--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Jensen, J. M. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 18 number: 12 published: 1915-10 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Jensen, J. M., "The Word of Wisdom and Science," *Improvement Era* 18, no. 12 (October 1915): 1099.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera18012unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera18012unse start_page: 1099 end_page: 1099 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1915-10) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera18012unse publication_year: 1915 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1915, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Word of Wisdom and Science BY J. M. JENSEN,, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY In 1833, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith "A Word of Wisjdom" for "the temporal salvation of all Saints in the last days.' The following passages are quoted therefrom : "That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither mete in the site of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up .your sacraments before him." "And again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the wash- ing of your bodies." , It will be noted that no exception is made in favor of drink- ing strong drink as a heart stimulant or otherwise in case of illness. Skeptics sometimes assert that Revelation has never given a scientific truth to the world, but this is an illustration of Revelation antedating science by many years. Here is the latest scientific thought on the matter, quoted from Volume I, Practical Medical Series, 1915, edited by Frank Billings, M. S., M. D., Head of Medical Department and Dean of Faculty of Rush Med- ical College, and J. H. Salisbury, A. M., M. D., Professor of Medicine of Illinois Post Graduate Medical School : "Alcohol is no longer considered a heart tonic, and has well nigh lost its right to a place in a sane pharmacopeia. Just as pneumonia in the alcoholic is in the great majority of instances a fatal process, so the use of alcohol in the treatment of penumonia constitutes a paradox of effort that is difficult to understand on any other ground than one of ignorance. Alcohol is a heart muscle poison and a blood vessel vasomotor paralyzant [blood vessel paralyzer]. Both of these forces we wish to preserve and not destroy. Therefore, after many hundreds of years, filled with object demonstrations so plain that they stare us in the face, we are reluctantly beginning to cease teaching OUR patients well nigh incurable drug habits under the guise of beneficial treatment." It is more than 82 years since God's revelation was given ; science has therefore been somewhat of a laggard in this matter. PROVO, UTAH