Health
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medicine, for the abused stomach will find that rest which it has long
needed, and real hunger can be satisfied with a plain diet. It will take
time for the taste to recover from the abuses which it has received, and
to gain its natural tone. But perseverance in a self-denying course of
eating and drinking will soon make plain, wholesome food palatable,
and it will soon be eaten with greater satisfaction than the epicure
enjoys over his rich dainties.
The stomach is not fevered with meat, and overtaxed, but is in a
healthy condition, and can readily perform its task. There should be
no delay in reform. Efforts should be made to preserve carefully the
remaining strength of the vital forces, by lifting off every over-tasking
burden. The stomach may never fully recover health, but a proper
course of diet will save further debility, and many will recover more
or less, unless they have gone very far in gluttonous self-murder.
Those who permit themselves to become slaves to a gluttonous
appetite, often go still further, and debase themselves by indulging
their corrupt passions, which have become excited by intemperance in
eating and in drinking. They give loose rein to their debasing passions,
until health and intellect greatly suffer. The reasoning faculties are, in
a great measure, destroyed by evil habits.
The present corrupt state of the world was presented before me.
The sight was terrible. I have wondered that the inhabitants of the earth
were not destroyed, like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. I have
seen reason enough for the present state of degeneracy and mortality in
the world. Blind passion controls reason, and every high consideration
with many is sacrificed to lust.
The first great evil was intemperance in eating and drinking. Men
and women have made themselves slaves to appetite. They are intem-
perate in labor. A great amount of hard labor is performed to obtain
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food for their tables which greatly injure the already overtaxed system.
Women spend a great share of their time over a heated cook-stove,
preparing food, highly seasoned with spices to gratify the taste. As a
consequence, the children are neglected, and do not receive moral and
religious instruction. The over-worked mother neglects to cultivate a
sweetness of temper, which is the sunshine of the dwelling. Eternal
considerations become secondary. All the time has to be employed
in preparing these things for the appetite which ruin health, sour the
temper, and becloud the reasoning faculties.