Today is Sunday, my favorite day of the week. It is an exhausting day, but it is a day of reflection, both because of what we discuss in our various church meetings, as well as because of things that are on my mind and how the Lord helps me with those things.

Today’s topic in our young women class was particularly good, and I thought I would share a little bit about what we discussed and what I’ve learned about it, living it in my own life.

In our Young Women class we discussed what we in our Church call the Word of Wisdom. Many outside my religion know it as the “you can’t drink coffee, alcohol, use tobacco or other addictive substances, etc. rule.” That’s the don’ts.

But what some people don’t know, is there are a lot of do’s and blessings promised. If you’d like to read through the whole text, you can see it here.

So what can we eat? Think wholesome, good food. Vegetables, fruits, herbs, meat of all kinds, and grains. How are they prepared? How ever we want, as long as they aren’t fermented to the point of alcohol. I love this particular section in our Doctrine and Covenants; and over the years I have seen the results of living in this manner.

There are so many addictive substance, even good food can become addictive if we aren’t mindful about how we eat. But as I’ve gotten older and seen for myself as well as heard stories from others, I am so grateful I have a full memory of all the best days of my life.

Today we heard a couple of stories of people who genuinely can’t remember some of the most important days of their lives, as well as days that they didn’t realize would be important until years later when distance or death had separated them. Why? because they were drinking or otherwise mentally compromised because of substances they chose to ingest.

In this country, and I’m sure around the world, we see the detriment of eating too much, even of good food. Obesity, early onset diabetes, heart attacks at younger ages, and on and on. The common denominator, in most cases, is not caring for their bodies in an appropriate manner, and that starts with what they eat.

I find it interesting as well that there has been some research done among different groups as to why members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are among the most healthy people in America. You might find a google search on the topic enlightening.

This doesn’t mean we all do awesome, in fact, most of us fail from time to time, and even though we try to avoid addictive substances, you will find members drinking caffeinated sodas, eating too much sugar, and maybe, if you live in my house, way too much chocolate milk.

None of us are perfect, but it’s more about heading in the right direction and working on things as we go more than absolute perfection all the time.

I mentioned in the beginning that there were promised blessings as well. Here are some of those blessings: Health, wisdom, knowledge, physical strength, and divine protection. I have been blessed in many of those ways in my times of need. That’s not to say members of my Church don’t get sick, don’t get diseases, etc. That is part of living in a fallen world. But even in times of trial, there are blessings that come from obeying these principles and living a healthy life.