Young Men Lesson 18: The Word of Wisdom

Manual 1; Excerpt from "Counsel to Young Men," by Boyd K. Packer

Discussion Questions
• What blessings have come to you and your family from living the Word of Wisdom?
• What are some effective ways to respond to those who tempt you to violate the Word of Wisdom?

Excerpt from "Counsel to Young Men" by President Boyd K. Packer, April 2009 General Conference:

As I moved into school, I found that my muscles were weak. I was very self-conscious. I knew that I could never be an athlete.

It did not help a lot when I read about the man who went to a doctor to find a cure for his inferiority complex. After a careful examination, the doctor told him, “You don’t have a complex. You really are inferior!”

With that for encouragement, I set about through life and determined to compensate in other ways.

I found hope in my patriarchal blessing. The patriarch, whom I had never met before, confirmed to me that patriarchs do have prophetic insight. He said that I had a desire to come to earth life and was willing to meet the tests that would accompany life in a mortal body. He said that I had been given a body of such physical proportion and fitness to enable my spirit to function through it unhampered by physical impediment. That encouraged me.

I learned that you should always take care of your body. Take nothing into your body that will harm it, such as we are counseled in the Word of Wisdom: tea, coffee, liquor, tobacco, or anything else that is habit-forming, addictive, or harmful.

Read section 89 in the Doctrine and Covenants. You will find great promises.

To read the full talk, click here.

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