1883 School of the Prophet Minutes offer a lot to consider ... everything from calling and election to dividing the endowment to the Word of Wisdom to higher ordinance work ...
Which topic is especially interesting (splitting the endowment, WofW, attitudes about worthiness? Kirtland vs. Nauvoo endowment)? I'll be careful not to gloss over it next episode, which I'm planning on recording tomorrow.
I'm especially interested in the Kirtland vs. Nauvoo endowment. Also a question I've had for years is when the Young Joseph had the rotten marrow in his leg bone removed he refused to drink alcohol. Yet drinking alcohol to dull the pain when you are being cut into would have been acceptable then - even now it makes sense to dull the pain for something so awful. Yet the LDS church uses this to show how bad alcohol is. Frankly this has never made sense to me as to why he didn't - I wonder if he ever explained it to anyone?
Okay - I'm about to start recording the next episode so I'll try to bring these details out.
Joseph's family was against alcohol at the time of the surgery. It wasn't because of the WofW. Joseph also continued to drink coffee and alcohol until sometime in Nauvoo, if not until his death. He argued with Emma about allowing Orrin Porter Rockwell to open a bar at the Nauvoo Mansion so it doesn't seem that he even remotely esteemed the WofW to be as strict as the mainstream church treats it today.
oof - I'm not recalling the two pipes bit - could you send me a reference? Looks like I missed that in my Forgotten Teachings volume.
I think at Joseph's early age, he was more following his parents than knowing the importance or place of the WofW. The narrative, however, follows mainstream teachings very well because of his strictness and trust in his father to keep him still (they often ignore the fact that he sent his mother away because she wouldn't be able to handle his yelling - which proved to be the case because she didn't go far enough and ran back).
As Joseph grew older, I think he began to understand the WofW from a broader perspective and to see why it was given as wisdom rather than commandment - a topic that is very interesting by itself. The Gospel of Kailedy essentially says that Jesus taught this principle about all commandments, stating that we should call nothing right or wrong, only right or wrong according to the law, implying that the laws themselves are often given as wisdom that broadly applies to everybody but may have exceptions for some. I cover that topic in Changing Ordinances, Losing Priesthood? as you may recall but that is how I see Joseph's progression with the WofW. For him, maybe moderation was sufficient.
Fascinating topic... So much to think about here. Glad you are getting into this.
Which topic is especially interesting (splitting the endowment, WofW, attitudes about worthiness? Kirtland vs. Nauvoo endowment)? I'll be careful not to gloss over it next episode, which I'm planning on recording tomorrow.
I'm especially interested in the Kirtland vs. Nauvoo endowment. Also a question I've had for years is when the Young Joseph had the rotten marrow in his leg bone removed he refused to drink alcohol. Yet drinking alcohol to dull the pain when you are being cut into would have been acceptable then - even now it makes sense to dull the pain for something so awful. Yet the LDS church uses this to show how bad alcohol is. Frankly this has never made sense to me as to why he didn't - I wonder if he ever explained it to anyone?
Okay - I'm about to start recording the next episode so I'll try to bring these details out.
Joseph's family was against alcohol at the time of the surgery. It wasn't because of the WofW. Joseph also continued to drink coffee and alcohol until sometime in Nauvoo, if not until his death. He argued with Emma about allowing Orrin Porter Rockwell to open a bar at the Nauvoo Mansion so it doesn't seem that he even remotely esteemed the WofW to be as strict as the mainstream church treats it today.
That's exactly why it does not make sense to me... Because Joseph asked for wine and two pipes right before his death. :)
oof - I'm not recalling the two pipes bit - could you send me a reference? Looks like I missed that in my Forgotten Teachings volume.
I think at Joseph's early age, he was more following his parents than knowing the importance or place of the WofW. The narrative, however, follows mainstream teachings very well because of his strictness and trust in his father to keep him still (they often ignore the fact that he sent his mother away because she wouldn't be able to handle his yelling - which proved to be the case because she didn't go far enough and ran back).
As Joseph grew older, I think he began to understand the WofW from a broader perspective and to see why it was given as wisdom rather than commandment - a topic that is very interesting by itself. The Gospel of Kailedy essentially says that Jesus taught this principle about all commandments, stating that we should call nothing right or wrong, only right or wrong according to the law, implying that the laws themselves are often given as wisdom that broadly applies to everybody but may have exceptions for some. I cover that topic in Changing Ordinances, Losing Priesthood? as you may recall but that is how I see Joseph's progression with the WofW. For him, maybe moderation was sufficient.