February 1833

The Word of Wisdom

The Lord’s law of health

Joseph Smith invited a few men in the Church to have meetings with him on the top floor of Newel and Ann Whitney’s store. There they learned the gospel and other subjects, and they prayed as a group. They called these meetings the School of the Prophets.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:117–137; Saints, 1:166

Many of the men smoked pipes and chewed tobacco during the lessons. The smoke made the air cloudy, and the tobacco made a mess on the floors. After the meetings, Emma Smith went upstairs to clean the room. It was very dirty!

Saints, 1:167

Emma scrubbed and scrubbed the floors, but the tobacco stains would not come out. She talked to Joseph about the mess.

Saints, 1:167

Joseph listened to Emma. Hearing her made him wonder how the Lord felt about tobacco.

Saints, 1:167

So Joseph asked the Lord about tobacco. The Lord told Joseph that he had a Word of Wisdom for the Saints.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:1–9; Saints, 1:167

The Lord said the Saints should not smoke, use tobacco, or drink alcohol or “hot drinks,” which means coffee and tea.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:1–9; Saints, 1:167

The Lord taught the Saints that grains and fruit are good to eat. He also said they could sometimes eat meat.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:10–17; Saints, 1:168

The Lord told Joseph that the Saints who chose to obey His Word of Wisdom would be protected. The Lord promised to bless them with health, knowledge, and strength. Joseph told the men in the School of the Prophets about the Lord’s Word of Wisdom.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:18–21; Saints, 1:168

The men in the room threw their tobacco and their pipes into the fire to show that they wanted to obey the Lord’s Word of Wisdom.

Saints, 1:168