Kosher laws outline which foods a Jewish person may or may not eat, and how it is prepared, served, and eaten. While there are many speculations as to the reasons for the laws, the primary one is that God instructed the Jewish people to eat this way, and when God instructs one to do something, a reason isn’t needed.

Mormons also have a health code, and while today, science has demonstrated that these laws are indeed healthy, when they were given, much of the instruction was contrary to common wisdom about healthy eating. Like the Jewish people, Mormon belief states that God gave these laws, and a reason is not needed, although the text of the commandment does promise health.

However, Mormon laws are not similar to kosher laws. The Mormon health code is commonly known as the Word of Wisdom and is contained in a book of modern prophetic revelations called The Doctrine and Covenants. The revelation says it is “Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.”

The law contains specific items to avoid, and others to consume. In addition, some general guidelines are given to help church members decide for themselves about foods that aren’t listed.

Forbidden items include: alcohol, tobacco, hot drinks, defined by church leaders as coffee or tea, which was the meaning of the term at the time of the revelation. Herbal teas, which are not really tea, are allowed. Many believe the coffee and tea are forbidden because of caffeine, but this is not true. However, many Mormons avoid all or most caffeine anyway, in part because it is addictive. Why those two specific hot drinks are forbidden has not been revealed. It is taken as a matter of faith.

Meat is permitted, but is to be eaten sparingly, which was unusual in the 1800s, and is, perhaps, equally unusual today, although we now know the health reasons for the instruction.

Other items are encouraged for consumption, including: fruits, vegetables, and grains. Mormons are rather well-known for their storage of wheat to use in emergencies, as well as in everyday life.

The principle includes a promise, as mentioned earlier. The promise is this:

“All saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive 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 unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them” (D&C 89:18-21).

As you can see, the revelation does explain the law is for the purpose of health, but it does not specify why only these foods are mentioned. In general, Mormons are counseled to take this as a starting point and then to continue making wise choices in the way they eat.

Just as the Jewish people received their law from prophets, Mormons today also receive prophetic revelation. Often, these revelations are given without a specific reason. In these cases, we are counseled to trust God and to do as we’re asked. This teaches self-discipline, sacrifice, and obedience. The prophet Samuel taught: “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Of course, for some, the Word of Wisdom requires both sacrifice and obedience, and the blessings will be given accordingly. Obedience, whether the reasons are understood or not, is a critical part of our mortal lives and our eternal progression.

Howard W. Hunter, a past prophet of the Mormons, taught:

Surely the Lord loves, more than anything else, an unwavering determination to obey His counsel. Surely the experiences of the great prophets of the Old Testament have been recorded to help us understand the importance of choosing the path of strict obedience. How pleased the Lord must have

been when Abraham, after receiving direction to sacrifice his son Isaac, did as he was instructed, without question and without wavering. The record states that God said unto Abraham: “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Genesis 22:2).

The next verse simply states: “And Abraham rose up early in the morning … and took … Isaac his son … and went unto the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). Years later, when Rebekah was asked if she would go with the servant of Abraham to become Isaac’s wife, and no doubt knowing that the servant’s mission had the blessing of the Lord, she simply said, “I will go” (Genesis 24:58).

A generation after that, when Jacob was instructed to return to the land of Canaan, which meant leaving all for which he had worked many years, he called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was and explained what the Lord had said. The reply of Rachel was simple and straightforward and indicative of her commitment: “Whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do” (Genesis 31:16).

We have, then, examples from the scriptures of how we should consider and evaluate the commandments of the Lord. If we choose to react like Joshua and Abraham and Rebekah and Rachel, our response will be simply to go and do the thing that the Lord has command.

Brigham Young University is a university operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes referred to as Mormons. The BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies was built to house and educate BYU students who are attending a study abroad program for up to six months. The center is also used by research scholars, sometimes working with local scholars on various projects. Students study the Bible, ancient and modern near-eastern studies, Hebrew, and Arabic, with a particular focus on the life of Jesus Christ and the work of the apostles. They have classroom study interspersed with field trips throughout the region. It’s built on Mount Scopus overlooking the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and is made from white Jerusalem limestone. The center provides religious services for members of the church who live in or are visiting the area.

Students are oriented prior to embarking on their trip. They are required to sign a pledge that they will not use their time there to try to convert the Jewish people. The purpose of the center is education, not missionary work. Although there were some initial local protests, they subsided when the church worked with the government to create a legal document barring missionary work. In 1986, responding to the concerns, Nathan Perlmutter, U.S. national director of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith stated there was no evidence of any conversions in the years the church had been conducting their study abroad programs.

During the time of controversy, President Gordon B. Hinckley, who was then the second counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, was asked:

Why is there so much controversy over the Brigham Young University Center now under construction in Jerusalem?

I cannot understand why there should be. Fears have been expressed that it will be used as a means to proselytize the Jewish people. University officials have given assurance that this will not be the case. All legal requirements were fully met, including the requisite public notice in Jerusalem papers, before the government granted construction permits. This is a facility designed to accommodate a program which has been carried on continuously for many years. It is intended to accommodate the needs of students who, in an academic atmosphere, can become better acquainted with the history, the culture, the nations, and the people of Israel and the Middle East. Experience has shown that those who have participated in the program have come away with increased appreciation for the influences and the people to whom they have been exposed there. BYU officials have received from many Jewish people and from people of other faiths expressions of support for this project. I am confident that in the long term it will redound to the good of the people of Israel as well as to the educational interests of BYU and its students.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “Questions and Answers,” Ensign, Nov 1985, 49)

Students moved onto the campus in 1987. Previously, students who studied there lived at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. The church had operated Study Abroad programs in Jerusalem for seventeen years prior to the opening of the center.

Question: It seems that Christians are polytheists, worshiping three Gods. Do Mormons believe in one God?

A polytheist is someone who worships multiple gods. Generally, polytheism refers to a group of gods each working independently of one another and often, in the case of hard polytheism, in conflict with one another.

Mormons believe there are three Gods, but who function as an entirely unified body. Together, they form the Godhead and fulfill the complete mission of God. The Supreme God is God the Father. He is generally the One the Christian Bible refers to when it speaks of God, although in some cases, including in the Book of Genesis, Jesus is referred to as God during the creation of the world. Mormons teach that God’s Son created the earth, under the direction of God the Father. However, it is God the Father that Mormons call God and worship as such. He is the one they consider their Heavenly Father, while Jesus is their brother, the Son of God.

Mormons teach that God the Father is the Father of all things and is male, while the Jewish people teach that God does not have gender. He created the spirits of everyone who ever lived and oversees everything that happens, ruling over Heaven and Earth. We teach that He is very literally our Father, and view Him as a loving, caring Father who watches over His children and wants them to return home to Him.

Jesus is the Messiah, but not the Jewish Moshiach. While many Jewish people believe there will one day be a Messiah, they are watching for a political leader. The Jewish Moshiach is not a god, but a fully mortal human being. Mormons teach that Jesus had a mortal mother, Mary, but that God was very literally His Father. Jesus was His firstborn-the first spirit to be created, and was begotten of the Father. This gave Him a combination of the mortal and the divine, which was essential for him to be able to carry out the task He had undertaken, to live on earth as a mortal, and then to die, but only by His own choice. Mormons teach that no one could take the Messiah’s life from Him; He could only choose to give it.

Mormons teach that the Messiah’s mission was a spiritual one, with hearts won in a spiritual fashion. When He comes the second time, this is when He will rule over the world and be recognized as the Messiah by all, but again, it will be accomplished by spiritual means, not political or military ones.

The third member of the Godhead is the Holy Ghost. The New Testament in the Christian Bible tells of Jesus promising his disciples, in His final days, to send a comforter to them after He was gone. This is the Holy Ghost. This third personage in the Godhead does not have a perfected body of flesh and bone, as do God and Jesus. He is a Spirit. His role is to teach truth to those who are willing to hear it.

Jesus and the Holy Ghost honor God the Father and do only His will. They completely subject their own will for His and give Him the honor for all that happens. This is the meaning of the Christian Bible’s statement that God and Jesus are one. They are entirely unified in every way.

While the Mormons do teach there are three Gods, these are Gods working in perfect harmony, not at cross purposes, to carry out the work of God the Father for His children. It is God the Father who is worshipped as God.