Word of Wisdom Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Teaching Children the Gospel

How the Word of Wisdom Came to Be – Story

Preparation

Print one copy of the pictures from Doctrine and Covenant Stories chp 31. Cut the printed sheets in half on the dotted lines.

Story

(Going in order, read the numbered paragraphs below as you show the corresponding numbered Doctrine and Covenant Stories picture to the family.)

1. How did we get the Word of Wisdom? In Kirtland, Ohio the Lord instructed Joseph Smith to form a school to teach the leaders of the Church about the gospel and prepare them to serve the members of the Church. This school was called the School of the Prophets.

2. The school was held in the evenings in an upstairs room of Newel K. Whitney’s store.

3. Many of the men smoked pipes or cigars which filled the room with smoke. Some of the men chewed tobacco and spit it all over the floor making it very dirty. People at this time did not know that tobacco was bad for their bodies. Joseph Smith did not like teaching the school “in a cloud of tobacco smoke,” because the meetings there were sacred.

4. Emma Smith, Joseph’s wife, cleaned the room after each meeting. She and Joseph became concerned about the brethren’s use of tobacco, and Emma did not like cleaning up the mess the men made with their pipes and chewing tobacco.

5. On 27 February 1833 Joseph Smith entered the room where the School of the Prophets was held. The room was filled with tobacco smoke. Joseph had just come from the clean outside air, and the smell of smoke was offensive to him. He left the room and asked the Lord what he should do about the situation. The Lord answered Joseph’s prayer with the revelation we now call the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89). In the Word of Wisdom the Lord tells us what things are good for the body and what things are bad for the body.

Object Lesson

Preparation:

Print one copy of the car and family picture.

Object Lesson
(Show the car picture)

What is this a picture of? (A car)
Where do cars come from? (From the manufacturing plants that make them.)
Who knows more about cars than anyone else? (The people who make them or repair them.)

Show the car manual) The people who make the cars provide an instruction book. The instruction book tells a car owner how to take care of their car so that it will last a long time and give good service. The car manual tells what kind of fuel to put into the car.

If someone put water in their cars gas tank, what would happen? (The car would not run, and it would probably be damaged.) A car needs the right fuel to run properly. It also needs other proper fluids and care.

(Show the picture of the family.)

Who created the earth and our bodies? (Jesus, under Heavenly Father’s direction)
Who would know more about our bodies than anyone else? (Our creator)

The Lord wants us to keep our bodies in the best possible condition so that we can be healthy, happy, and accomplish all that we need to do on the earth. Just as makers of cars provide instructions on how the cars should be cared for, so has the Lord provided us with instructions on how to care for our bodies.

What are these instructions called? (The Word of Wisdom)

The Word of Wisdom is found in the scriptures, in D&C 89. The Word of Wisdom tells us what things are good for our bodies and what things are not good. Just like a car can be harmed with the wrong fuel, so can our bodies be harmed by putting things in them that are not good for them.

Our Heavenly Father gave us the wonderful gift of a body. We need to show our gratitude by following His instructions and taking good care of our bodies.