And whoso forbiddeth to abstain from meats, that man should not eat the
same, is not ordained of God (D&C 49:18)
The phrasing of this verse (note the use
of the double negative) is rather peculiar--it is obvious, from the context,
what it means--a condemnation of those who demand an abstinence from meat from adherents
(in the context of the revelation, the Shakers), but the wording seems clumsy.
Loren Blake Spendlove has an interesting
article, Whoso
Forbiddeth to Abstain from Meats that examines this verse and its phrasing.
In it, she shows, for instance, that the phrase forbid to abstain was used by its authors as an
idiomatic expression with the intended meaning of command
to abstain.
