Lesson on the Word of Wisdom

Most of us have grown up in the Church and are well aware of what the word of Wisdom entials. Put simply it is a law of health revealed by the Lord for the spiritual and physical benefit of his children. Heavenly Father loves us more then we can comprehend, and this law is one of the greatest ways that he shows his love by protecting our minds, bodies, and spirits. When the revelation was given to Joseph Smith in 1833, modern medicine had yet to reveal that most of the substances in the word of widsom were even bad for our bodies. For example, it took over a hundred years after the revelaion for the FDA to finally realize that tobacco smoke was terrible for your lungs and could cause cancer and other diseases. How blessed were the Saints back in the day to have such an inspired set of laws to protect them from harm that they otherwise would have been completely unaware of!
We are taught that our bodies are a temple and we therefore need to take care of them. Specifically the word of wisdom states that we are to stay away from "tea, coffee, liquor, tobacco, or anything else that is habit-forming, or harmful." And along with that I believe it is also our responsibility to try to eat healthy and exercise as our way of taking care of our bodies as well. Even food can become an addiction and can end up being abused.
So if "to every law is predicated a blessing"- what blessings do we recieve when we do follow the word of wisdown? D&C 89 spells it out for us:
"And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall recieve health in their navel and marrow to their bones; "
"And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;"
"And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint."
"And I the Lord give them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not destroy them."

What a GLORIOUS promise! I testify that these promises are real and that we truly are protected as we stay away from harmful substances. I have loved ones that I have watched struggle for years with addictions and have seen the effects of which break hearts, break lives, and break up families. May we all continue to be wise and prudent with our bodies and truly treat them as a temple of God.