The Waters of Mormon: Health and Kosher

Kosher & Dietary Health

Kosher is a Hebrew word meaning "fit." and, in this context, that essentially translates to "what is fit to be eaten as food." See: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3787.htm

In his infinite wisdom and mercy, YHWH Elohim has given us knowledge and holy law on what things we should eat or, in other words, allow into our bodies. There are some things that are healthy for us and ordained (established) by YHWH Elohim to be food for us, that we should eat. We should not eat, however, what YHWH Elohim has not ordained as food. Those plants and animals that he has not ordained for our food are poisonous and damaging to our health. We should only use things for the purpose by which YHWH Elohim has ordained them to be used for. We are going to take a look at this subject. Please do not just take my word for it but take this before YHWH Elohim and open your scriptures to the references that I provide in order to check my words against scripture. The word of Yah is the final authority. I pray that YHWH's spirit will rest upon you and lead you into all truth as you study this matter out for yourself.

I would like us to remember what scripture says about the Bereans. I have always been inspired by what scripture says about the Bereans. I strive to follow their example, and I would encourage you to follow that example also as we study this subject.

Acts of the Shelihim (Apostles) 17:11; "Now the Berean Yehudim were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Shaul said was true."

We read the purpose of dietary law in Leviticus 20:24-26: "I am YHWH your Elohim, who has separated you from the peoples. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. You shall be holy to me, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈 𝐘𝐇𝐖𝐇 𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞.⁣⁣"

By recognizing what YHWH Elohim has called unclean, and by not consuming these things, we are keeping one important part of the law, by which we are made holy. Holy means "Set-Apart" or "Consecrated" unto YHWH Elohim. The nations of the world do not obey YHWH Elohim's law, and those who choose to follow this law are choosing to be like YHWH and to have his name (character) written upon their countenance, and in this way, they are immediately set apart from the rest of the world's society which chooses instead to rebel again YHWH's ways.

It is very important that the body of Messiah remains holy (Set-Apart) in this way, because a very dire warning is given to the Church (Called-Out Assembly) of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) by his Shaliah, or Apostle (one who is sent off on behalf of another), Shaul in the First Epistle to the Corinthians 3:16-17; "Know ye not that ye are the tabernacle of Elohim, and that the Spirit [Behavior] of Elohim dwelleth in you? If any man defile the tabernacle of Elohim, him shall Elohim destroy; for the tabernacle of Elohim is holy [set-apart, consecrated], which tabernacle ye are."

This is a warning that we should heed with seriousness, because we defile ourselves by eating things that YHWH has decreed are unclean and that we should not defile or, in other words, poison ourselves and make ourselves spiritually unclean with. This is the consequence of using things for a purpose that YHWH Elohim did not establish them for, and it is a consequence that we should strive to avoid incurring, simply by following the laws he has given us.

Secondly, Mattiyahu (Matthew) 22:40 shows that Elohim's holy Torah, or law, is based entirely on two principles; "Love YHWH Eloheinu with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law [Torah] and the [commentary from the] Prophets hang [rest] on these two commandments.”

The 10 Commandments given to the Prophet Moshe (Moses) are not their own new laws but are simply an explanation on how to faithfully keep these two great commandments that make up Torah. One of the derivative requirements of "Love your neighbor as yourself" is "You shall not murder." This includes not murdering yourself slowly by consuming toxic things that were never ordained as food for the body of man.

So, now that we have laid this out, what has YHWH Elohim ordained for the food of mankind, and what should we avoid consuming? What does YHWH's Holy Torah say regarding food?

Plants

Firstly, all edible and nutritious plants are a very good thing to be eating and these were ordained for our food. These are fruits, nuts, vegetables, spices, legumes, grains, and herbs. Although they are considered in science to be a distinct category of life, this can also be said to include edible seaweeds and edible mushrooms that do not feed on decaying matter.

Genesis 1:29-30; "And Elohim said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so."

Genesis 3:18-19; "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Genesis 9:3; "Every reh’mes [clean animal] that liveth shall be food for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."

Praises (Psalms) 104:14; "[YHWH Elohim] causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth."

Ezekiel 47:12; "And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for food, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."

Alma 46:40 (BLDS); "And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land—but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate."

Doctrine and Covenants 59:17-20 (BLDS); "Truly I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth; Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for clothing, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards; Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea, for food and for clothing, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul. And it pleaseth Elohim that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion."

Doctrine and Covenants 89:10-11, 14, 16, 17 (BLDS); "And again, truly I say unto you, all wholesome herbs Elohim hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man— Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving. ...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. ...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— 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."

Meat & Animals

YHWH Elohim gave us not only plants (herbs, nuts, vegetables, spices, legumes, fruits, grains, etc.) to eat, but he also ordained meat for our sustenance and health.

Genesis 9:3; "Every reh’mes [clean animal] that liveth shall be food for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."

Deuteronomy 12:15; "Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of YHWH thy Elohim which he hath given thee."

1 Nephi 18:6 (BLDS); "And it came to pass that on the morrow, after we had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions according to that which YHWH had commanded us"

Luke 15:23,27,30; "And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf."

Epistle to the Romans 14:1-2; "As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables."

First Epistle to Timothy 4:1-5; "Now the Spirit [Torah] speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; ...Commanding to abstain from meats, which Elohim hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of Elohim is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of Elohim and prayer."

Now, some who support doctrines of vegetarianism or veganism make the argument regarding the above passage that the word translated as "meats" is more accurately translated as "foods." Now, even were this the case, we are establishing here that meat is ordained as food, so it makes no difference anyways. Further, we see even more in the following passage, that meat is, in fact, food.

Doctrine and Covenants 49:18-19 (BLDS); "And whoso forbiddeth to abstain from meats, that man should not eat the same, is not ordained of Elohim; For, behold, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which cometh of the earth, is ordained for the use of man for food and for clothing, and that he might have in abundance."

Continuing,

Doctrine and Covenants 59:17-20 (BLDS); "Truly I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth; Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for clothing, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards; Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea, for food and for clothing, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul. And it pleaseth Elohim that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion."

In some cases, YHWH Elohim even requires us to eat meat, such as in celebrating the Feast of YHWH's Passover. This shows that absolute Veganism or Vegetarianism is against YHWH's Holy Torah. It is possible that one of the reasons that HaSatan (Satan) wishes to convince us to not eat meat is to prevent us from observing YHWH Elohim's High Holidays.

Exodus 12:2-10; "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Ya'sharel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Ya'sharel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire."

However, as we saw hinted at in the introduction to this topic, there are some animals that were not created as food for man. These are unclean and should not be eaten. To repeat Leviticus 20:24-26: "I am YHWH your Elohim, who has separated you from the peoples. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. You shall be holy to me, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈 𝐘𝐇𝐖𝐇 𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞.⁣⁣"

When we eat animals that should not be eaten, we are defiling our bodies and not living according to the holiness of our Elohim, (Doctrine and Covenants 87:8; "Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved,") and we are murdering ourselves slowly with toxic substances.

So, that brings us to the question. What laws has YHWH Elohim given us regarding what animals we may consume for our meat? Let us again turn to what scripture, the very word of YHWH Elohim, says on this subject.

Leviticus 11:2-23, 26, 29-31, 41-47; "Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.

Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean. And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean. Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.

These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, any kind of black kite, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.

All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.

...Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you.

...Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you.

...Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten. You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean. Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. I am YHWH your Elohim; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am YHWH, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your Elohim; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.’”

Deuteronomy 14:3-21; "Do not eat any detestable thing. These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are unclean for you. The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.

Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean.

You may eat any clean bird. But these you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.

All flying insects are unclean to you; do not eat them. But any winged creature that is clean you may eat."

Enosh 1:20 (BLDS); "The People of Laman became wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey."

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 65:2-4, 6; "I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; ...which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; ...Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom."

So, from these passages of scripture we can see the law clearly laid out, when it comes to different types of animals and what is ordained as food and what is not food.

We should avoid eating beasts of prey, that is, animals that are predators. Mammals must both have split hooves and be ruminants who chew the cud. This includes cows, bison, oxen, goats, sheep, deer, moose, giraffes, and gazelles as some examples. But animals that do not have split hooves or are not ruminants, we cannot eat; including pigs, rodents, horses, cats, dogs, and so forth. Besides the reasons for our health, there are some symbolic reasons on why cud-chewing ruminants are good animals to have for meat. Chewing is symbolic of thinking and pondering, especially in regard to how we are to continually think about the word and law of YHWH Elohim. These animals are always chewing, which symbolizes always meditating on YHWH's word, which is set-apart, as kosher animals are set-apart to be food unto man. Some ruminants, such as cows, also have four stomachs, which is the same number referenced in the levels of the Jewish PaRDeS system of scriptural study.

Aquatic animals must have both scales and fins. So, this means we can eat most fish including salmon, bass, codfish, tuna fish, and so forth. But fish and underwater animals that lack scales and fins are prohibited; including catfish, eels, crab, lobsters, shrimp, clams, shark, and so forth.

Reptiles are generally almost completely prohibited as food. This means no turtles, no snakes, no crocodiles, no lizards. These things are not food. Some biological systems of classification do classify birds as being members of the reptile family. The only reptiles that are clean to eat are non-predatory birds that are not included among the prohibited species of birds. The birds we are allowed to eat include chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pheasants, and quail, for example and also many other birds.

Although locusts are also symbolic of divine cursing, all insects are unclean to eat, except for locusts and grasshoppers, crickets, et cetera. These are clean to eat, as we read in the below passage.

Mattiyahu (Matthew) 3:4; "And Yohanan [John] himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey."

I believe that one reason YHWH Elohim has ordained the locust family as food is so that when the people are cursed and locusts devour all their crops, YHWH Elohim is still merciful and gives them something to eat. Another interesting thing to note about locusts is that they are essentially the only insects that are made to almost exclusively eat grass, grains, and other such plants- just like clean animals. They also have a stomach made of several chambers just as ruminants do.

There are also some additional instructions regarding what we are supposed to not eat.

Leviticus 22:8, 17:15; "He shall not eat an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, becoming unclean by it; I am YHWH."

This teaches that we should not eat an animal that has died naturally in the wild or has been killed by another animal and is already a corpse before we can slaughter it for meat. We should avoid eating any animals that we have found as already dead, because we do not know the circumstances of how they died. They may have been made unclean or have a sickness that could then poison you for eating it.

Genesis 9:4; "But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood."

Exodus 23:19; "You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk."

Exodus 34:26; "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother 's milk."

Leviticus 3:17; "Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the earth like water."

Leviticus 7:23-24; "Ye shall eat no manner of suet fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. And the suet fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the suet fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use; but ye shall in no wise eat of it."

Leviticus 11:33-35; "Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls you shall break; and whatever is in it shall be unclean: in such a vessel, any edible food upon which water falls becomes unclean, and any drink that may be drunk from it becomes unclean. And everything on which a part of any such carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it is an oven or cooking stove, it shall be broken down; for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you."

Deuteronomy 12:16; "It shall be a statute FOREVER throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither suet fat nor blood."

Deuteronomy 14:21; "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother 's milk."

Ezekiel 33:25; “Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease.”

Yarom 1:6 (BLDS); "And they were exceedingly more numerous than were they of the Children of Nephi; and they loved murder and would drink the blood of beasts."

Acts of the Shelihim 15:29; "That you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well."

These passages of scripture teach us that we should not consume blood or suet fat, but we are to do our best to drain the blood and remove this fat from the meat that we butcher before we consume it. This prohibition against consuming blood, although often stated in the context of animal meat, is also a prohibition against the drinking of human vascular or menstrual blood, which is the occult practice of Vampirism and is condemned by YHWH and his Holy Torah. We are also taught to not eat young animals that have not yet been weaned from their mothers. These passages of scripture teach us that we should also not eat meat from strangled animals.

Those passages of scripture cited above also advise us to avoid meat that has been sacrificed to idols.

However, while we should not eat meat that we know has been sacrificed to idols, Shaul (Paul) teaches us that we do not need to stress out too much if we do not have a way to know if the meat in particular was sacrificed to idols or not. We should especially take care to avoid risking eating meat sacrificed to idols around those whom it would injure the faith of while we are around those people who are more worried about that risk. It is something that should be addressed in wisdom.

First Epistle to the Corinthians 8:4-12; "Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other Elohim but one. For even if there are so-called elohim, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many judges and many lords), yet for us there is one Elohim, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Yeshua HaMashiach, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food does not commend us to Elohim; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse. But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Messiah died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Messiah."

We see this same matter addressed later, also.

First Epistle to the Corinthians 10:25; “Whatsoever is sold in the meat market, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake for the earth is YHWH's, and the fullness thereof.”

Now, this is sometimes used as an argument that we can eat any animal as meats now, but the context is provided just a couple sentences later, where we see that it is simply a matter of not getting to hung up on whether or not meat was sacrificed to idols if you have no way of determining it. We must read these things in context.

First Epistle to the Corinthians 10:28; “But if anyone tells you, this is slain in sacrifice to idols, do not eat it."

Certain kinds of mold also declared to be unclean, as we read below.

Leviticus 14:37; “The priest is to examine the mold on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish streaks that appear to be deeper than the surface, it is a destructive mold; the house is unclean.”

Not all molds are unclean, as cheese, which is ordained as food, does contain mold.

This next scripture I have here is to show that human excrement is also unclean. This is obvious and goes without saying, but I include it for the sake of thoroughness, because there are many in the occult and paganism and perverted world that do not understand this.

Deuteronomy 23:12-14; "Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee: For YHWH thy Elohim walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee."

Now, the interesting thing is that even the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Brighamite Mormons) have spoken in the past against the use of unclean animals for meat. Although I once did, I do not believe in the LDS Church or its leaders anymore, but it was interesting that even they taught this, and it perhaps indicates some evidence that the Prophet Joseph Smith may have also taught people to avoid unclean animals as meat, and they were repeating this teaching that the people remembered from him.

"If the people were willing to receive the true knowledge from heaven in regards to their diet they would cease eating swine’s flesh. I know this as well as Moses knew it, and without putting it in a code of commandments. When I tell you that it is the will of the Lord to cease eating swine’s flesh, very likely someone will tell you that it is the will of the Lord to stop eating beef and mutton, and another that it is the will of the Lord to stop eating fowl and fish until the minds of the people become bewildered, so that they know not how to decide between right and wrong, truth and error. The beef fed upon our mountain grasses is healthy food as we need at present."

Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol 12, 1868-04-06, p.192-193

"Eating pork is a more serious breach of the word of wisdom than drinking tea or coffee."

George Teasdale, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Word of Wisdom: From Principle to Requirement, 1981, p. 79

"We are told that swine’s flesh is not good, and that we should dispense with it."
JD. Volume 12: p. 221&223. George Q. Cannon 7 Apr 1868

"The law of Moses prohibited to Israel the use of swine’s flesh; but in the Gentile world at the present day it is considered superior, as food, to almost every other kind of flesh. And even among us, with the education and training that we have received, there is a great deal of it used. It seems to be a pretty general idea among the people that swine’s flesh can be more easily raised than any other; but there is no doubt that, with proper care and attention, other kinds of meat might be produced with equal facility. For some reason God, by special law, prohibited its use to the children of Israel; and it certainly seems desirable that we should also discontinue its use, as within the past few years in some countries where a great amount of pork has been consumed the people have been afflicted with a kind of pestilence—a disease which is considered incurable. It is therefore wise and prudent for us to adopt plans to procure supplies from other sources."

Discourse by George Albert Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 6th, 1868.

Levi Ward Hancock was an early member of the restored church (called-out assembly) under Joseph Smith, and a witness of the Book of Commandments as well as a church Elder (High Priest) and a President of the Seventy. He recorded the following very interesting account of the Prophet Joseph;

"The Preaching in Kirtland once was against the use of Pork. Once Joseph asked me to help him feed his hogs. I did so. I observed that the Jews never ate pork. He answered, 'If I eat pork, I will know what my hogs eat!' And I left to this conclusion: there are sometimes extremes in preaching. As we were going to the house, Joseph turned around and said, 'Brother Levi, the Lord knew when Israel would go out, that they would meet hosts of men and Israel would have to fight them and the ground would be strewn with dead human beings. God's Spirit can never dwell with a cannibal, neither will it dwell in a man who has ever eaten an animal that has eaten a human being. Therefore he made a law against it, but Israel was so bound up with the Law, they still kept up the old established practice of not eating hog meat. Finally, they got so much law they could not keep it themselves."

Levi Ward Hancock; June 6th, 1896 Autobiography; Page 22, LDS Church History Library Manuscript Call Number 570

Now we should keep in mind that Levi Hancock eventually departed from the truth and became a Danite and later joined the Brighamite LDS Church, and this reminiscence is from 52 years after the death of Joseph Smith, and even longer since the event it describes, so it may or may not be an honest or accurate recounting, but it is an even stronger piece of evidence that the Prophet Joseph Smith upheld the truth of the laws that YHWH Elohim gave us regarding what we should allow into our bodies as food.

Lastly, we have been told by YHWH Elohim to not be wasteful of meat.

Doctrine and Covenants 49:21 (BLDS); "And wo be unto man that sheddeth blood or that wasteth flesh and hath no need."

What does the science say?

Even modern scientific understandings about the biology of animals have begun to prove the truth that YHWH Elohim already gave us concerning these things.

Scientists have found that generally the animals that YHWH Elohim permits us to eat have a completely different internal structure than unclean animals. Their vertebral artery and their carotid artery connect with each other in such a way that allows them to not feel any pain when they are bled out to render their meat free of the blood that we should not partake of. But animals that are unclean have their vertebral artery flow directly to their brain, which prevents them from being humanely bled out. This shows the wisdom in YHWH Elohim's ways.

Biology has discovered a principle called bioaccumulation. There are toxins that are absorbed by the flesh of animals as they go about their lives, and these toxins are negligible in clean animals. But the animals that YHWH Elohim has declared unclean are predatory animals that eat many of the clean animals, and then those toxins accumulate in the predator's body, and the concentration gets higher the higher up the food chain they are. Unclean animals contain high levels of mercury, lead, DDT, poisonous algae, and other toxins and excess chemicals compared to clean animals. The unclean flesh of pigs is already 30 times more toxic than the meat of beef or venison, two clean animals.

It takes nine hours to digest the meat of clean animals, but pork is digested by humans in less than half that time, which allows less toxins from that animal to be filtered out from our body by our digestive and endocrine (sweat glands and associated parts) systems from the pig they ate, which already has far more toxins to begin with. Pigs and Camels do not sweat to remove toxins from their body like other animals do, and so those toxins remain. Swine flesh has over a dozen different parasites and over thirty different diseases within it such as tapeworms, flukes, worms, and trichinae. All of these can then be transferred to humans, as there is no temperature that swine flesh can be cooked at that is hot enough to remove these parasites. These parasites can attach to our intestines, muscles, spinal cord or the brain and can cause many disorders. Swine will even eat human corpses and diseased animals, and all of this will be transferred into the body of the person who eats swine's flesh. Is this worth it? No.

One of the primary biological purposes of blood is to transport and remove waste and toxins from the body. We also now know that there are many diseases carried in the blood, such as HIV and tuberculosis. This is one major health reason to avoid consumption of blood. Draining the blood also allows meat to be preserved longer before spoiling.

By eating only what YHWH Elohim has ordained as food, we keep ourselves healthy from these dangerous toxins. It has even been recorded that during many time periods, Jews would often die at a heavily decreased rate from those around them, and this is likely because they avoid eating poisonous meats and keep the sanitation laws in Torah.

Because YHWH Elohim has ordained these things as food, there are many nutrients that are completely essential to life, that can only be found by eating meat. Those who pursue a life of veganism or vegetarianism require medical nutritional supplements in order to survive, and these supplements are themselves derived from animals as that is the only way to acquire those nutrients.

Isn't this a "Jewish" thing? Didn't Yeshua (Jesus) do away with these laws?

No. This is a common misconception, but when we read scripture, we see that these distinctions actually predate when the Law of Moshe (Moses) was given to the children of Ya'sharel (Israel), and it is not a law for one group of people, but for all peoples and especially those who have entered into YHWH Elohim's covenant.

Exodus 12:49; "There is only one law for both the native-born child of Ya'sharel and the foreigner dwelling among you alike."

Our Messiah does not change, nor do the laws that describe who he is.

The Epistle to the Ivrim (Hebrews) 13:8; "Yeshua HaMashiach is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

Genesis 7:2; "You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female."

Genesis 8:20; "Then Noach built an altar to YHWH, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar."

Genesis 9:3-4; "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood."

We read clearly in these above verses that the distinction between clean and unclean animals existed long before the day of the Prophet Moshe (Moses).

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:3, 15-18; "He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. ...For, behold, YHWH will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will YHWH plead with all flesh: and the slain of YHWH shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the unclean animal, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith YHWH. For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory."

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians 6:16-18; "And what agreement has the house of Elohim with idols? For you are the house of the living Elohim. As Elohim has said: 'I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their Elohim, And they shall be My people.' Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says YHWH. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says YHWH El Shaddai."

Here in these above verses, we have Shaul (Paul) repeating YHWH Elohim's instruction to the Assembly to not touch what is unclean. This is many years after the resurrection of Messiah. So, how can this be if there is no longer a distinction between clean and unclean?

Ezekiel 44:23; "And the priests shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean."

Zechariah 9:7; "And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our Elohim."

And so, we read clearly in these above verses that the distinction between clean and unclean animals existed long after the death of Messiah on the cross, which did away with the Law of Moshe (Moses), which were the punishments added to Torah in consequence of sins. These verses show that the dietary law of Torah is still in effect to this day and beyond.

We will not spend too much time on this right here, but Yeshua stated;

Mattiyahu (Matthew) 5:17; "Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."

The Greek word translated as destroy is kataluo kataluo, kat-al-oo'-o, Strongs # 2647; from G2596 and G3089; to loosen down (disintegrate), i.e. (by impl.) to demolish (lit. or fig.); spec. [comp. G2646] to halt for the night:—destroy, dissolve, come to nought, overthrow, throw down. The Greek word translated as fulfill is pleroo, play-ro'-o; Strongs # 4137 from G4134; to make replete, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, fully preach, perfect, supply.

We see here very plainly that he never came to abolish YHWH's eternal Torah, but to uphold it and to teach it perfectly.

Yeshua gave us this warning about false prophets.

Mattiyahu (Matthew) 7:15-16; "Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?"

This warning actually contains a reference to the words given to the Prophet Ezekiel. By understanding this reference, this actually allows us to learn some of the criteria and fruits of these false prophets that Yeshua is warning us about.

Ezekiel 22:26-27; "Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain."

Thus we see that a false prophet, a ravening wolf, is a leader whom for dishonest gain does not teach the people the difference between the clean and the unclean and who does violence to the Holy Torah of YHWH Elohim.

So, we see that Yeshua himself upheld the very law that he gave us.

One scripture that many turn to with concern to YHWH Elohim's dietary law is;

Mark 7:18-19; "So Yeshua said to them, Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and goes out into the waste-bowl, thus purging all foods? (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)"

This is largely a matter of reading this verse out of context. Yeshua is not addressing the dietary law, which he would consider a given, here. He is not even talking about food. We see the context at the beginning of the chapter.

Mark 7:1-2; "Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Yerushalayim. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?"

The context here is that the manmade Oral Law (later written down as the Babylonian Talmud, and in other rabbinic texts) that the Yehudim (Jews) believed in, prescribed a required set of handwashing rituals before sitting down to eat. Yeshua was speaking to condemn these manmade laws, not revoking his own eternal law. He was explaining that these handwashing rituals were not necessary, because,

Mark 7:20-23; "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, a stingy eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

It is worth noting that this handwashing ritual is also extremely blasphemous. When Talmudists perform this ritual, they also say a special rote prayer, which states that YHWH Elohim commanded this ritual. Yet, YHWH Elohim never commanded this ritual in his word. The command comes from Rabbinic decree in the manmade Oral Law. And so, this prayer deigns to put the Rabbis in the very place of YHWH Elohim, which is blasphemy.

But what about that last sentence in Mark 7:19? The phrasing "In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean," is considered by some manuscript evidence to have been a later insertion into the text, and not actually original to the Besorah (Gospel) of Mark. However, even if it was a true saying, which it is not, this does not change the fact of the matter. All foods are clean, there has never been such thing as unclean food. Rather, the animals that YHWH Elohim has declared unclean and unfit for the consumption of man are not food in the first place, any more than a stone or plastic is food. But this is a particular false insertion placed there to push an agenda against YHWH's holy ways.

But didn't Elohim give Shimon Petros (Simon Peter) a vision declaring all animals clean?

Many read this vision given to the Sheliah Petros (Apostle Peter) and believe it is regarding these dietary laws that we have been discussing.

Acts of the Shelihim 10:11-16; "And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Petros said, Not so, YHWH; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What Elohim hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven."

At first reading to this point, this would make sense and would present a problem when it comes to the matter of whether animals are still clean or unclean.

But let's keep reading, because this vision has an interpretation given, by an apostle of Yeshua.

Acts of the Shelihim (Apostles) 10:17-21, 28-29, 34-35, 47; "Now while Petros doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Shimon's house, and stood before the gate, And called, and asked whether Shimon, which was surnamed Petros, were lodged there. While Petros thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. Then Petros went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. ...And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Yehudi [Jew] to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but Elohim hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me? Then Petros opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that Elohim is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that revereth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. Can any man forbid water, that these should not be immersed, which have received the Holy Spirit [Holy Behavior, Torah] as well as we?"

This vision was given after the death and resurrection of Yeshua HaMashiach, which some people believe the dietary laws were abolished afterwards. Yet, we learn from this above expounding that the vision was not about animals becoming clean for food at all, but it was a lesson to Petros (Peter) to not call gentiles unclean and that he was still required to bring YHWH Elohim's Gospel (Good News) to them too, even though it was contrary to the traditions of his society. The vision was about preaching to people, not about eating unclean animals. YHWH Elohim has never claimed that he cleansed any unclean animals, or that he ever will- nor did Petros (Peter) use his authority to declare these things clean either. In fact, Petros (Peter) was part of the Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) Council in Acts 15, which declared that converts are also required to keep the kosher laws. If he believed from this vision that these laws were done away with, he would have never been involved in such a decree.

But doesn't Shaul (Paul) say to not let anyone judge what food we have?

The Epistle to the Colossians 2:15-17; "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. So let no one judge you in food or in drink, ...which are a shadow of things to come, but the body of Messiah."

Shaul (Paul) is not saying that the dietary laws established by YHWH Elohim are no longer in effect. This thought would have never even crossed his mind. He is actually saying the exact opposite: to not let unbelievers judge you for following YHWH Elohim's law, because only the Body of Messiah (The Called-Out Assembly, the Church) has the right to judge these things. And the Body of Messiah follows the Messiah's distinction between clean and unclean. Let no one judge you for following YHWH's standards on food, except for the Body of Messiah, who will encourage you to do so. This direction was given by Shaul (Paul) to a group of new converts who lived in a very wicked pagan city that were mocking and judging the believers for following YHWH Elohim's law on food, and he was telling them to stand strong in YHWH's ways even while the world persecuted them for it. He was not warning gentile converts to not follow the Jews that taught them to keep these laws. This is even more clear because of the fact that there was no majority of Jewish population in that city.

But didn't the righteous Yaredim (Jaredites) keep swine as food?

Ether 9:16-19 (BLDS); "And YHWH began again to take the curse from off the land, and the house of Emer did prosper exceedingly under the reign of Emer; and in the space of sixty and two years they had become exceedingly strong, insomuch that they became exceedingly rich— Having all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of silks, and of fine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and of swine, and of goats, and also many other kinds of animals which were useful for the food of man, and they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants, and cureloms, and cumoms- all of which were useful unto man and more especially the elephants, and cureloms, and comoms, and thus YHWH did pour out his blessings upon this land which was choice above all other lands ."

This has been a tricky verse for some. It is possible that the original manuscript did not even mention swine, as we know the printer and editor made some mistakes, even in this very chapter. However, we must keep in mind that this is a large list of many different things they were blessed with. "Many other kinds of animals which were useful for the food of man," is a separate list item from swine. The use of the word "other" as an antecedent is a little confusing, but keep in mind that previous list items included gold, silver, silk, and linen which are not animals and are not food. This shows that these are probably all different items from each other and not part of the same thought, other than to show all the things that YHWH Elohim had blessed them with.

Now, as I said earlier, this is not a Jewish law, but a law for all people and especially the covenant believers of YHWH Elohim. In fact, while Jews do believe in a similar set of dietary restrictions which they also call Kosher, they go beyond the mark on many things- for the origin of their additional restriction is in their Oral Law and is not from the Torah of YHWH Elohim. We should follow what the Word of Elohim instructs us to do and not follow the traditions of man. This means that something being labeled as "Kosher" in the grocery store does not necessarily mean that it is specifically according to Biblical Kosher, in that it often goes beyond or below that and does not always exactly follow scriptural law, and Jews labeling something as not Kosher, does not necessarily mean that it isn't, as they have added many additional laws.

Many Jewish practitioners, for instance, allow for certain gelatins that contain pig carcasses, as long as they are prepared in a certain way. Many Jews also often forbid the meat of ducks and geese, as they have added a new rule that clean birds must have a crop and gizzard, even though these laws are found nowhere in scripture. We even see some Messianic Jews forbidding chicken, even though this too has no basis in scripture. Many Jews follow an added tradition that forbids eating dairy and meat together, even though this conflicts with scripture which shows that holy men would eat these things together and thus allows for it. Let's remember to reject the dead traditions of man and instead live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Yah.

Finally, let us remember that the separation between the clean things fit for food and the unclean things that are not food is part of YHWH Elohim's Holy Torah. And let us remember the curse for disobedience against his Torah.

Deuteronomy 28:15-68; "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of YHWH thy Elohim, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. YHWH shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. YHWH shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. YHWH shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. YHWH shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. YHWH shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. YHWH will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. YHWH shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them. Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand. The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway: So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. YHWH shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head. YHWH shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither YHWH shall lead thee. Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume. The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of YHWH thy Elohim, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. Because thou servedst not YHWH thy Elohim with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which YHWH shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. YHWH shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which YHWH thy Elohim hath given thee. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which YHWH thy Elohim hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, YHWH ELOHIM, Then YHWH will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will YHWH bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of YHWH thy Elohim. And it shall come to pass, that as YHWH rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so YHWH will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And YHWH shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but YHWH shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: In the morning thou shalt say, Would Elohim it were evening! and at even thou shalt say, Would Elohim it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. And YHWH shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you."

As for me and my house, we shall walk in YHWH's ways and keep these things which he has given to us for a blessing. I encourage you to do the same. Not to be saved by obedience, but out of love for your Redeemer who has bought you, and out of trust for his holy ways which we desire to follow in order to become like him. We are justified by his atonement, but it is by becoming like him that we become sanctified. Let us strive to become sanctified by becoming like our Messiah.

Yohanan (John) 14:15; "If ye love me, then you will keep my commandments."

History shows us many examples of brave and faithful believers who were courageous in keeping these ways. Let us follow in their footsteps, as they followed in the footsteps of Yeshua our Messiah.

Daniy'el (Daniel) 1:8; "Dani'yel [Daniel] resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now Elohim had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniy'el [Daniel]."

First Book of Maccabees 1:62-63; "Despite all this, many in Ya'sharel [Israel] stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat any unclean food. They preferred to die rather than to be defiled by such food and profane the holy covenant, and they suffered death for their convictions."

Second Book of Maccabees 6:18-31; "There was an elderly and highly respected teacher of the Torah by the name of Eleazar, whose mouth was being forced open to make him eat pork. But he preferred an honorable death rather than a life of disgrace. So he spit out the meat and went willingly to the place of torture, showing how people should have courage to refuse unclean food, even if it costs them their lives. Those in charge of the sacrifice had been friends of Eleazar for a long time, and because of this friendship they told him privately to bring meat that was lawful for him to eat. He need only pretend to eat the pork, they said, and in this way he would not be put to death. But Eleazar made a decision worthy of his gray hair and advanced age. All his life he had lived in perfect obedience to Elohim's holy Torah, so he replied, 'Kill me, here and now. Such deception is not worthy of a man of my years. Many young people would think that I had denied my faith after I was ninety years old. If I pretended to eat this meat, just to live a little while longer, it would bring shame and disgrace on me and lead many young people astray. For the present I might be able to escape what you could do to me, but whether I live or die, I cannot escape El Shaddai. If I die bravely now, it will show that I deserved my long life. It will also set a good example of the way young people should be willing and glad to die for our sacred and respected laws.' As soon as he said these things, he went off to be tortured, and the very people who had treated him kindly a few minutes before, now turned against him, because they thought he had spoken like a madman. When they had beaten him almost to the point of death, he groaned and said, 'YHWH possesses all holy knowledge. He knows I could have escaped these terrible sufferings and death, yet he also knows that I gladly suffer these things, because I revere him.' So Eleazar died. But his courageous death was remembered as a glorious example, not only by young people, but by the entire nation as well."

Second Book of Maccabees 7:1-41; "On another occasion a mother and her seven sons were arrested. The king was having them beaten to force them to eat pork. Then one of the young men said, 'What do you hope to gain by doing this? We would rather die than abandon the traditions of our ancestors.' This made the king so furious that he gave orders for huge pans and kettles to be heated red hot, and it was done immediately. Then he told his men to cut off the tongue of the one who had spoken and to scalp him and chop off his hands and feet, while his mother and six brothers looked on. After the young man had been reduced to a helpless mass of breathing flesh, the king gave orders for him to be carried over and thrown into one of the pans. As a cloud of smoke streamed up from the pan, the brothers and their mother encouraged one another to die bravely, saying, 'YHWH Elohim is looking on and understands our suffering. Moshe made this clear when he wrote a song condemning those who had abandoned YHWH. He said, YHWH will have mercy on those who serve him.'

After the first brother had died in this way, the soldiers started amusing themselves with the second one by tearing the hair and skin from his head. Then they asked him, 'Now will you eat this pork, or do you want us to chop off your hands and feet one by one?' He replied in his native language, 'I will never eat it!' So the soldiers tortured him, just as they had the first one, but with his dying breath he cried out to the king, 'You butcher! You may kill us, but the King of the universe will raise us from the dead and give us eternal life, because we have obeyed his laws.'

The soldiers began entertaining themselves with the third brother. When he was ordered to stick out his tongue, he quickly did so. Then he bravely held out his hands and courageously said, 'Elohim gave these to me. But his laws mean more to me than my hands, and I know Elohim will give them back to me again.' The king and those with him were amazed at his courage and at his willingness to suffer. After he had died, the soldiers tortured the fourth one in the same cruel way, but his final words were, 'I am glad to die at your hands, because we have the assurance that Elohim will raise us from death. But there will be no resurrection to life for you, Antiochus!'

When the soldiers took the fifth boy and began torturing him, he looked the king squarely in the eye and said, 'You have the power to do whatever you want with us, even though you also are mortal. But do not think that Elohim has abandoned our people. Just wait. Elohim will use his great power to torture you and your descendants.' Then the soldiers took the sixth boy, and just before he died he said, 'Make no mistake. We are suffering what we deserve, because we have sinned against our Elohim. That's why all these terrible things are happening to us. But don't think for a minute that you will avoid being punished for fighting against Elohim.'

The mother was the most amazing one of them all, and she deserves a special place in our memory. Although she saw her seven sons die in a single day, she endured it with great courage because she trusted in YHWH. She combined womanly emotion with manly courage and spoke words of encouragement to each of her sons in their native language. 'I do not know how your life began in my womb,' she would say, 'I was not the one who gave you life and breath and put together each part of your body. It was Elohim who did it, Elohim who created the universe, mankind, and all that exists. He is merciful and he will give you back life and breath again, because you love his laws more than you love yourself.'

Antiochus was sure that the mother was making fun of him, so he did his best to convince her youngest son to abandon the traditions of his ancestors. He promised not only to make the boy rich and famous, but to place him in a position of authority and to give him the title Friend of the King. But the boy paid no attention to him, so Antiochus tried to persuade the boy's mother to talk him into saving his life, and after much persuasion she agreed to do so. Leaning over her son, she fooled the cruel tyrant by saying in her native language,

'My son, have pity on me. Remember that I carried you in my womb for nine months and nursed you for three years. I have taken care of you and looked after all your needs up to the present day. So I urge you, my child, to look at the sky and the earth. Consider everything you see there, and realize that Elohim made it all from nothing, just as he made mankind. Don't be afraid of this butcher. Give up your life willingly and prove yourself worthy of your brothers, so that by Elohim's mercy I may receive you back with them at the resurrection.'

Before she could finish speaking, the boy said, 'King Antiochus, what are you waiting for? I refuse to obey your orders. I only obey the commands in the Torah which Moshe gave to our ancestors. You have thought up all kinds of cruel things to do to our people, but you won't escape the punishment that Elohim has in store for you. It is true that our living YHWH is angry with us and is making us suffer because of our sins, in order to correct and discipline us. But this will last only a short while, for we are still his servants, and he will forgive us. But you are the cruelest and most disgusting thing that ever lived. So don't fool yourself with illusions of greatness while you punish Elohim's people. There is no way for you to escape punishment at the hands of the almighty and all-seeing Elohim. My brothers suffered briefly because of our faithfulness to Elohim's covenant, but now they have entered eternal life. But you will fall under Elohim's judgment and be punished as you deserve for your arrogance. I now give up my body and my life for the laws of our ancestors, just as my brothers did. But I also beg Elohim to show mercy to his people quickly and to torture you until you are forced to acknowledge that he alone is Elohim. May my brothers and I be the last to suffer the anger of El Shaddai, which he has justly brought upon our entire nation.

These words of ridicule made Antiochus so furious that he had the boy tortured even more cruelly than his brothers. And so the boy died, with absolute trust in YHWH, never unfaithful for a minute. Last of all, the mother was put to death."

Animal Products

Deuteronomy 26:9; "And YHWH Elohim brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey."

Judges 14:9-9; “And after a time Shamshon returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.”

Proverbs 24:13; "My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to

your taste."

Proverbs 25:16: "If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it."

Mattiyahu (Matthew) 3:4; "And Yohanan [John] himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey."

We see from these verses that milk and honey are both clean and good to eat. In fact, honey is symbolism that represents the sweetness and nutrition of YHWH's Torah.

Minerals

Leviticus 2:13; "And every oblation of thy grain offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy Elohim to be lacking from thy grain offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt."

2 Kings 2:20-25; "And Elisha said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith YHWH, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake."

Mark 9:50; "Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another."

These passages of scripture show us that salt is healthy for us and ordained for our food, in fact it is required in sacrificial offerings to YHWH Elohim. Salt is essential for our health, as the human body requires it to live. This is interesting because the human body is said to be the tabernacle of Elohim, and just as the offerings made in the House of YHWH required salt with them, so to do we require salt for our sustenance.

Alcohol

Many people shun the usage of alcohol, even calling its use a sin or that any amount of it is a poison. This is an understandable position, but as with all things, before we come to any conclusions, we should check what the word of YHWH Elohim actually says about alcohol.

Leviticus 23:16-18; "You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh shabbat; then you shall present a new grain offering to YHWH. You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to YHWH. Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to YHWH, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to YHWH."

We see that believers are required by YHWH Elohim to make a drink offering, to drink some wine, every year on the Feast of Shavuot.

Deuteronomy 14:23, 26; "And thou shalt eat before YHWH thy Elohim, in the place which he shall choose to place his character there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to revere YHWH thy Elohim always. ...And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before YHWH thy Elohim, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household."

We see from these above verses that we are allowed to drink some wine as part of our tithing, and that this is acceptable. This shows that it would not be a sin.

Deuteronomy 28:39; "Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them."

This above verse shows that one of the curses for disobedience to Torah was that we will no longer be able to produce and drink wine. Since this is a curse for disobedience, this would mean that in contrary to this, wine is considered to be a blessing from YHWH Elohim.

Numbers 15:10; "And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto YHWH."

YHWH Elohim required his people to make offerings of wine to him, which he considered to be of a sweet savour.

Judges 9:13; "And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth Elohim and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?"

Although it is depicted as a feature of a parable, this shows that even YHWH Elohim is cheered by wine, and that it is good for man.

Praises (Psalms) 104:14-15; "You [YHWH] cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man."

This above verse specifically shows that YHWH Elohim has created wine to gladden the heart of man.

Proverbs 23:29; "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine."

This verse shows that bad things befall those who do not use wine in moderation, but also those who try to make wine less alcoholic by diluting it in water.

Proverbs 31:6; "Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more."

We are instructed to give wine to those who are in distress, to help ease their spirits up.

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 9:7; "So go ahead. Eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for Elohim approves of this thing!"

This above verse strongly shows that YHWH Elohim approves of wise usage of wine, and that it was created to bring us happiness, and is not a sin or something we are required to abstain from.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 1:21; "How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water."

This verse shows some condemnation against diluting the alcohol of wine by mixing it with water, which would not be a problem if there was actually something wrong with wine.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 55:1-2, Second Book of Nephi 9:50 (BLDS); "Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price."

In these above two passages, wine is used to symbolize Yeshua's promised blessing of joy, showing that it is not a bad thing. Wine, in general, all throughout the scriptures represents joy which comes from coming under the covering of the atonement of Yeshua HaMashiach that allows us to be saved.

Mosiah 22:3-14 (BLDS); "Now it came to pass that Gideon went forth and stood before the king, and said unto him: Now O king, thou hast hitherto hearkened unto my words many times when we have been contending with our brethren, the Lamanim. And now O king, if thou hast not found me to be an unprofitable servant, or if thou hast hitherto listened to my words in any degree, and they have been of service to thee, even so I desire that thou wouldst listen to my words at this time, and I will be thy servant and deliver this people out of bondage. And the king granted unto him that he might speak. And Gideon said unto him: Behold the back pass, through the back wall, on the back side of the city. The Lamanim, or the guards of the Lamanim, by night are drunken; therefore let us send a proclamation among all this people that they gather together their flocks and herds, that they may drive them into the wilderness by night. And I will go according to thy command and pay the last tribute of wine to the Lamanites, and they will be drunken; and we will pass through the secret pass on the left of their camp when they are drunken and asleep. Thus we will depart with our women and our children, our flocks, and our herds into the wilderness; and we will travel around the land of Shilom. And it came to pass that the king hearkened unto the words of Gideon. And king Limhi caused that his people should gather their flocks together; and he sent the tribute of wine to the Lamanim; and he also sent more wine, as a present unto them; and they did drink freely of the wine which king Limhi did send unto them. And it came to pass that the people of king Limhi did depart by night into the wilderness with their flocks and their herds, and they went round about the land of Shilom in the wilderness, and bent their course towards the land of Zarahemla, being led by Ammon and his brethren. And they had taken all their gold, and silver, and their precious things, which they could carry, and also their provisions with them, into the wilderness; and they pursued their journey. And after being many days in the wilderness they arrived in the land of Zarahemla, and joined Moshiyahu’s people, and became his subjects. And it came to pass that Moshiyahu received them with joy; and he also received their records, and also the records which had been found by the people of Limhi."

In this above passage, we see that wine was used to deliver Elohim's people from their enemies. This is good symbology. Further, if using alcohol was a sin, it would have been a sin for them to make their enemies drunk, but it was approved by Elohim, showing it is not a sin.

Alma 55:29-32 (BLDS); "Many times did the Children of Laman attempt to encircle the Children of Nephi about by night, but in these attempts they did lose many prisoners. And many times did they attempt to administer of their wine to the Children of Nephi, that they might destroy them with poison or with drunkenness. But behold, the Children of Nephi were not slow to remember YHWH their Elohim in this their time of affliction. They could not be taken in their snares; yea, they would not partake of their wine, save they had first given to some of the prisoners that were of the Sons of Laman. And they were thus cautious that no poison should be administered among them; for if their wine would poison a Son of Laman it would also poison a Son of Nephi; and thus they did try all their liquors."

We see from this above example that the righteous Children of Nephi possessed and used wine and liquors.

Amos 9:14; "I will restore the fortunes of my people Ya'sharel [Israel], and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit."

YHWH Elohim says in the above passage that he will restore his people and that this will allow them to produce and drink wine.

Ezekiel 44:21; "Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court."

We read in the above passage that priests were prohibited from drinking wine or being drunk while they were conducting their temple duties in the inner court. This specification shows that wine is otherwise allowed, or it would have been an unnecessary command, if wine was always forbidden anyways. This shows simply that there is a time and place for everything.

Yohanan (John) 2:7-10; "Yeshua saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now."

We see in this above passage that Yeshua created wine as one of his first miracles, and served it at a wedding.

We see this same pattern taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith, who taught that partaking of wine during a wedding is the proper order of heaven.

"I could not spend much time with him being under obligation to attend at Mrs. Wilcox's to join Mr. John Webb and Mrs. Catharine Wilcox in matrimony also Mr. Thomas Carrico and Miss Elizabeth Baker at the same place. ...I then invited them to arise and join hands, and pronounced the ceremony according to the rules and regulations of the Church of the latter-day Saints. ...I pronounced such blessings upon their heads as the Lord put into my heart even the blessings of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, and dismissed by singing and prayer. We then took some refreshment and our hearts were made glad with the fruit of the vine, this is according to pattern, set by our Savior himself, and we feel disposed to patronize all the institutions of heaven."

Joseph Smith, 14 January 1836 Journal Entry

Luke 7:34; "The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’"

Here we see that Yeshua drank alcohol, and that the religious leaders of his day accused him of being a drunkard for this fact.

First Epistle to Timotheos (Timothy) 5:23; "Drink no longer only water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often ailments."

We see here that wine can be and is recommended by the word to be used where it would help with chronic nausea or other health issues.

Doctrine and Covenants 27:3-4 (BLDS); "Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, that you shall not purchase wine neither strong drink of your enemies; Wherefore, you shall partake of none except it is made new among you."

Here YHWH Elohim instructs us to not buy wine or liquor from our enemies, and to instead make it yourself. This shows that not only are we allowed to drink wine, but we are instructed to produce it also.

Doctrine and Covenants 27:5 (BLDS); "Marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth."

Here we see that Yeshua himself will one day drink wine with his covenant people.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:43 (BLDS); "And whosoever among you are sick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be nourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild [fermented] food, and that not by the hand of an enemy."

Here YHWH Elohim teaches us that fermented food is good for healing. This is because fermentation is a process of natural preservation, rather than a form of rotting, and this makes it very healthy and conducive to life. It also makes the food more flavorful and keep longer and allows us to access more nutrients. A lot of food staples are actually fermented; including bread which YHWH Elohim calls the staff of life, yogurt, chocolate, honey, pickles, and to a degree even most fruit.

"If you feel any inconvenience, take some mild physic two or three times and then some bitters."

Joseph Smith; The Journals of Joseph Smith, 1843 Apr 13; Church Historian's Office

Here the prophet Joseph recommends the use of bitters as a remedy, which is liquor that has been seeped in and infused with bitter herbal roots.

Doctrine and Covenants 58:6-9 (BLDS); "For this cause I have sent you—that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come; And also that you might be honored in laying the foundation, and in bearing record of the land upon which the Tsiyyon of Elohim shall stand; And also that a feast of fat things might be prepared for the poor; yea, a feast of fat things, of wine on the lees well refined, that the earth may know that the mouths of the prophets shall not fail; Yea, a supper of the house of YHWH, well prepared, unto which all nations shall be invited."

Here we read that YHWH Elohim will be preparing a feast with the people of this earth, that will include strong wine. This is repeated also in the commentary by the prophets,

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 25:6; "On this mountain YHWH Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever."

Doctrine and Covenants 89:5-6 (BLDS); "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. And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make."

This above verse teaches that if we have access to it, we are required to use wine for these things, not replace it with grape juice or water or anything else. Since wine is used for tithing and for sacrament and for drink offerings, this means that drinking alcohol occasionally is actually a commandment.

The beginning of that same verse is a reference to Shaul's instructions to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 11:20-22, 26-30, 33-34; "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat YHWH's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the assembly of Elohim, and shame them that have not? what shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. ...For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew YHWH's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of YHWH, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of YHWH. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning YHWH's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. ...Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come."

There was an issue in the Corinthian Assembly where people would drink all the wine before others could have the sacrament, and this was wrong of them.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:7 (BLDS); "And, again, strong [distilled] drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies."

We learn here that one good use for strong drinks is for washing our body. Strong drinks refer to drinks that have been distilled to be above the 20% ABV content that is naturally occurring in natural alcohol production.

We see some examples of this usage of strong drinks in church history, such as the example below.

“I met in the evening with brother Joseph Smith, Jr., at his house, in company with brother John Corrill, and after pure water was prepared, called upon YHWH and proceeded to wash each other’s bodies, and bathe the same with whiskey, perfumed with cinnamon. This we did that we might be clean before YHWH for the Shabbat, confessing our sins and covenanting to be faithful to Elohim. While performing this washing unto YHWH with solemnity, our minds were filled with many reflections upon the propriety of the same, and how the priests anciently used to wash always before ministering before YHWH. As we had nearly finished this purification, brother Martin Harris came in and was also washed.”

Oliver Cowdery, Sketch Book, 16 Jan. 1836

Doctrine and Covenants 89:17 (BLDS); "Barley is for all useful animals, and for mild [fermented] drinks [beer], as also other grain."

Here above we learn that YHWH Elohim has ordained barley grain for the manufacturing of beer, which is made from fermented barley, and that this is a good drink for man. Many alcoholic drinks are made from different varieties of grain, which were made for the use of man.

We are, however, instructed to use moderation and to not be drunkards. A drunkard is not someone who is drunk occasionally, but someone who is a frequent drunk or who specifically plans to get extremely drunk, such as in binge drinking. These teachings are often erroneously used to completely rule out drinking, but the truth is simply that it is to be done in moderation and in the bounds that YHWH Elohim has prescribed. We need to not let it cloud our judgement away from Torah.

Proverbs 20:1; "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise."

Proverbs 23:20-21, 29-35; "Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. ...Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things."

Proverbs 31:4-5; "It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted."

Epistle to the Ephesians 5:18: "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit [Torah]."

Epistle to Timotheus (Timothy) 3:8; "Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain."

Epistle to the Romans 13:13; "Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy."

Epistle to the Galatians 5:21; "Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of Elohim."

Epistle to Titus 2:3; "Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine."

Drinking too much alcohol without moderation can draw us away from Torah, or even put us in contact with the demonic spirits, which is where the term "spirit" comes from when it comes to heavy liquors. Alcohol is symbolic of the atonement, and this kind of use without moderation is representative of the many people who get themselves as drunkards upon the atonement; saying that because they are saved, they no longer have to live in YHWH's ways, and thus dig a hole for themselves to trip upon. We must drink in moderation, just as we must depend upon both the atonement AND the holy Torah of Yah.

In the below quotation, we read another interesting anecdote regarding attitude on alcohol while the Prophet Joseph was held in Carthage jail.

“Sometime after dinner we sent for some wine. It has been reported by some that this was taken as a sacrament. It was no such thing; our spirits were generally dull and heavy, and it was sent for to revive us. ...I believe we all drank of the wine, and gave some to one or two of the prison guards. We all of us felt unusually dull and languid, with a remarkable depression of spirits.”

BLDS President John Taylor, History of the Church, 7:101

Now, we should handle this account very carefully, because it is exclusively reported by John Taylor. John Taylor is the man who that very day murdered the Patriarch Hyrum Smith and attempted to murder the Prophet Joseph Smith, and was part of the plot to do so. He is recorded lying about Joseph Smith and the events of that day on many occasions. But this account, especially if any of it is true, shows that YHWH Elohim's prophet Joseph saw no problem with drinking wine for the purpose of reviving his spirits, and that people would try to change this account to be more appealing to prohibitionary sentiments by claiming he was only taking the sacrament.

Lastly, we will take a look at what scripture says about the sacrament of YHWH's Supper. This is a very important and sacred ordinance established by YHWH Elohim, which involves wine.

Genesis 14:17; "And Malki-tsedeq, king of Shalem, brought forth bread and wine; and he brake bread and blessed it; and he blessed the wine, he being the priest of the most high Elohim."

Mattityahu 26:22-26; "And as they were eating, Yeshua took bread and brake it, and blessed it, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is in remembrance of my body which I give a ransom for you. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it. For this is in remembrance of my blood of the renewed covenant, which is shed for as many as shall believe on my name, for the remission of their sins. And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall observe to do the things which ye have seen me do and bear record of me even unto the end. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I shall come and drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

Mark 14:20-25; "And as they did eat, Yeshua took bread and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them, and said, Take it and eat. Behold, this is for you to do in remembrance of my body; for as oft as ye do this, ye will remember this hour that I was with you. And he took the cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them; and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is in remembrance of my blood which is shed for many, and the renewed covenant which I give unto you; for of me ye shall bear record unto all the world. And as oft as ye do this ordinance, ye will remember me in this hour that I was with you and drank with you of this cup, even the last time in my ministry. Verily, I say unto you, Of this ye shall bear record; for I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine with you until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of Elohim."

Luke 22:16-20; "For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled which is written in the prophets concerning me. Then I will partake with you in the kingdom of Elohim. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this and divide among yourselves; For I say unto you that I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of Elohim shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the renewed covenant in my blood which is shed for you."

Yohanan 6:38-58; "For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up in the resurrection of the just at the last day. The Yehudim then murmured at him because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Yeshua, the son of Yosef, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Yeshua, therefore, answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come unto me except he doeth the will of my Father who hath sent me. And this is the will of him who hath sent me, that ye receive the Son; for the Father beareth record of him; and he who receiveth the testimony and doeth the will of him who sent me, I will raise up in the resurrection of the just. For it is written in the prophets, And these shall all be taught of Elohim. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of Elohim; he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. But I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Yehudim, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Yeshua said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up in the resurrection of the just at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead; he that eateth of this bread shall live forever."

3 Nephi 18:1-12 (BLDS); "And it came to pass that Yeshua commanded his disciples that they should bring forth some bread and wine unto him. And while they were gone for bread and wine, he commanded the multitude that they should sit themselves down upon the earth. And when the disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of the bread and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the disciples and commanded that they should eat. And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude. And when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he said unto the disciples: Behold there shall one be ordained among you, and to him will I give power that he shall break bread and bless it and give it unto the people of my assembly, unto all those who shall believe and be immersed in my name. And this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread and blessed it and given it unto you. And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit [Behavior] to be with you. And it came to pass that when he said these words, he commanded his disciples that they should take of the wine of the cup and drink of it, and that they should also give unto the multitude that they might drink of it. And it came to pass that they did so, and did drink of it and were filled; and they gave unto the multitude, and they did drink, and they were filled. And when the disciples had done this, Yeshua said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you. And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are immersed in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you. And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock."

3 Nephi 20:1-9 (BLDS); "And it came to pass that Yeshua commanded the multitude that they should cease to pray, and also his disciples. And he commanded them that they should not cease to pray in their hearts. And he commanded them that they should arise and stand up upon their feet. And they arose up and stood upon their feet. And it came to pass that he brake bread again and blessed it, and gave to the disciples to eat. And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude. And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude. Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude; But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink. And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled. Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were filled with the Spirit; and they did cry out with one voice, and gave glory to Yeshua, whom they both saw and heard."

3 Nephi 26:13 (BLDS); "Therefore, I would that ye should behold that YHWH truly did teach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did show himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them."

Acts of the Shelihim 2:42; "And they continued steadfastly in the doctrine of the shelihim and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

Acts of the Shelihim 20:7; "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Shaul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."

First Epistle to the Corinthians 11:20-34; "When ye come together into one place, is it not to eat YHWH's Supper? But in eating, everyone taketh before another his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What! Have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? Or despise ye the assembly of Elohim, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of YHWH that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Yeshua, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread; And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the renewed covenant in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show YHWH's death till he come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of YHWH unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of YHWH. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh condemnation to himself, not discerning YHWH's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of YHWH, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come."

Mormon 9:29 (BLDS); "See that ye are not immersed unworthily; see that ye partake not of the sacrament of Messiah unworthily; but see that ye do all things in worthiness, and do it in the name of Yeshua HaMashiach, the Son of the living Elohim; and if ye do this, and endure to the end, ye will in nowise be cast out."

Moroni 4-5 (BLDS); "The manner of their high priests and priests administering the flesh and blood of Messiah unto the assembly; and they administered it according to the commandments of Messiah; wherefore we know the manner to be true; and the high priest or priest did minister it— And they did kneel down with the assembly, and pray to the Father in the name of Messiah, saying:

O Elohim, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Yeshua HaMashiach, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O Elohim, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

The manner of administering the wine—Behold, they took the cup, and said: O Elohim, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Yeshua HaMashiach, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O Elohim, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."

Moroni 6:6 (BLDS); "And they did meet together oft to partake of bread and wine, in remembrance of the Lord Yeshua."

June 1829 Revelation to Oliver Cowdery: "And the Assembly shall oft partake of bread and wine and after this manner shall ye partake of it: The High Priest or Priest shall minister it and after this manner shall he do he shall kneel with the Assembly and pray to the Father in the name of Messiah and then shall ye say: O Elohim the Eternal Father we ask thee in the name of thy Son Yeshua HaMashiach to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son and witness unto thee O Elohim the Eternal Father that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son and always remember him and keep his commandments which he hath given them that they may always have his spirit to be with them Amen. And then shall ye take the cup and say O Elohim the Eternal Father we ask thee in the name of thy Son Yeshua HaMashiach to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it that they may do in remembrance of the blood of thy Son which was shed for them that they may witness unto thee O Elohim the Eternal Father that they do always remember him that they may have his spirit to be with them Amen. And now behold I give unto you a commandment that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily when ye shall minister it for whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul. Therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him nevertheless ye shall not cast him out from among you but ye shall minister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father in my name and if it so be that he repenteth and is baptized in my name then shall ye receive him and shall minister unto him of my flesh and blood but if he repenteth not he shall not be numbered among my people that he may not destroy my people. For behold I know my Sheep and they are numbered nevertheless ye shall not cast him out of your Synagogues or your places of worship for unto such shall ye continue to minister for ye know not but what they will return and repent and come unto me with full purpose of heart and I shall heal them and ye shall be the means of bringing Salvation unto them."

The Book of Doctrine and Covenants 20:40, 58, 68, 75-79 (BLDS); "And to administer bread and wine—the emblems of the flesh and blood of Messiah— ...But neither teachers nor deacons have authority to immerse, administer the sacrament, or lay on hands. ... The duty of the members after they are received by immersion—The high priests or priests are to have a sufficient time to expound all things concerning the assembly of Messiah to their understanding, previous to their partaking of the sacrament and being confirmed by the laying on of the hands of the high priests, so that all things may be done in order. ...It is expedient that the assembly meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Yeshua; And the high priest or priest shall administer it; and after this manner shall he administer it—he shall kneel with the assembly and call upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying: O Elohim, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Yeshua HaMashiach, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O Elohim, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

The manner of administering the wine—he shall take the cup also, and say: O Elohim, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Yeshua HaMashiach, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O Elohim, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."

The Book of Doctrine and Covenants 27:1–5 (BLDS); "Listen to the voice of Yeshua HaMashiach, your Lord, your Elohim, and your Redeemer, whose word is quick and powerful. For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins. Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, that you shall not purchase wine neither strong drink of your enemies; Wherefore, you shall partake of none except it is made new among you; yea, in this my Father’s kingdom which shall be built up on the earth. Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the record of the stick of Eprayim."

The Book of Doctrine and Covenants 46:4(BLDS); " Ye are also commanded not to cast any one who belongeth to the assembly out of your sacrament meetings; nevertheless, if any have trespassed, let him not partake until he makes reconciliation."

The Book of Doctrine and Covenants 59:9 (BLDS); "And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day."

The Book of Doctrine and Covenants 62:4 (BLDS); "And now continue your journey. Assemble yourselves upon the land of Tsiyyon; and hold a meeting and rejoice together, and offer a sacrament unto the Most High."

"I believe I am the only living man now in the church who was connected with the School of the Prophets when it was organized in 1833, the year before we went up in Zion's Camp...The sacrament was also administered at times when Joseph appointed, after the ancient order; that is, warm bread to break easy was provided and broken into pieces as large as my fist and each person had a glass of wine and sat and ate the bread and drank the wine; and Joseph said that was the way that Jesus and his disciples partook of the bread and wine. And this was the order of the church anciently and until the church went into darkness."

Source: REMARKS OF ZEBEDEE COLTRIN on KIRTLAND, OHIO HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, Minutes, Salt Lake City School of the Prophets, October 3, 1883.

"Having continued all day in fasting, and prayer, & ordinances, we closed by partaking of the Lord’s supper. I blessed the bread and wine in the name of the Lord, when we all ate and drank and were filled; then sung a hymn and went out."

Joseph Smith, 22–23 January 1833 • Tuesday–Wednesday, History, 1838–1856, volume A-1

"At the Last Supper, at which the Savior Himself was present, the bread and the wine were not passed as is the custom now among us. It was an actual supper. In our Church numerous instances have occurred where the Sacrament has been administered, in certain places, in the same way — that is, bread and wine (or water) have been partaken of as a meal, and not, as is usual when the Sacrament is passed in our general meetings, in the shape of small pieces of bread and a little sip of water.

The Savior, as recorded in the Book of Mormon after breaking the bread, "gave unto the disciples, and commanded that they should eat. And when they had eat, and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude." Afterwards "he commanded his disciples that they should take of the wine of the cup, and drink of it, and that they should aiso give unto the multitude, that they might drink of it. And it came to pass that they did so, and did drink of it, and were filled; and they gave unto the multitude, and they did drink, and they were filled."

It seems from this that in partaking of this ordinance they satisfied their appetites — that is, they ate and drank until they were filled.

This would be the proper manner to administer this ordinance now if circumstances permitted; but situated as the Church is, it is not convenient to administer the Sacrament in this manner, and therefore our present mode is the one that is sanctioned by usage and by the permission of the Lord through His inspired servants."

George Q. Cannon, “Editorial Thoughts,” Juvenile Instructor, January 15, 1897, 52–53.

Now, some religions such as Roman Catholicism teach that the wine is the literal blood of Yeshua that we are consuming. This is a false doctrine of vampirism from the occult. The wine is symbolic, not literal blood, as drinking blood is against kosher law.

The Word of Wisdom

The Word of Wisdom was a revelation received by the Prophet Joseph Smith on the lunar shabbat day of February 27, 1833, which was the eighth day of the twelfth month according to the reckoning of YHWH Elohim's Lunisolar calendar. It is interesting how this revelation was received by the Prophet Joseph Smith on the lunar shabbat, and on the eighth day of the month, which is always a weekly shabbat on the lunisolar calendar. One thing that the number eight symbolically represents is the shabbat, and this revelation has a lot of instruction on using wine for meeting together and holding sacrament on the shabbat. This revelation contains some dietary instructions. We have seen some verses from it already, but let's go through it now more directly.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:1-3 (BLDS); "A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the assembly, and also the kodeshim [saints] in Tsiyyon [Zion]— To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of Elohim in the temporal salvation of all kodeshim in the last days. Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all kodeshim, who are or can be called kodeshim."

We see in the above passage of scripture that this wisdom is not a commandment or a requirement, but it is some wise advice to us from our Heavenly Father. We see that it is wisely adapted to the capacity of even the weakest of believers. In connection with some of what we discussed above, this also shows that the weakest of believers can drink wine and beer.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:4 (BLDS); "Behold, verily, thus saith YHWH unto you: 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."

We read in the above passage of scripture the very wise reason why YHWH Elohim gave us these instructions, as it is to keep us safe from the wicked designs of conspiring men and secret combinations in the last days.

The beginning of that same verse is a reference to Shaul's instructions to the Corinthians.

There was an issue in the Corinthian Assembly where people would drink all the wine before others could have the sacrament, and this was wrong of them.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:7 (BLDS); "And, again, strong [distilled] drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies."

We learn above that one good use for strong drinks, or distilled alcohol, is for washing our body.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:8 (BLDS); "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."

We learn in the above passage that we should not ingest tobacco, but that it is meant to be used as an herbal remedy for bruises and also to heal sick cattle.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:9 (BLDS); "And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly."

Here in the above passage of scripture, we are instructed not to consume or touch hot liquids or drinks. This is often misunderstood by the Brighamite LDS Church to be a prohibition against tea and coffee, but it is as simple as drinks that are hot. This understanding was even taught by early Brighamite LDS leaders.

"We are told, and very plainly too, that hot drinks – tea, coffee, chocolate, cocoa and all drinks of this kind are not good for man. ...We must not permit [our children] to drink liquor or hot drinks, or hot soup."
JD. V.12:221&223. LDS Apostle George Q. Cannon, 7 Apr 1868

Continuing,

Doctrine and Covenants 89:10-11 (BLDS); "And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs Elohim hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man— Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving."

We learn above that YHWH Elohim has ordained herbs for our use and benefit, and that we should take herbs and fruits when they are in season, which means when they are ripe and ready to be eaten or used. This is because many green crops that have not ripened yet still initially contain poisonous chemicals in them that are removed upon ripening. We should use these materials wisely and with thanks to YHWH Elohim who has blessed us with them.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:12-13 (BLDS); "Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, YHWH, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine."

We learn here in the above passage, again, that YHWH Elohim has ordained meat for our health and nutrition and that it should be used sparingly all the time, and in other words, in moderation when we eat it. We all have a different amount of meat that we need to give us our essential nutrients, but as mentioned before, we all need at least some meat because it contains extremely important nutrients like B12 that we cannot naturally get otherwise without eating meat.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:14-17 (BLDS); "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; And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger. 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— 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."

We learn that grains have been ordained for our use and the use of animals, and about the different varieties that are best for different animals. We also learn that one of the things that YHWH Elohim has ordained grain for, is for the production of mild drinks, or in other words; beer, ale, mead, et cetera.

Lastly, we will read the promises that YHWH Elohim has in store for those who keep this Word of Wisdom alongside Torah.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:18-21 (BLDS); "And all kodeshim [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; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, YHWH, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Ya'sharel [Israel], and not slay them. Amen."

As Doctrine and Covenants 89:12-13 (BLDS) hints at, we should use moderation in our dietary habits and avoid gluttony.

Proverbs 23:20-21; "Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags."

Proverbs 25:16: "If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it."

Healing

We have addressed a lot of things here about what is healthy to eat and what is unhealthy to eat. But what about health more generally? What has YHWH Elohim taught us about the best way to avoid getting sick, and to be healed when we do get sick?

YHWH Elohim teaches us in his word,

Exodus 15:26; "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of YHWH thy Elohim, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am YHWH that healeth thee."

This shows us that we can be healed by YHWH by keeping his holy Torah faithfully.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:43-44, 48 (BLDS); "And whosoever among you are sick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be nourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild [fermented] food, and that not by the hand of an enemy. And the elders [High Priests] of the Assembly, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and lay their hands upon them in my name; and if they die they shall die unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me. ...And again, it shall come to pass that he that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed."

Here YHWH Elohim gives us the pattern for healing people from sickness. We should first seek to be healed by faith healing given by High Priests that have truly been ordained to their priesthood by the voice of Yah. If one does not have the faith to be healed, they should be treated with tenderness and nourished with herbs and fermented (mild) food, and not by wicked individuals. If there are High Priests, two or more of them shall be called to pray for and lay their hands upon the sick person on behalf of YHWH.

YHWH Elohim's Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. taught the following teachings;

"I preached to a large congregation at the stand, on the science and practice of medicine, desiring to persuade the Saints [Kodeshim, Set-Apart Believers] to trust in Elohim when sick, and not in an arm of flesh, and live by faith and not by medicine, or poison; and when they were sick, and had called for the Elders [High Priests] to pray for them, and they were not healed, to use herbs and mild [fermented] food."

The Prophet Joseph Smith Jr., 1841 Sep 05; Documentary History of the Church, Volume 4, page 414

This also teaches us that when sick, we should trust in Yah and be prayed for by the High Priests, and if we are still not healed, to use herbs and fermented (mild) food rather than by relying on the poison of doctors.

"Respecting the females laying on hands, there could be no devil in it if Elohim gave his sanction by healing. There could be no more sin in any female laying hands on the sick than in wetting the face with water. It is no sin for anybody to do it that has faith, or if the sick has faith to be healed by the administration."

The Prophet Joseph Smith, Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book, p. 36, The Joseph Smith Papers.

We see an example of the spiritual gift of healing in this teaching here, and how it is the privilege of all the Kodeshim (Saints) of the Assembly to heal by faith, even the women.

We see some older examples of these healings in Yah's word also.

Epistle of Ya'aqov (James) 5:14-16; "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the Elders [High Priests] of the Assembly; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of YHWH: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and YHWH shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Alma 15:5-11 (BLDS); "And it came to pass that they went immediately, obeying the message which he had sent unto them; and they went in unto the house unto Zeezrom; and they found him upon his bed, sick, being very low with a burning fever; and his mind also was exceedingly sore because of his iniquities; and when he saw them he stretched forth his hand, and besought them that they would heal him. And it came to pass that Alma said unto him, taking him by the hand: Believest thou in the power of Messiah unto salvation? And he answered and said: Yea, I believe all the words that thou hast taught. And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Messiah thou canst be healed. And he said: Yea, I believe according to thy words. And then Alma cried unto YHWH, saying: O YHWH our Elohim, have mercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in Messiah. And when Alma had said these words, Zeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk; and this was done to the great astonishment of all the people; and the knowledge of this went forth throughout all the land of Sidom."

But what about medical doctors and pharmaceutical drugs?

Iyyov (Job) 13:4; "But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value."

Second Book of Chronicles 16:12-13; "And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to YHWH, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign."

Revelation 18:23; "For Babylon's merchants were the great men of the earth; for by Babylon's Pharmakeia [pharmaceuticals, sorcery] were all nations deceived."

We read in the Besorahim (Gospels) that the woman with an issue of blood had been suffering and spent all her living on doctors for twelve years, with nothing to show for it, and it would be her faith in the Savior that would actually be what heals her. The fact that she was healed by reaching out to touch his Tzitzits (tassels), which represent the keeping of Torah, point back to YHWH Elohim's promise to heal and preserve us when we strive to keep Torah.

Mark 5:26-29; "And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Yeshua, came in the press behind, and touched his tassels. For she said, If I may touch but his clothing, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague."

Luke 8:43-44,47; "And a woman having an issue of blood for twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the tassels on his clothing: and immediately her issue of blood stopped. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately."

One big problem with the medical industry right now is vaccines, many of which are made from ingredients from babies murdered in abortion, or non-kosher animals, among many other hazardous chemicals and heavy metals such as mercury, which do not belong in our bodies. This serves as another example of the connection between sorcery and the medical industry, as the usage of aborted babies for these so-called remedies is witchcraft, and it is a practice that goes back in some form or other all the way to the sorcerers in the courts of ancient Egypt.

"As to the doctors who are in our midst, who are our enemies, I say let them alone, for I have no doubt but that three to one who have died in this place had a doctor. Do cease to employ doctors ...who will empty your purses. As to the doctors, let them go. I can prove that a doctor in this place doctored a woman that was in the family way, and did not know it until she was delivered, and both woman and child died, and if you will employ them, you will all die."

The Prophet Joseph Smith, DHC 7:258-259

"All ye doctors who are fools, not well read, and do not understand the human constitution, stop your practice."

The Prophet Joseph Smith, DHC 6:59

"The Doctors are a parcel of ignorant quacks, going about the country pretending to cure you of all diseases, and you swallow what they give you like young robins, without knowing what it is. I wonder you don't die, taking their nostrums! They are wolves in sheep's clothing, seeking whom they may devour. Have we not many gifts vouchsafed to us, among which is healing the sick by the laying on of hands, in which you ought to have faith? Why, there is more virtue in the laying on of my handkerchief than in all the doctors' so-called medicines. But, if any of you are so wedded to the gods of your fathers, and can't do without a doctor, I advise you to have one of our faith."

The Prophet Joseph Smith, recorded by Charlotte Haven; The Overland Monthly, vol. 16, Second Series, February 1891, p. 891

We see another reference to Ezekiel 22:26-27 in the above passage, in that a wolf is defined as one who teaches against kosher and against Torah. "Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain."

"I will reprove the ... doctors anyhow. Yeshua did, and every prophet has; and if I am a prophet, I shall do it: at any rate, I shall do it, for I profess to be a prophet."

The Prophet Joseph Smith, DHC 6:59

We learn from this that all the holy prophets of YHWH have reproved and called the doctors to repentance.

One big issue with the medical industry is that it is largely a religion based on the occult. This is why they swear their Hippocratic oath to false gods, and why their symbol is the staff of Hermaimes, also known as Hermes Trismegistus, who was the founder of post-deluge Freemasonry.

"The doctors in this region don't know much. Doctors won't tell you how to go to be well. They want to kill or cure you to get your money. Calomel doctors will give you calomel to cure a sliver in the big toe and does not stop to know whether the stomach is empty or not. Calomel on an empty stomach will kill the patient and the lobelia doctors will do the same. Point me out a patient and I will tell you whether calomel or lobelia will kill him or not. If you feel any inconvenience, take some mild physic two or three times and then some bitters. If you can't get anything else, take a little salt and cayenne pepper. If you can't get salt take ipecacuanha or gnaw down a butternut tree. Cut some boreset or horehound. I will give you advice that will do you good."

Joseph Smith; The Journals of Joseph Smith, 1843 Apr 13; Church Historian's Office

"I visited Sister Morey, who was severely afflicted. We prescribed lobelia for her, among other things, which is excellent in its place. I have learned the value of it by my own experience. It is one of the works of Elohim, but, like the power of Elohim, or any other good, it becomes an evil when improperly used."

The Prophet Joseph Smith, Dec. 26th, 1842

This is a good teaching that shows us that doctors largely seek for profits and will not help our health, but even give us poison. We are given some advice on actual remedies. A few rounds of natural purging agents and some bitters are recommended for some maladies. In lieu of this, salt and cayenne pepper are suggested. If that is not available, then ipecacuanha, butternut tree, boneset, or horehound are all recommended as remedies by the prophet. Lobelia is also recommended, but must be used properly.

"It is stated that Joseph Smith said that Thomson was as much inspired to bring forth his principle of practice according to the dignity and importance of it as he was to introduce the gospel. Then we should look on those principles as an appendix to the gospel as a temporal salvation. It was introduced nearly contemporary with the gospel and in its main features runs in sympathy with the gospel, even the ‘Word of Wisdom’ and Thomsonian runs together and strengthens each other instead of coming in collision with each other."

Autobiography of Priddy Meeks

If this quotation is accurate, then the Thomsonian system of medicine may be one good method of healing in its proper use, also.

The Travelling High Councilor of the Assembly, William Smith wrote;

“We will not say that he that gives Calomel murders, nor he that takes it commits suicide, but we will say, if God and the Governor are willing, that he that uses the least medicine lives longest in nine cases out of ten.”

William Smith, The Wasp, 4 August 1842

This is another teaching example that pharmaceutical medicine is more often than not simply poison that ought to be avoided. Instead, we should substitute this with faith, fermented (mild) food, and herbal medicine as we have learned so far. We learn that YHWH Elohim in his infinite wisdom and mercy created many herbs for us to serve as remedies for our ailments. Pharmaceutical drugs block our biochemistry in order to suppress symptoms and make us believe that we are healed, whereas fruits and vegetables and herbs restore our proper biochemistry and actually address the root causes of our disease.

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 38:4; "YHWH hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them."

Ezekiel 47:12; "And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for food, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."

Alma 46:40 (BLDS); "And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land—but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which Elohim had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate."

Doctrine and Covenants 89:10-11 (BLDS); "And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man— Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving."

All of this can also be contrasted with the behavior of the Brighamite LDS Church, who has spent years forbidding the use of the Cannabis herb for healing, and David Bednar, one of their top fifteen leaders, teaches that we should have the faith NOT to be healed, which essentially puts you in the same category as the nonbelievers, who you can also say have the faith not to be healed. Their former President of the Church even declared the poisonous COVID-19 vaccine to be a so-called "godsend." This vaccine was later proven to be very harmful, and this is evidence proving his claim that it came from God to be false. These sorts of doctrines are in direct and perverted opposition to what YHWH Elohim has decreed.

Doctrine and Covenants 89:7 (BLDS); "And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises ... to be used with judgment and skill."

YHWH Elohim teaches us that we should not ingest tobacco, but that it is meant to be used as an herbal remedy in poultices for bruises.

Another important aspect of our health is what YHWH Elohim has told us regarding our sleep. We should not sleep longer than necessary and should go to bed early and wake up early.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:124 (BLDS); "Cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated."

Another method of healing that YHWH Elohim has ordained for our use is Rebaptism for healing.

Second Book of Kings 5:8-14; "And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Yarden seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and immersed himself seven times in the Yardan, according to the saying of the man of Elohim: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

"My dear Emma was worse. Many fears were entertained that she would not recover. She was baptized twice in the river, which evidently did her much good. She grew worse again at night, and continued very sick indeed. I was unwell, and much troubled on account of Emma’s sickness. The next day, Emma is better; and although it is the day on which she generally grows worse, yet she appears considerably easier. May YHWH speedily raise her to the bosom of her family, that the heart of His servant may be comforted again. Amen. My health is comfortable."

The Prophet Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Volume 5, 4-6 October 1842, pages 167-168

"There was a committee appointed by Elohim of Ya'sharel to superintend those houses in the fall of 1840. In the meanwhile, my wife, Martha, was sick, even abortion took place and she was very low. But she was healed by going to the baptismal font and was immersed for her health.”

Autobiography of Joseph Grafton Hovey Sr.

Even Brighamite LDS leaders who came out of Joseph Smith's church continued to teach this practice.

"For there we have a font that has been erected, dedicated expressly for baptizing people for the remission of sins, and for their health."

Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Volume 16, page 186

"Oftentimes Latter-day Saints had been rebaptized ... sometimes for improvement of health. These rebaptisms were recorded on Church membership records."

LDS Conference Report, Oct. 1897, page 68

“Aunt Jane Slade died November 21st, 1891. She is gone. We tried to save her from death. YHWH told me he would forgive her and that I might bless her and if she would believe she should remain for a season and enjoy her new home and the society of her friends and have time to reflect and prepare to meet her Elohim, We were really in hopes we could get her well enough that she could come and stop with us awhile, that we might get sufficient faith in her that she might get rebaptized, renew her covenants and baptized for her health. ”

Joseph Lee Robinson Autobiography, p. 420-421

"I did work for William and was baptized for my health and a man for Brother Ashman, then I was administered too. ...We went to the temple and Brother Ashman set as a witness. I was baptized for my health and administered to Horace Thorton being mouth and Brother Van Stewart baptizing me.”

Allen Russel Autobiography

“The evening of the 16th, after witnessing the death of Brother William Gheen, who died at 7 o’clock in the evening, father took Sarah and Sister Winchester to the river and baptized them for their health.”

Diary of Helen Whitney

"At this place, I was taken seriously and dangerously ill with a burning fever, which so affected my brain that I was delirious many days, lying at the point of death. While in this condition, Elder Phineas Richards, the father of Apostle F. D. Richards, assisted by other kind brethren, took me from my bed, wrapped in a sheet placed me in a carriage, drove to a stream of water, and baptized me in the name of the Lord, for my recovery. The fever immediately abated, and through the kind unwearied nursing and attention by my faithful, loving wives, and my dear sister, E.R.S. Smith, aided and sanctified through the power and blessing of God, I was delivered from my suffering and restored to health. The sickness was the result of extreme hardships and exposures consequent on the journey."

Life of Lorenzo Snow, 1846, Romney, page 80-81

"Mrs. Richards was taken by her brother from a sick bed to a lake from the surface of which ice more than a foot thick had been removed, and there rebaptized, whereupon she immediately recovered. Similar cases might be given by the score."

Bancroft's History of Utah, page 337

For many years it had been common for members to rededicate themselves to building up the Kingdom through rebaptism. This practice was not considered essential to salvation but was a symbol of rededication. On other occasions the Saints were rebaptized as a symbolic gesture related to blessings for their health … As with nearly every public and private practice of Nauvoo during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, rebaptism was institutionalized by Brigham Young as he built the Kingdom of God throughout the Great Basin of the American West. … The practice of rebaptism for rededication, renewal, reformation, health, and preparation for temple ordinances continued throughout the nineteenth century. Although some rebaptism ordinances, such as for health and rededication, continued to be performed as late as 1913 in the temples, the LDS Presidency decided during the administration of Joseph F. Smith that since rebaptism ordinances had always been supplementary to such principles and ordinances as individual repentance, partaking of the Sacrament, and priesthood blessing of the sick, it would be wise to discontinue a practice that might tend to diminish the importance of the primary principles and ordinances upon which rebaptism was predicated.

The Practice of Rebaptism at Nauvoo, D. Michael Quinn, BYU Studies, 1978, 18:2

Resources

Here are some helpful graphics I have prepared to summarize what we have learned from YHWH Elohim's word here.

Copyright © 2025 Brennan L.L - Credit to Steven Retz and Benjamin Sickles for help and insights on the project. You may freely share and quote excerpts from this teaching as desired as long as it is in a spirit of respect for YHWH Elohim and his holy Torah.

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Health and Kosher

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