{From: Ellen C.}
Father in Heaven is sending strong spirits like this little girl to earth at this critical time in the history of the world to build His kingdom and prepare for the Second Coming of the Savior. He needs the leaders of this generation to be healthy, energetic, and powerful. Those leaders are you!
Are you healthy?
{from this talk}
In recent years, ... Cardiovascular disease, cancer, accidents, and conditions of the lung and liver have taken the place of communicable diseases such as pneumonia, polio, and smallpox. Changes in longevity and infant mortality were significantly influenced by public health programs, such as providing clean, pure water for drinking, sanitary sewers, and immunizations for children. Today's leading killers do not respond to mass campaigns and to community projects.
Individual behavior, as never before, is directly related to good health. Abstaining from tobacco, alcohol, tea, coffee, and addicting drugs; emphasis on a well-balanced diet--particularly the use of fruits, vegetables, and wholesome grains and moderation in the eating of meats; fasting at monthly intervals; hard work and regular exercise; a positive, purposeful outlook on life; a happy family relationship; and peace of mind derived from a conscience free of guilt--all are powerful aspects of the gospel of Jesus Christ which strongly promote physical and emotional well-being.
In the Word of Wisdom, "given for a principle with promise," the Lord said:
All saints . . . 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, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen. [D&C 89:18–21]
Brothers and sisters, so has it been. The statistics that I've given show how literally these promises have been fulfilled in the lives of the Saints at home and abroad. Yes, indeed, the Word of Wisdom is a principle with a promise.
{from this talk}
d our body are combined in such a way that our body becomes an instrument of our mind and the foundation of our character.
...I will read some very significant paragraphs by Joseph Smith:
We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment....
All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him. The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power. [Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith (1976), 181]
Now, let me restate that: The punishment of the adversary was that he did not receive a body. All beings who have bodies, as the Prophet said it, will have power over those who do not. The devil has no power over us, only as we permit him.
…Now, the Word of Wisdom is, I think, only incidentally to keep us healthy, if we will observe it. But that matter of physical health is a losing battle. You know, no matter what you do to take care of your body, in due course, it begins to weaken! We are not going to live forever in this life. We can live with our infirmities.
It is not that you are going to be a healthy athlete all of your life, and it is not that you are going to avoid old age. It is that you will
have the key to revelation. When your body begins to deteriorate, the patterns of revelation will be augmented and magnified.
