Question
Gramps,
I was wondering if the use of incense sticks is considered smoking and therefore against the Word of Wisdom?
Julia
Answer
Julia,
This is an interesting question.
Elder Boyd K. Packer said, “Members write in asking if this thing or that is against the Word of Wisdom. It’s well known that tea, coffee, liquor, and tobacco are against it. It has not been spelled out in more detail. Rather, we teach the principle together with the promised blessings. There are many habit-forming, addictive things that one can drink or chew or inhale or inject which injure both body and spirit which are not mentioned in the revelation.” The Word of Wisdom: The Principles and the Promises
So for baptism, or attending the temple when you are asked if you are living the Word of Wisdom it means, “Do you avoid tea, coffee, liquor and tobacco?”
However, Elder Packer also stated, “Everything harmful is not specifically listed; arsenic, for instance—certainly bad, but not habit-forming! He who must be commanded in all things, the Lord said, “is a slothful and not a wise servant” (D&C 58:26).”
So the question then should be is incense harmful? At first I thought it was just like burning a candle, but I looked into it, and new research suggests that it may be unhealthy.
Incense Smoke As Bad as Cigarette Smoke? New Study Warns of Potential Health Risks
So while incense is not specifically prohibited, we should avoid things we know to be harmful so we can be wise servants.
Gramps
