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Christian Temperance
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good cooking than you have any idea of. We want you to learn what
good religion is, and to carry it out in your families. When I have
been from home sometimes, I have known that the bread upon the
table, and the food generally, would hurt me; but I would be obliged
to eat a little to sustain life. It is a sin in the sight of Heaven to have
such food. I have suffered for want of proper food. For a dyspeptic
stomach, you may place upon your tables fruits of different kinds,
but not too many at one meal. In this way you may have a variety,
and it will taste good, and after you have eaten your meals you will
feel well.
I am astonished to learn that, after all the light that has been
given in this place, many of you eat between meals! You should
never let a morsel pass your lips between your regular meals. Eat
what you ought, but eat it at one meal, and then wait until the next.
I eat enough to satisfy the wants of nature; but when I get up from
the table, my appetite is just as good as when I sat down. And
when the next meal comes, I am ready to take my portion, and no
more. Should I eat a double amount now and then, because it tastes
good, how could I bow down and ask God to help me in my work
of writing, when I could not get an idea on account of my gluttony?
Could I ask God to take care of that unreasonable load upon my
stomach? That would be dishonoring Him. That would be asking
to consume upon my lust. Now I eat just what I think is right, and
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then I can ask Him to give me strength to perform the work that He
has given me to do. And I have known that Heaven has heard and
answered my prayer when I have offered this petition.
Again, when we eat immoderately, we sin against our own bod-
ies. Upon the Sabbath, in the house of God, gluttons will sit and
sleep under the burning truths of God’s word. They can neither keep
their eyes open, nor comprehend the solemn discourses given. Do
you think that such are glorifying God in their bodies and spirits,
which are His? No; they dishonor Him. And the dyspeptic—what
has made him dyspeptic is taking this course. Instead of observing
regularity, he has let appetite control him, and has eaten between
meals. Perhaps, if his habits are sedentary, he has not had the vital-
izing air of heaven to help in the work of digestion; he may not have
had sufficient exercise for his health.