Question
Gramps,
I have come to really enjoy your wisdom. I have a coworker that is a good person and very well versed in his Bible. One day we were chatting and the subject of wine and the word of wisdom came up. He pointed out that one of Christ’s 1st miracles was to turn water into wine and then he made the statement “if it’s good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for me”. Do you have any advice as to how one might respond to that?
Brian
Answer
Dear Brian,
First of all, thank you for the nice compliment.
Your coworker is most of the way toward living the Word of Wisdom. Jesus did not drink coffee or tea. Jesus did not smoke, sniff, or chew tobacco. So if he gives up alcohol he’s all set.
It’s true that Jesus lived a different dietary law than we do. It’s also true that Jesus lived a different dietary law than His apostles. Following Jesus’ resurrection, the apostles met together to discuss the lack of sausage, ham and proper barbecue. They concluded that moving forward, the only dietary restrictions they should have is to “abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled.” (Acts 15:29). Similarly, a modern prophet has given us dietary restrictions – restrictions which were not in place in previous dispensations. The law was given to us specifically “in consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days” (D&C 89:4, emphasis mine). This law has been given to us for our day. The question is not whether Jesus drank wine 2000 years ago, but whether He would socially imbibe today. In a future day, we will drink wine with Jesus, when he ceases his wine fast. He has spoken to His servants the prophets on this matter, it is best to honor the living Christ.
Or, your coworker can recognize that Jesus also abstained from pork. If Jesus can go without bacon, so can he.
Gramps
