You Are What You Eat

My apologizes to my readers for my extended hiatus. I just needed a break to gather my thoughts, deal with a few things, etc.

As I worked in the temple this morning and fell ill, I had been considering the prompting that I had about the phrase "you are what you eat." Surely many of us have heard this on many an occasion and have chosen to disregard it or chalk it up to the fact that we've heard it before and it really doesn't matter to us - there's no way we become a hamburger because we eat them...or do we?

Literally speaking, no, we will not wake up tomorrow surrounded by two sesame seed buns because we polished off a dozen burgers the night before. Those that frequent this location though know that I rarely speak in a literal sense however...

As I pondered the ramifications of this statement, I came to the conclusion that this statement applies to us MUCH more on a spiritual plane than it ever will on a physical one. In fact, a goodly part of the world suffers from an eating disorder, including those inside the Church!

Just as that statement is true though, so also is the inverse of that statement - we cannot become that which we do not eat - or partake - of. Yet, despite the knowledge of what "crash" or "fad" diets do to our body in a physical sense, or the constant warning of the harmful effects of one substance or another when ingested - we all claim at one point or another that "we won't be like that" or that "I'll never resort to that method"...and yet many of us do those very things to ourselves in a spiritual sense!

Bulimia is an eating disorder especially prevalent among female teenagers and young adults. The individual with the disorder often practices a routine of binge consumption of food and subsequent purging of that which was eaten. This is done to fool the stomach into thinking that the body has ingested food, when in reality it has already been ejected from it. This in turn causes a rather rapid weight loss in that person. While this is a common practice among many females, it is much more a commonality among males in its spiritual form.

In many a male mind, the term "Amen" has become synonymous with the practice of quickly racing home after Church on Sundays and quickly changing out of one's clothes and immediately tackling the latest football game or golf match, or fixing a meal to quell those hunger pangs felt during the third hour Priesthood meeting. As the Sunday routines begin, the lessons of those Sunday meetings are quickly forgotten and nary pondered again - in other words purged from memory. Is this not Spiritual Bulimia in its most acute form? I think it is! Its not limited to just men either, females are guilty of it also, but it is FAR more prevalent among the males.

Let us not forget about the spiritual anorexics though! Many of us would never dream of trying to subsist on a daily diet of a few grapes or a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt...but yet we're perfectly comfortable ignoring our prayers, justifying those actions which may not necessarily be right, leaving our scriptures in the same spot from Sunday to Sunday, or even sleeping through our Church meetings. We somehow expect those tiny morsels that do manage to find our stomachs to nourish and sustain us on a daily basis.

Let's not forget about those "fad" diets either - the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, low-fat / no-fat diet, Nutrisystem, etc. I believe that the Doctrine & Covenants adequately prescribes the diets we should follow in the 89th Section - also known as the Word of Wisdom:

5 That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.
6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.
7 And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.
8 And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.
9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.
10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—
11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.
12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;
13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
14 All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;
15 And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
16 All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—
17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.
18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
21 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. Amen.

Look at some of the counsel that we've been given within other scriptures: 1) We are commanded to freely and frequently partake of the BREAD of life - which is Christ Jesus. 2) We have been asked to focus less on the deep doctrine (meat) and more on the simple doctrines (milk - dairies). 3) We know that fruits and vegetables are good for us - just as we are commanded to offer up service (the fruits of our labors) and strengthen our testimonies (growing the seeds of faith in our hearts). 4) We are commanded not to spend our money on that which is of no worth or our labors for that which cannot satisfy (i.e. Spiritual "fats and candies")

Further we are commanded to "feast upon the words of Christ." Are we doing our best as Saints to follow the Word of Wisdom to its fullest? Do we inject those toxins that "health experts" present to us - telling us that a little bit of each daily may be actually good for us? Rather - do we fall prey to those temptations that the adversary presents to us, convincing us that the partaking or embracing of such won't harm us, but may actually help us?

I think we all need to reexamine our lives and figure out what diet we are currently on and decide if that's the one that the Lord has prescribed to us or not!