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Testimony Studies on Diet and Foods
their corrupt passions, which have become excited by intemperance in
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eating and 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
food for their tables which greatly injure the already over-taxed 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 overworked 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.
The Facts of Faith 2:133-134
Indulging in eating too frequently, and in too large quantities, over-
taxes the digestive organs, and produces a feverish state of the system.
The blood becomes impure, and then diseases of various kinds occur.
A physician is sent for, who prescribes some drug which gives present
relief, but which does not cure the disease. It may change the form of
disease, but the real evil is increased tenfold. Nature was doing her
best to rid the system of an accumulation of impurities, and could she
have been left to herself, aided by the common blessings of heaven,
such as pure air and pure water, a speedy and safe cure would have
been effected.
The sufferers in such cases can do for themselves that which others
can not do as well for them. They should commence to relieve nature of
the load they have forced upon her. They should remove the cause. Fast