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Chapter 3—Impairment Through Indulged
Appetite
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The Food We Eat and the Lives We Live
—Indulgence of ap-
petite is the greatest cause of physical and mental debility, and lies
at the foundation of the feebleness which is apparent everywhere.—
Testimonies for the Church 3:487
.
Our physical health is maintained by that which we eat; if our
appetites are not under the control of a sanctified mind, if we are not
temperate in all our eating and drinking, we shall not be in a state
of mental and physical soundness to study the word with a purpose
to learn what saith the Scripture—what shall I do to inherit eternal
life? Any unhealthful habit will produce an unhealthful condition in
the system, and the delicate, living machinery of the stomach will
be injured, and will not be able to do its work properly. The diet has
much to do with the disposition to enter into temptation and commit
sin.—
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 52
.
Adam and Eve Failed Here
—Through the temptation to in-
dulge appetite, Adam and Eve first fell from their high, holy, and
happy estate. And it is through the same temptation that the race
have become enfeebled. They have permitted appetite and passion
to take the throne, and to bring into subjection reason and intellect.—
Testimonies for the Church 3:139
.
Their Children Have Followed On
—Eve was intemperate in
her desires when she put forth the hand to take of the fruit-forbidden
tree. Self-gratification has reigned almost supreme in the hearts of
men and women since the Fall. Especially has the appetite been
indulged, and they have been controlled by it, instead of reason. For
the sake of gratifying the taste, Eve transgressed the command of
God. He had given her everything her wants required, yet she was
not satisfied.
Ever since, her fallen sons and daughters have followed the de-
sires of their eyes, and of their taste. They have, like Eve, disregarded
the prohibitions God has made, and have followed in a course of
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