Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord
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 (D&C 89:4)
Commenting
on this warning in the Word of Wisdom (received February 1833), John A.
Widtsoe, in 1937, noted that:
A warning against the “evils and
designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men.” This may be
fairly interpreted to be a warning against adulterated or mislabeled foods and
beverages, and against the misleading advertising of injurious substances, by
men who place personal gain above human welfare. At no time in the world’s
history has such a warning been more needed than at this time. The nations have
been forced to pass “pure food” laws to check in a measure the evil results of
dishonest or unscrupulous advocacy of things usually injurious to health. (John
A. Widtsoe, Program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Salt
Lake City: The Deseret News Press, 1937], 39)
Jeff
Lindsay, a contemporary LDS apologist, wrote that:
I see that as a prophetic statement of
the terribly evil role that the U.S. tobacco industry continues to play.
Through its use of clout and money, they continue to receive federal support
for tobacco farmers and continue to legally market a product that brings death
to over 400,000 Americans each year - at a time when we ban or regulate
numerous other products if injury to only a few people is threatened.
Further
Reading: