Latter-day Saints are recognized throughout the world by their peculiar dietary code known as the Word of Wisdom. It is accepted by the Church as revelation and contains both proscriptions and prescriptions. Different levels of interpretation, understanding and observance of the principles in the Word of Wisdom make it a unique Latter-day Saint religious health code. The study population consists of college-aged male and female members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Brigham Young University and a Latter-day Saint student stake affiliated with Utah Valley University. A questionnaire was conceptualized, designed and validated over a one year rigorous process. The responses of 720 participants were evaluated using frequency distributions and measures of central tendency. The t statistic was used for testing the null hypothesis of equality of means between independent groups and computed using approximate degrees of freedom from Satterhwaite's approximation when the variances between the two groups are unequal. Logistic regression was used with the stepwise option to identify demographic variables associated with selected interpretation variables. Two-sided tests of significance were based on the 0.05 level against a null hypothesis of no association. Participants generally interpret and comply with the proscriptions in the Word of Wisdom. Participants can identify the prescriptions, but actual behaviors are far below scientific and government recommended minimums. The interpretations and behaviors of this sample provide valuable insights for those interested in the Word of Wisdom and its connection to the standards of the Church.

The purpose of this study was to show by the use of the opinions of LDS athletes who have excelled in sports whether or not excellence in gospel living contributes to excellence in sports.Religion has played a role in sports from very early history and has continued to the present time. The degree of religious influence has been determined by the society of the time, whether it played a minor or a positive role.The results of the study pointed out the following:The teachings of the LDS Church had a positive influence, according to LDS athletes, on the fourteen qualities of sports that were selected by coaches representing excellence in sports. The areas they were positive in were moral laws, word of wisdom, and priesthood responsibilities. The athletes were in conflict on whether the Sabbath day was an influence or not on excellence in sports, and they determined that keeping current on Church happenings and paying Church financial obligations had no bearing on the athletic qualities.

The Word of Wisdom was announced by Joseph Smith as a revelation from God in 1833. The revelation prohibited the use of alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee. Its pronouncement came at a time when temperance movements were conspicuous throughout America. Interpretations and attitudes have changed toward the Word of Wisdom over the years. Before 1840 many Mormons considered abstinence important though Joseph Smith stressed moderation. Observance became lax as Mormons treked westward to settle Utah territory. Brigham Young stressed obedience to the revelation in the 1860's but never made observance obligatory. Under John Taylor in 1883, a Word of Wisdom reformation began. Taylor stressed that Church officers should obey the revelation as did successors, Wilford Woodruff and Joseph F. Smith. None of them required rigid compliance for procurement of a Temple recommend. Heber J. Grant preached the Word of Wisdom with zeal and during his administration, strict observance became a criterion of orthodoxy. Attitudes have changed little since Grant's time and today Word of Wisdom adherence is a distinguishing characteristic of Mormon society.

While commenting upon the challenges of studying the history of religious figures and movements, Richard Bushman once said, “Everything we know in this life is seen through someone’s eyes. All a historian has to work with is the way this person saw it...The purpose of history is not to find out what really happened but to collect the ways human observers have described what they think happened. We [as historians] look at the world through other’s eyes.”[1] This thesis seeks not to argue the veracity of any particular religious doctrine, but rather strives to understand the historical development of certain Mormon beliefs by looking through the eyes of those who helped form them. Mormon doctrines are often regarded as impositions made by Joseph Smith onto docile followers. Such an interpretation fails to recognize that lay members were just as influential in the development of Mormon doctrine as was the founder of the religion. Joseph’s revelations did not emerge ex nihilo. Joseph engaged the world and people around him and his environment shaped the doctrines forming in his mind and continued to do so once they were taught to his followers. [2] This study will examine the origins of Mormonism’s dietary code, known as the Word of Wisdom, and the sect’s doctrines concerning the body. Both of these tenets of Mormonism were shaped by the environments in which they emerged. The regional environments which influenced to evolution of the Word of Wisdom are central to this study. In the case of the Word of Wisdom, Joseph first began teaching the doctrine in Kirtland, Ohio, an area of constant reform movements and moral activism. Conflicts within the Mormon Church reflect the tensions of Ohio settler’s reformist culture primarily located in the region known as the Western Reserve. This study will also look at the tensions within the Mormon community itself. These tensions involved leader responses to the Word of Wisdom, conflicts over church power structures, and the fallout from the Kirtland Bank’s failure in the financial panic of 1837. As the main Mormon Church body moved from Ohio, to Missouri, to Illinois, and eventually Utah they adopted attitudes toward the Word of Wisdom that reflected the new environments in which they found themselves. In Missouri the Word of Wisdom emerges in official charges in church disciplinary courts. However, an examination of these courts indicates that the Word of Wisdom was merely one indicator of a more serious power struggle within church leadership structures. Missouri temperance, which was relatively temped, did not influence church affairs nearly as much as struggles within church leadership itself. In Illinois Mormonism’s doctrine of the body also affected the ways in which the Word of Wisdom was implemented as it influenced the ways in which Mormons conceptualized health, godliness, plural marriage (polygamy), procreation, and their identities as a people. Simply put, context is everything and this study tries to show that the study of the teachings of any religious group should not be done piecemeal because each doctrine is shaped by and in turn shapes the other doctrines with which it is associated. [1] Samuel Alonzo Dodge, “The Hermeneutics of Suspicion” (interview with Richard Bushman), in Exploring the First Vision, ed. Samuel Alonzo Dodge and Steven C. Harper (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2012), 277. [2] Contrary to standard scholarly practice, Mormon historical and cultural custom is to refer to many of the early church leaders by their first names rather than surnames. I have decided to follow this custom throughout the thesis.