, Dennis B. Horne, 2004, p. 424
President Snow "was convinced that the killing of animals when unnecessary was wrong and sinful, and that it was not right to neglect one part of the Word of Wisdom and be too strenuous in regard to other parts."
Journal History, 5 May 1898, p. 2-3
Joseph F. Smith
Prophet
"The unnecessary destruction of life begets a spirit of destruction which grows within the soul. It lives by what it feeds upon and robs man of the love that he should have for the works of God. Men cannot worship the Creator and look with careless indifference upon his creation.”
Juvenile Instructor, April 1918, p. 182-3
“Man in his wanton disregard of a sacred duty has been reckless of life. He has destroyed it with an indifference to the evil results it would entail upon the earth.”
Juvenile Instructor, April 1918, p. 182-3
“The dominion the Lord gave man over the brute creation has been, to a very large extent, used selfishly, thoughtlessly, cruelly.”
Juvenile Instructor, No. 47, February 1912, p. 78
“Nature helps us to see and understand God. To all His creations we owe an allegiance of service and a profound admiration.”
Juvenile Instructor, April 1918, Reprinted 1927
Hyrum Mack Smith
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“To kill, when not necessary, is a sin akin to murder.”
Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, 1919, p. 286
“Man has been entrusted with sovereignty over the animal kingdom, that he may learn to govern, as God rules, by the power of love and justice, and become fit for his eternal destiny as a ruler of worlds.”
Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, 1919, p. 286
George Teasdale
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“Eating pork is a more serious breach of the word of wisdom than drinking tea or coffee.”
The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement, Thomas G. Alexander, 1981 p. 79
John Henry Smith
First Presidency
“Animal life is to be properly guarded and not wantonly sacrificed to the appetite of man. His use of it must be limited to times of scarcity or those seasons of extreme cold when it may be necessary.”
“The Word of Wisdom,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, Vol. 46, March 1886, p. 170
Heber J. Grant
Prophet
“…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.”
Conference Report, General Conference, April 1937, p. 15
George Albert Smith
Prophet
“Flesh of beast and fowls of the air; and these things He refers to we may use with prudence and thanksgiving; and I want to emphasize with thanksgiving.”
General Conference, October 1923, p. 72-3
President Smith’s biographer wrote: “In the summer he eats no meat, and even in the winter months he eats very little.”
Robert Murray Stewart, “A Normal Day in the Home of George Albert Smith,” Improvement Era 53, April 1950, p. 287
Joseph F. Merrill
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“Latter-day Saints, why should you complain of the scarcity or high price of flesh foods? … I have quoted from some of the highest authorities in the world to the effect that they are not essential to your physical well-being. But Americans did not know this until God revealed it to them through his Prophet, Joseph Smith.”
Conference Report, April 1948, p. 70-5
David O. McKay
Prophet
“A true Latter-day Saint is kind to animals, is kind to every created thing, for God has created all.”
General Conference, Oct. 1951
"Too many members move along the lines of least resistance and yield to a craving appetite developed by disobedience to the Word of Wisdom of God, thus depriving themselves of spiritual as well as physical strength.”
Improvement Era, 1953, p. 376
John A. Widstoe
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“At the time that the Word of Wisdom was given, meat… was generally looked upon as the best and most necessary food for full health. Those who raised their voices in opposition to this view were held to be fanatical, untrustworthy ‘food faddists’. Alas! Some people hold that opinion today! It was therefore a courageous departure from accepted practice to teach that man may live without meat as implied in the words, ‘they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold or famine.”
The Word of Wisdom: A Modern Interpretation, 1950, p. 217
Joseph Fielding Smith
Prophet
“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.”
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
“Animals have reason, intelligence, language and love.”
Man: His Origin and Destiny, 1954, p. 194-5, paraphrased by Chris Foster http://www.slideshare.net/Fosterch5/mormonism-and-animal-ethics
President Smith’s wife Jesse Evans Smith said, “My husband doesn’t eat meat and he felt a disdain of meat and a love of vegetables.”
Brigham Young University Daily Universe, 6 May 1971, p. 1
Spencer W. Kimball
Prophet
Speaking of animals, President Kimball said, “Now, I would also like to add some of my feelings concerning the unnecessary shedding of blood and destruction of life…. ‘Take not away the life you cannot give, for all things have an equal right to live’.”
Fundamental Principles to Ponder and Live, General Conference, Oct. 1978
“I still don’t eat very much meat.”
Strengthening the Family: The Basic Unit of the Church, General Conference, April 1978
Bruce R. McConkie
First Presidency
“Man and all forms of life will be vegetarians in the coming day; the eating of meat will cease, because, for one thing, death as we know it ceases. There will be no shedding of blood.”
Millennial Messiah, 1982, p. 658-9
Ezra Taft Benson
Prophet
Reed A. Benson stated of his father…
“In his personal life, he was sparing in his use of meat and generous in his use of fresh vegetables and grains.”
“The Sanctity of Food: A Latter-day Saint Perspective”, Paul H. Peterson, A personal conversation with Reed A. Benson, son of President Ezra Taft Benson, 3 Oct. 1995
“In this revelation the Lord counsels us to use meat sparingly. I have often felt that the Lord is further counseling us in this revelation against indiscriminately killing animals….”
A Principle With A Promise, General Conference, April 1983
“…God made [wild animals] for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.”
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, Ensign, May 1971
Gordon B. Hinckley
Prophet
“This Word of Wisdom came to us from the Father of us all, the God of heaven, for our blessing and the blessing of all who would observe it. I regret that we as a people do not observe it more faithfully.”
Mormon Should Mean “More Good”, General Conference, Oct. 1990
“I thank the Lord for a testimony of the Word of Wisdom. I wish we lived it more fully. But even though we do not the Lord pours out His blessings upon those who try.”
My Testimony, General Conference, Oct. 1993
Hugh Nibley
BYU Professor, Historian and Linguist
Hugh Nibley, after his many studies on the words of the prophets and the scriptures summed it up well.
“Man’s dominion is a call to service, not a license to exterminate. It is precisely because men now prey upon each other and shed the blood and waste the flesh of other creatures without need that ‘the world lieth in sin’.”
Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless: 2nd ed. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), p. 95-110
“Again, sparing is a good word. It means sparing God’s creatures.... The family who needs a deer to get through the winter have a right to that. The Lord will not deny them, but He is also pleased with those who forbear. They can eat meat only in times of starvation, winter, cold, famine.”
The Word of Wisdom: A Commentary on D&C 89, Dec. 1979 Gospel Doctrine Class, Manavu Ward
Return to Sparingly
Cherished Beliefs of Latter-day Prophets
The Word of Wisdom is a beautiful doctrine not only about human health, but also the sanctity of life and man’s responsibility to provide Christlike care over it.
Joseph Smith
Prophet
How will the serpent ever lose his venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition, and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the sucking child can play with the serpent in safety.
Documentary History of the Church, vol. 2, pp. 71–72
Hyrum Smith
First Presidency
“[God] has appointed the word of wisdom as one of the engines to… remove the beastly appetites, the murderous disposition and the vitiated taste of man… to promote peace between him and the brute creation.”
“Word of Wisdom”, Times and Seasons: Truth will prevail. Vol. 3, No. 15, City of Nauvoo, ILL. 1 June 1842, p. 800
“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 of famine.”
Times and Seasons 3:799-801
Heber C. Kimball
First Presidency
“It is not pleasing in [God’s] sight for man to shed blood of beasts… except in times of excess of hunger and famine. Go and read it for yourselves… It is not the Spirit of God that leads a man or woman to shed blood—to desire to kill and slay.”
Shedding Blood - God’s Provision for His Saints, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 50,
15 Nov. 1857
Brigham Young
Prophet
“If the people were willing to receiv3e the true knowledge from heaven in regard to their diet they would cease eating swine’s flesh. I know this as well as Moses knew it.”
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, 6 April 1868, p. 269-271
“Mothers, keep the children from eating meat; and let them eat vegetables.”
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 19, p. 68 – p. 69, Brigham Young, July 19, 1877
Orson Hyde
Quorum of the Twelve
“…take care of [animals] well; then we can enjoy ourselves, and we are not the authors of misery to any part of creation.”
Oct. 7, 1865 General Conference address
George Q. Cannon
First Presidency
“Even beasts have rights which must be respected.”
Editorial thoughts Juvenile Instructor 9, No. 25, 1874, p. 294
“We should by every means in our power impress upon the rising generation the value of life and how dreadful a sin it is to take life. The lives of animals even should be held far more sacred than they are.”
Juvenile Instructor, No. 31, 1896, p.218
Wilford Woodruff
Prophet
“The Word of Wisdom is a commandment and all members should observe it, but for the present, no definite action should be taken except that the members should be taught to refrain from eating meat.”
Diary of Heber J. Grant, Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Church Archives, 5 May 1898
Lorenzo Snow
Prophet
“The Word of Wisdom [is] violated as much or more in the improper use of meat as in other things, and the time is near at hand when the Latter-Day Saints should be taught to refrain from meat eating and the shedding of animal blood.”
Journal History, 11 March 1897, p. 2
“We have no right to slay animals or fowls except from necessity, for they have spirits which may some day rise up and accuse or condemn us.”
An Apostle’s Record: The Journals of Abraham H. Cannon, Dennis B. Horne, 2004, p. 424
President Snow "was convinced that the killing of animals when unnecessary was wrong and sinful, and that it was not right to neglect one part of the Word of Wisdom and be too strenuous in regard to other parts."
Journal History, 5 May 1898, p. 2-3
Joseph F. Smith
Prophet
"The unnecessary destruction of life begets a spirit of destruction which grows within the soul. It lives by what it feeds upon and robs man of the love that he should have for the works of God. Men cannot worship the Creator and look with careless indifference upon his creation.”
Juvenile Instructor, April 1918, p. 182-3
“Man in his wanton disregard of a sacred duty has been reckless of life. He has destroyed it with an indifference to the evil results it would entail upon the earth.”
Juvenile Instructor, April 1918, p. 182-3
“The dominion the Lord gave man over the brute creation has been, to a very large extent, used selfishly, thoughtlessly, cruelly.”
Juvenile Instructor, No. 47, February 1912, p. 78
“Nature helps us to see and understand God. To all His creations we owe an allegiance of service and a profound admiration.”
Juvenile Instructor, April 1918, Reprinted 1927
Hyrum Mack Smith
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“To kill, when not necessary, is a sin akin to murder.”
Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, 1919, p. 286
“Man has been entrusted with sovereignty over the animal kingdom, that he may learn to govern, as God rules, by the power of love and justice, and become fit for his eternal destiny as a ruler of worlds.”
Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, 1919, p. 286
George Teasdale
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“Eating pork is a more serious breach of the word of wisdom than drinking tea or coffee.”
The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement, Thomas G. Alexander, 1981 p. 79
John Henry Smith
First Presidency
“Animal life is to be properly guarded and not wantonly sacrificed to the appetite of man. His use of it must be limited to times of scarcity or those seasons of extreme cold when it may be necessary.”
“The Word of Wisdom,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, Vol. 46, March 1886, p. 170
Heber J. Grant
Prophet
“…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.”
Conference Report, General Conference, April 1937, p. 15
George Albert Smith
Prophet
“Flesh of beast and fowls of the air; and these things He refers to we may use with prudence and thanksgiving; and I want to emphasize with thanksgiving.”
General Conference, October 1923, p. 72-3
President Smith’s biographer wrote: “In the summer he eats no meat, and even in the winter months he eats very little.”
Robert Murray Stewart, “A Normal Day in the Home of George Albert Smith,” Improvement Era 53, April 1950, p. 287
Joseph F. Merrill
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“Latter-day Saints, why should you complain of the scarcity or high price of flesh foods? … I have quoted from some of the highest authorities in the world to the effect that they are not essential to your physical well-being. But Americans did not know this until God revealed it to them through his Prophet, Joseph Smith.”
Conference Report, April 1948, p. 70-5
David O. McKay
Prophet
“A true Latter-day Saint is kind to animals, is kind to every created thing, for God has created all.”
General Conference, Oct. 1951
"Too many members move along the lines of least resistance and yield to a craving appetite developed by disobedience to the Word of Wisdom of God, thus depriving themselves of spiritual as well as physical strength.”
Improvement Era, 1953, p. 376
John A. Widstoe
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“At the time that the Word of Wisdom was given, meat… was generally looked upon as the best and most necessary food for full health. Those who raised their voices in opposition to this view were held to be fanatical, untrustworthy ‘food faddists’. Alas! Some people hold that opinion today! It was therefore a courageous departure from accepted practice to teach that man may live without meat as implied in the words, ‘they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold or famine.”
The Word of Wisdom: A Modern Interpretation, 1950, p. 217
Joseph Fielding Smith
Prophet
“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.”
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
“Animals have reason, intelligence, language and love.”
Man: His Origin and Destiny, 1954, p. 194-5, paraphrased by Chris Foster http://www.slideshare.net/Fosterch5/mormonism-and-animal-ethics
President Smith’s wife Jesse Evans Smith said, “My husband doesn’t eat meat and he felt a disdain of meat and a love of vegetables.”
Brigham Young University Daily Universe, 6 May 1971, p. 1
Spencer W. Kimball
Prophet
Speaking of animals, President Kimball said, “Now, I would also like to add some of my feelings concerning the unnecessary shedding of blood and destruction of life…. ‘Take not away the life you cannot give, for all things have an equal right to live’.”
Fundamental Principles to Ponder and Live, General Conference, Oct. 1978
“I still don’t eat very much meat.”
Strengthening the Family: The Basic Unit of the Church, General Conference, April 1978
Bruce R. McConkie
First Presidency
“Man and all forms of life will be vegetarians in the coming day; the eating of meat will cease, because, for one thing, death as we know it ceases. There will be no shedding of blood.”
Millennial Messiah, 1982, p. 658-9
Ezra Taft Benson
Prophet
Reed A. Benson stated of his father…
“In his personal life, he was sparing in his use of meat and generous in his use of fresh vegetables and grains.”
“The Sanctity of Food: A Latter-day Saint Perspective”, Paul H. Peterson, A personal conversation with Reed A. Benson, son of President Ezra Taft Benson, 3 Oct. 1995
“In this revelation the Lord counsels us to use meat sparingly. I have often felt that the Lord is further counseling us in this revelation against indiscriminately killing animals….”
A Principle With A Promise, General Conference, April 1983
“…God made [wild animals] for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.”
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, Ensign, May 1971
Gordon B. Hinckley
Prophet
“This Word of Wisdom came to us from the Father of us all, the God of heaven, for our blessing and the blessing of all who would observe it. I regret that we as a people do not observe it more faithfully.”
Mormon Should Mean “More Good”, General Conference, Oct. 1990
“I thank the Lord for a testimony of the Word of Wisdom. I wish we lived it more fully. But even though we do not the Lord pours out His blessings upon those who try.”
My Testimony, General Conference, Oct. 1993
Hugh Nibley
BYU Professor, Historian and Linguist
Hugh Nibley, after his many studies on the words of the prophets and the scriptures summed it up well.
“Man’s dominion is a call to service, not a license to exterminate. It is precisely because men now prey upon each other and shed the blood and waste the flesh of other creatures without need that ‘the world lieth in sin’.”
Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless: 2nd ed. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004), p. 95-110
“Again, sparing is a good word. It means sparing God’s creatures.... The family who needs a deer to get through the winter have a right to that. The Lord will not deny them, but He is also pleased with those who forbear. They can eat meat only in times of starvation, winter, cold, famine.”
The Word of Wisdom: A Commentary on D&C 89, Dec. 1979 Gospel Doctrine Class, Manavu Ward
Return to Sparingly