What Does Sparingly Mean?
Ghia—The Word of Wisdom says to Eat Meat Sparingly. Let’s talk about what sparingly means and how to apply this principle to our lives.
Big Vegan Flavor by Nisha Vora https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593328930?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Transcript
Hooray, GIA here.
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:I'm this week's host of the Creative
Spiritual Journey podcast where
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:Judy and I talk about those
things that bring us joy for me.
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:I find joy by connecting with
nature, connecting with Jesus
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:Christ and our heavenly parents.
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:Seasonal living, and all the bits of
magic and wonder I come across while
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:navigating this remarkable journey.
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:We call life.
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:I know you have all been waiting on
the edge of your seats for this podcast
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:because today we are going to talk
about the third do of the word of
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:wisdom, which is eat meat sparingly.
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:Oh, you weren't waiting anxiously.
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:That's too bad because I have been
anticipating this episode for weeks.
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:Traditionally we read the word of wisdom
focused on the don'ts, but I love to
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:focus on the dos, those things that
we should be putting into our bodies.
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:In my reading of the word of wisdom,
I find for dos they are eat plants.
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:Eat seasonally with
prudence and Thanksgiving.
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:Eat meat sparingly and eat grain.
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:I love this list because I believe
all of them connect me with the
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:earth, which in turn connects me
to our earth's precious creator.
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:If you are interested in an overview
of this topic or in hearing my thoughts
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:about the first dues of the word of
wisdom, please see episodes 65 73 and 77.
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:Now before we go any further, I need to
say that I am in no way, shape, or form
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:trying to tell you how you should eat.
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:I am reading the word of wisdom
and trying to figure out what
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:it means for me and my life.
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:I am only sharing my thoughts
in case it helps someone else
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:on their own eating journey.
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:I am a relatively healthy person,
so following the dos of the
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:word of wisdom is easy for me.
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:But there are all kinds of reasons why
this type of diet may not work for you.
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:For example, I have a friend who has a
severe histamine reaction to any plants.
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:Meat is one of the only things
she can eat without pain.
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:For this and many other reasons,
I do not believe the word of
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:wisdom is meant to be dogmatic.
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:What you take into your
body is between you and God.
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:That said, I also believe that what
you eat should be done mindfully,
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:thoughtfully, and with intention.
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:This is why with all the confusion in the
world today about how we should eat, I
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:find the word of wisdom to be a gold mine.
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:So when starting off, I want to blow
the elephant out of the water here.
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:The word of wisdom says
eat meat sparingly.
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:Judy and I have a sister-in-law
who once said, I hit my finger
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:with a hammer sparingly.
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:The definition of sparingly
is pretty obvious, right?
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:Though I do understand
there is some leeway.
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:So I am not here to tell you what
sparingly should look like in your
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:life, but I am going to focus on
eating meat sparingly in this episode,
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:and it's really important to me that
you not become offended or insulted.
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:I am not trying to tell anyone that they
are following the word of wisdom wrong.
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:Just take in what I have to say and see
what you can glean from my thoughts.
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:I also want you to know that if you are
feeling overwhelmed by this topic, I
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:have two unique twists on the word
sparingly that I will be sharing
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:towards the end of this episode, and
it is my intention that they feel even
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:the most meat bound person with hope.
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:So hold on for those.
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:Okay, let's dive in.
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:I want to start by reading the
exact verses in doctrine and
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:covenants that cover this topic.
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:That would be chapter 89, verse 12,
13 and 15, which say Yay, Flesh also
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:of beast and of the fouls of the air.
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:I the Lord, have ordained for
the use of man with thanksgiving.
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:Nevertheless, they are to be used
sparingly, and it is pleasing unto
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:me that they should not be used only
in times of winter or cold or famine.
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:And these have God made for the use of man
only in times of famine and excess hunger.
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:To me, this sounds like meat should only
be eaten when there is no other option.
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:I think of Lehigh's family crossing
the desert and basically living on
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:meat because that was all there was.
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:Now in my experience, meat lovers are
pretty quick to point out that doctrine
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:and Covenants 49 makes it very clear
that we are not banned from eating meat.
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:And they're absolutely right, so
let's talk about that for a moment.
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:As you may know, many early
members of the church came from
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:the shaker religious tradition
Where eating meat was forbidden.
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:This practice, along with other
practices prompted Joseph Smith to seek
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:clarifications, doctrine, and covenants.
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:49 verses 18 and 19 were the
answers to that meat question.
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:It says,
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:and who so forbid it
to abstain from meats.
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:That man should not eat the
same is not ordained of God.
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:for behold the beast of the field and
the fouls of the air, and that which
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:cometh of the earth is ordained for the
use of man, for food and for Raymond,
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:and that he might have in abundance.
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:Yep.
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:It's pretty clear.
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:As members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints,
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:we are allowed to eat meat.
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:But that's not the end of the story.
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:Let me continue and read verse 21, which
says, and woe be unto man that sheth
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:blood or wasti flesh and hath no need.
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:Yeah, that's pretty clear as well.
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:Woe unto man that shed it.
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:Blood or wasth flesh.
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:When the Lord says wo, it seems
like something we should be paying
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:attention to, don't you think?
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:and in case that isn't enough, if
you look at the footnote for Shed,
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:you are led to the topical Guide for
Sanctity of Life and the Joseph Smith
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:translation of Genesis nine 11, which
says, and surely blood shall not be
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:shed only for meat to save your lives.
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:And the blood of every beast
will I require at your hands.
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:The blood of every beast
will I require at your hands.
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:That sounds pretty
serious, don't you think?
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:Yeah.
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:God takes the sanctity of life seriously.
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:The word of wisdom is specifically
for our time, for right now, for
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:this last dispensation, it wasn't
given to the people at the time of
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:Abraham or to the disciples living
while Christ was on the earth.
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:This is for us.
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:The people at those times were given
their own food principles based on the
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:things going on during their lives, and
we have been given hours to deal with
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:what is happening on the earth right now.
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:As I mentioned in my last word
of wisdom episode, I think eating
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:seasonally is the hardest principle
to understand, but eat meat sparingly.
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:I think this one is the hardest to apply.
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:Eating meat is deeply ingrained in our
society and even in our church culture.
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:It's something we often feel we need.
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:And meat is wrapped up in our traditions.
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:I mean, can you have thanksgiving without
a Turkey or Sunday dinner without a pot
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:roast or a bonfire without hot dogs?
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:These things feel like a part of us.
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:And let me say, I believe
changing how we eat is one of
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:the hardest things we can do.
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:What we put in our mouths is so personal,
but I have never known God to shy
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:away from asking us to do hard things.
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:So as members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, we know that
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:we are to eat meat sparingly, whatever
that word sparingly means to you.
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:There is no question about that, which
means we really don't need to debate
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:why we should eat meat sparingly,
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:But I think having at least a few
possibilities as to the why is helpful
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:towards actually living this principle.
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:So I am going to share just a few reasons.
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:First, let's talk a
little about meat quality.
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:You likely know that 90% of our corn
and soy is genetically modified.
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:That was done so that crops can
be sprayed with glyphosates.
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:Glyphosates are herbicides
like Roundup that kill plants.
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:The glyphosates don't kill the food
crop because it has been genetically
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:modified to withstand the poison.
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:But these glyphosates cause all kinds
of health problems, including cancer,
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:and our crops are drenched with them.
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:And guess what?
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:These same crops are being fed
in abundance to food animals.
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:Even if you only eat grass fed
beef, know that these animals are
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:often sent to the feedlots for the
last months of their lives to be
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:fattened up on glyphosate corn.
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:Now there are lots of conscientious
farmers that you can buy meat
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:from, but talk to them and
find out about their practices.
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:Yep, healthy meat will
cost more, but guess what?
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:The more it costs, the less you will eat.
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:Almost sounds like God planned
it that way, doesn't it?
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:Another reason for eating meat
sparingly is kind of obvious, but
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:in the past world history, people
lived so much closer to their food.
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:You raised your chickens, pigs
or cows, and you slaughtered them
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:yourself, I'm sorry, but if you had
to ring the neck of a chicken and
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:then pluck it to have chicken breast
on your salad, would you do it?
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:I'm just saying, I think one of the
reasons we eat so much more meat these
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:days is because we are so far removed
from the process of meat production.
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:And along this same idea, I am
increasingly convinced that we
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:are asked to eat meat sparingly
at this time in history because of
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:the appalling conditions so many
of our animals are being raised in.
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:Listen to these words from
the gospel principles manual.
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:All living things were created
spiritually by God before they
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:were created physically on earth.
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:Each was created to fulfill the measure
of its creation and to have joy therein.
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:I believe God cares deeply about
the treatment of his creations
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:In Deuteronomy, He gave specific
instructions about how oxen were to be
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:treated during the threshing of corn.
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:He cares about a beast of burden.
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:And one of my favorite scriptures from
Luke says that when a sparrow is sold,
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:not one of them is forgotten before God.
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:Uh, he remembers every sparrow.
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:Don't you think he remembers
every chicken, Turkey, and pig?
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:I recently watched a horrific documentary
about how food animals are treated
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:and about the slaughtering process.
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:Honestly, I have never seen an
animal slaughtered before, and while
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:that was traumatic, it wasn't the
part that has been haunting me.
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:It is how the animals are
treated while they are alive.
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:I am not going to go into graphic
detail here, but I want to say that
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:in our modern food industry, pigs are
held in cages so tight they can't move.
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:Roasting.
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:Chickens are bred to have such big
breasts, they can't stand up, and cows
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:are pumped full of antibiotics so they
can keep producing milk for years.
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:And this is just the mild stuff.
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:it's not just that animals are not allowed
to fulfill the measure of their creation.
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:They are literally being tortured.
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:And I, for one, believe we are going to
be held responsible for their treatment.
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:I also believe God gave us the
word of wisdom at a time when he
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:knew that the greed of men would
lead to the abuse of his creations.
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:He is asking us not to be a part of it.
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:I am particularly drawn to verse 18 of
the word of wisdom where Christ says it
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:is pleasing unto me that they not be used.
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:These words pleasing unto
me, hit me in the chest.
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:I want to be pleasing unto my God.
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:I want to show reverence and sanctity for
his creations by eating meat sparingly.
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:To me, meat comes from real live
creatures with a right to joy.
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:They are not the sterilized food
products we find wrapped in plastic
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:and served up on styrofoam trays,
and certainly not something to
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:merely be referred to as protein.
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:Now since I brought up the word protein.
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:Let's shift gears for a moment.
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:As you are likely aware, there are
three macronutrients that are bodies
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:need, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
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:Yep.
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:We need protein.
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:But contrary to what some people
may believe, all of our protein
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:needs can come from plants.
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:I mean, that's how the cows get them.
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:They eat plants.
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:Right now in the food culture
of the United States, we
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:are big on eating protein.
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:The more the better.
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:In fact, my fabulous man was recently told
by a doctor that he should eat a gram of
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:protein for each pound of body weight.
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:For him, that would be 140
grams of protein per day.
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:Can I just tell you, that's a lot of
protein, but there are scientific,
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:double blind studies proclaiming this
as truth, so it must be true, right?
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:Uh, honestly, I don't know what
to say about the right amount
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:of protein you should eat.
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:Experts are all over
the board on this topic.
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:I will admit that as a longtime
plant-based eater, I have recently
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:been focusing on getting more
protein rich foods into my diet.
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:Foods like beans, nuts
and organic soy products.
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:And when I figured out not to
fill up on fiber like giant
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:salads, this became a lot easier.
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:but here is what I really
want to share about protein.
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:No matter how much protein you decide you
want in your life, you can, and people
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:do get all they want from plant sources.
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:Even super athletes like marathon
rudders and bodybuilders thrive
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:on plant-based diets, and they
can even do it without relying on
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:heavily processed protein powders.
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:So all this said, I want to refer
back to the title of this episode.
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:What does sparingly mean?
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:I cannot give you your
answer to this question.
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:You need to make that decision
by yourself, and I hope you will
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:do so mindfully with intention.
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:But let me talk for a moment
about what this word sparingly
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:has come to mean for me.
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:As I said, I recently watched a harsh
and disturbing documentary about the
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:treatment of food animals, and I found
myself deeply affected and hurt, and
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:I thought, oh my gosh, what do I do?
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:Should I cut all animal products
from my life and can I even do that?
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:It took me a day or two of pondering
before the word sparingly came
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:into my mind, and suddenly the
word had a whole new meaning.
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:I had been using it as something
I must do, eat meat sparingly.
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:But now these words came
to me more as a reprieve.
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:It turned my previous reading on its head.
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:I don't want to harm animals ever,
but it is allowed if done sparingly,
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:it is sacred permission to be used
with wisdom and the admonition that
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:this permission is not to be abused.
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:Do you see what I'm saying?
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:It just slightly changed the meaning
in my mind when it came from an
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:abstinence perspective, and I
found myself so grateful for that.
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:Now, for me personally, with
rare exception, I have decided
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:not to cook meat at home.
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:At a church potluck or a friend's house
for dinner, I eat whatever is there.
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:That said, getting to
this point wasn't easy.
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:I totally understand that.
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:Trying to eat meat sparingly is difficult.
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:I mean, trying to come up with what to
eat for dinner each night is hard enough
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:without trying to change your diet.
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:I have one suggestion here.
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:Instead of focusing on cutting
meat from your life, focus
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:on what you can add to it.
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:Add more beans, add more nuts.
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:Try some tofu.
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:Believe it or not, tofu
cooked right is amazing.
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:For great spicy flavor filled
recipes, check out my most
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:recent favorite chef Nisha vra.
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:You can find her on Instagram or check
out her cookbook, big Vegan Flavor.
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:I will put a link in the show notes
and Danisha turns out to be the one
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:who gave me my last thought I want to
share with you about the word sparingly.
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:She doesn't specifically
mention sparingly, but I
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:think you will get the point.
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:She says Eating plant-based even
once a week has a huge impact.
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:If all Americans did meatless Monday
for just a year, it would save
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:a billion and a half animals, at
least a hundred billion gallons of
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:water and 70 million gallons of gas.
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:Meatless Monday.
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:Anyone who knew cutting meat from just
one day a week could have such an impact.
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:I firmly believe that how you apply the
word sparingly is your own business,
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:and I for one, will never judge you.
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:But I do hope I have given you
some new thoughts, insights,
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:and motivations for me.
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:My relationship to the earth and the
animals on it is sacred, and it is
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:my wish to be pleasing to the Lord
by respecting the sanctity of life.
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:Judy and I know your time is precious
and that you have many choices.
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:We love that you have chosen to
walk with us for a few minutes as
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:we navigate this journey of life.
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:If you like this podcast, will you take
the time right now to share it with a
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:friend, share it somewhere on social
media, or leave us a five star rating.
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:And if you listen on the Apple Podcast,
will you leave us a five star review?
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:Your efforts truly make a difference in
helping this podcast reach more people.
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:It also lets Judy and me know that
you like our show and it will give
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:us the motivation to keep going.
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:Thank you in advance for your help.
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:In closing, I want to share
a quote from Elder Udo.
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:This was from a talk about the for the
strength of Youth pamphlet, but I believe
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:this principle applies equally as well
to the word of wisdom, quote, Important
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:temporal and spiritual choices should
not only be based on personal preference
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:or what is convenient or popular.
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:The Lord is not saying
do whatever you want.
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:He is saying, let God prevail.
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:He is saying, come follow me.
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:He is saying live in a holier higher way.
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:Namaste.
