2. Health

Because we are created in the image of God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16–17).

The Word of Wisdom, found in Doctrine and Covenants 89, is the Lord's code of health and was revealed to Joseph Smith in 1833. It teaches that we should eat nutritious foods and avoid harmful substances. Apostles and prophets have since taught that we should shun all substances or practices that abuse our bodies or minds and that could lead to addiction.7

Sainimere Balenacagi of Fiji learned this lesson as a teenager when she was attending a wedding with some friends who were not members of the Church. Many people there, including Sainimere's friends, were drinking and smoking and invited her to drink. "I was taught my whole life to live the gospel standards, so I rejected the offer without hesitation," Sainimere says.

She knows that the blessings of adhering to the Word of Wisdom go beyond physical health: "I have found extra protection in the sense that I am able to make better choices because of the closeness of the Holy Spirit. I see clearly that standards do not restrict our freedom; they protect us from consequences that lead to restricted freedom."

For more information, see the Physical Health section of providentliving.org .

"Our physical bodies indeed are temples of God. Consequently, you and I must carefully consider what we take into our temple, what we put on our temple, what we do to our temple, and what we do with our temple."

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "Ye Are the Temple of God," Ensign, Sept. 2001, 18.