D&C 89:1-3

From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
Revision as of 13:06, 20 October 2006 by Rob Fergus (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search

Doctrine & Covenants > Section 89

Previous (D&C 88:136-141)             Next (D&C 89:6-10)

Questions

  • What does it mean that the Word of Wisdom is "adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints" (verse 3)?
  • Who are the "conspiring men" mentioned in verse 4, and why do we need to be warned about them?

Lexical notes

  • Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes

Exegesis

Verse 1

As originally recorded in the Kirtland Revelations Book, the Word of Wisdom began with the phrase "A Revelation for the benefit of the saints." The 1835 edition, which begins with "A Word of Wisdom", may have partially obscured the binding nature of this section as a revelation. However, the current section heading explicitly states this section is a revelation, making it clear that the voice here is the Lord's and not Joseph's.

That this revelation is unique in being called a "Word of Wisdom." This phrase appears only once in the Bible 1 Cor 12:8, as one of the gifts of the Spirit. The only time the phrase appears in the Book of Mormon is in a similar passage when Moroni discusses the same gifts Moro 10:9). Its earliest appearance in the D&C (at D&C 46:17) is also similar. These scriptures seem to indicate that "word of wisdom" is primarily a gift of the Spirit.

The plural phrase "words of wisdom" appears in the D&C a number of times, most significantly in passages closely associated with the building of the Kirtland House of the Lord: D&C 88:118 and D&C 109:7, 14. The other three occurrences of the phrase (in the plural) might well imply connection with the temple as well: D&C 50:1 is about testing manifestations (which came to its fullest expression, of course, in the endowment of Nauvoo), D&C 78:2 is connected with the first establishment of a temporal means of accomplishing the law of consecration, and D&C 98:20 concerns specifically the "words of wisdom and eternal life." At any rate, it seems quite clear that references in general to the "word of wisdom" and the "words of wisdom" exhibit some connection with temple ordinances--perhaps most particularly with those temple ordinances that are considered gifts (an endowment is a gift) of the Spirit.

The word "wisdom" itself relates closely to temple worship. While the "wisdom writings" of the Old Testament were traditionally interpreted as collections of rather common advice shared by Israel and its neighbors, there is a growing collection of evidence that while the wisdom texts certainly do seem to transcend the religio-political concerns of the legal and prophetic texts, the wisdom literature may be connected with the Abrahamic covenant as Christ's universalization of the Israelite promises. According to this view, the wisdom writings are associated with temple rites that extend the blessingsg of Abraham to all the nations--the Gentiles--of the earth. In short, "wisdom texts," might well express the core of the Abrahamic experience of God.

As a "word of wisdom," section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants must be seen as clearly tied to temple worship. It is certainly significant that section 89 immediately follows the commandment to build the Kirtland House of the Lord (section 88). As this first verse makes quite clear, the revelation was given for the benefit of the "council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland," who had just received Joseph's first version of the endowment and were preparing to receive the second in the Kirtland House of the Lord (the more complete third endowment wouldn't be revealed until Nauvoo). At any rate, these details suggest that section 89 should not be read more than just a revelation on physical health, but as a revelation closely tied to the ordinances of the temple and that physical health, whatever that means for the Lord, should be taken up with careful attention to the context of the temple ordinances.

Verse 2

The revelation is "to be sent greeting." The phrase is somewhat awkward, but it does echo two verses in the New Testament: Acts 15:23 and 23:26, both of which are openings of letters. The point of the phrase, then, seems to be that the Word of Wisdom is to be sent as a circular letter, not unlike the epistles of the early apostles. This is a most fascinating aspect of the revelation, since most early revelations were simply published in Church periodicals (or, of course, subsequently in the Book of Commandments or the Doctrine and Covenants). This revelation was apparently understood to be so broadly applicable that the word was given to Joseph precisely to be sent among the growing membership of the Church. This subtle connection to apostolic circulars is suggestive in another way as well: not unlike the advice, answers, and information the apostles circulated in these earliest epistles, the Word of Wisdom was not to be "by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom." The very phrase, "to be sent greeting," clarifies the meaning of the remainder of the verse. In short, the revelation is a revelation from a prophet less than from the prophet, is one prophet's "showing forth the order and will of God" rather than the word of a hierarchical president of the Church.

But all of this phrasing, hesitant as it is to enforce anything like a policy on temporal health, nonetheless makes itself quite clear that nothing short of the "order and will of God" is at work in the revelation. There is something remarkable about an authoritative word like this that does not programmatically impose itself, but is simply sent "by revelation and the word of wisdom": the saints are given to govern themselves, but knowing full well the Lord's desires in the situation. But this rather precise characteristic of this revelation perhaps highlights the opposite nature of all the other revelations gathered in the D&C. If this is "not by commandment or constraint," how many of the others are? Certainly, forms of the word "commandment" are plentiful throughout the revelations, if "constraint" is less frequently encountered. There is, then, a suggestion that this revelation is something peculiar, something different from all the others: as a word of wisdom, only those who seek wisdom need follow it. If, that is, the commandments and constraints of Joseph's "usual" revelations draw a dividing line between the righteous and the wicked, this revelation (and others like it, which, as the comments on verse 1 would suggest, would be revelations about the temple, most of which are not published in the D&C) draws a second dividing line, one that separates the righteous from the exalted, perhaps. Might all of this be summarized by saying that revelations like the Word of Wisdom are what demarcate the boundary between the terrestrial and celestial? At the very least, one must recognize in the Word of Wisdom the opportunity of pressing beyond simple "commandments" and "constraints."

A couple of particular words in this verse might be worth careful consideration. For example, "order" is a rather suggestive word. To this point in the D&C, it appears twenty-one times, only one of which (D&C 87:3) does not clearly have something to do with priesthood (two are somewhat questionable, in D&C 77:3, but that the verse is speaking of angelic orders might well be read to have reference to heavenly priesthoods). This apparent priesthood connection here might be confirmed in the opening of the first verse, where the revelation is directed first and foremost (at least, as the revelation stands today) to "the council of high priests. Of course, the then most recent references to "order" in the D&C were all references to the order of the Kirtland House of the Lord, and to the ordering of the priesthood that would take place in it: the "order" referred to here again ties the Word of Wisdom to the temple and to questions of the priesthood. In short, that this shows forth "the order and will of God" suggests that one take the temple and its priesthood into consideration in interpreting the details of the revelation.

Another word of vast importance is the all-too-simply interpreted "temporal," or the whole phrase "temporal salvation." The word "temporal" appears only once in the Bible (in 2 Cor 4:18), where it is opposed to "eternal," though it shows up a number of times in the Book of Mormon as opposed rather to "spiritual." Interestingly, in the 1828 Webster's Dictionary, the first definition explicitly states that "temporal" is "opposed to spiritual," while the second explicitly states that it is "opposed to eternal." There seems, then, to have been a sort of shift of emphasis between 1611 and 1828 from "temporal" as opposed to "eternal" to "temporal" as opposed to "spiritual." Thus, "temporal" seems in Joseph's revelations to be best understood as meaning that which is "pertaining to this life or this world or the body only; secular." However, D&C 29:34-35 may well overturn that understanding in a characteristic redefinition of terms. Without delving here into the details, that revelation seems to redefine the relationship between the temporal and the spiritual: rather than being understood as separate or opposite realms, they are understood as closely connected, the temporal being quite simply an outward or even a "fallen" manifestation of the spiritual. The temporal, in other words, cannot be separated from the spiritual, because it is simply a consequence of the spiritual.

What this would mean for the present revelation is not at first clear. The phrasing of this second verse seems quite clearly to suggest that God is here meddling in temporal affairs. However, there may be a structural reason to read the verse otherwise: 

  by revelation
     and the word of wisdom
  showing forth the order and will of God
     in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days

If "revelation" is read as an antithetical parallel to "the word of wisdom," the one might be justified in reading "the order and will of God" as a similar antithetical parallel to "the temporal salvation of all saints." In other words, the prophetic revelation is, in this circular, translated into the "word of wisdom," and the "order and will of God" (inevitably temple business, priesthood business) is translated into "temporal salvation." In the end, this seems to be the best understanding of the "wisdom writings" of the Old Testament anyway: they are the words of a father to his son in the temporal language of their communication, rather than direct words of revelation or prophecy. Just as in the temple, revelation and prophecy are redefined as being bound up with the keys of communication, understood no longer as the reception of an absolute word. In short, the "temporal salvation" that is at work in the Word of Wisdom might just be the prophetic--almost patriarchal--translation of the spiritual into the temporal realm, the prophetic work of making the transfer from spiritual to temporal suggested by D&C 29. If so, the Word of Wisdom should hardly be understood to be a temporal commandment. This point is perhaps best confirmed by the closing verses of the revelation.

Finally, a brief consideration of the word "all" might be fruitful: this revelation is a question of "all saints." There are two ways the word might be read: one might read the revelation, on the one hand, as showing forth God's order and will for each and every saint, or one might read it, on the other hand, as showing forth God's order and will for the saints collectively. If one adopts the first reading, then the Word of Wisdom is a rather individual struggle, something one must work out before God with fear and trembling. If one adopts the second reading, however, there seems to be reason to connect this revelation still more profoundly with the temple: if all saints are to be drawn together in a temporal salvation, and if this Word of Wisdom has something to do with it, then there are clearly reasons to recognize this revelation as outstripping the simple concerns of "health."

Verse 3

Verse 3 tells us that this law is "adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints." The word adapted suggests that, were it not for the needs of the weak saints, a different law might have been given. Why is the Lord telling us that he has adapted this law to the weak saints? He may be implicitly reminding us of the strict health code given in the law of Moses. That health code with all of its many restrictions and special rules seems difficult to follow. In contrast the word of wisdom seems simple to follow. Under this interpretation, this verse may explain why the law of the word of wisdom has such a prominent place in the interview for a temple recommend. The idea then would be that that since this law is adapted to the weakest saint, those who cannot follow it are not and cannot be called saints in the true sense of the word.

In another intepretation we might interpet that this adaption of the law amounts to including things in the law so that even the weak members of the church can be saints. The most obvious example of something like this in this section is the prohibition against alcohol. By not drinking any "strong drink" (verse 7)--interpreted by the church later to mean any alcoholic drinks--even the weakest member of the church is protected from becoming someone addicted to alcohol.

By worldly standards, some commandments of God are difficult to see the direct benefit or reward from doing them. The Word of Wisdom, however, is one of the easier ones. If we eat right and don't partake of the bad things, we're healthier, and it's obvious to us and the outside world that we have been blessed by keeping this commandment.

Related links

  • Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links


Previous (D&C 88:136-141)             Next (D&C 89:6-10)
Retrieved from "http://feastupontheword.org/index.php?title=D%26C_89:1-3&oldid=8475"