CANCER & Wisdom

Favorite conversation from the past bit: 

Hanna:  "The vegetable juice tastes different this batch.  It tastes BETTER!" 

Greg:  "Yea, we forgot the celery, remember?"

I've never been a huge fan of celery.

We still drink home-juiced vegetable juice daily.  32 ounces.  Veggies now run and hide from us in fear for their poor little lives.

This morning I received an email from my Urologist's office reminding me that I have a surgical procedure next Friday.  Seriously?  I mean, that is nice, but do patients really forget to show up at their own surgical procedures?  After all, this is a Transperrenial Targeted Fusion Biopsy performed under General Anesthesia in the Operating Room.  They will shove a probe in my anus that will guide the biopsy, based on the MRI I had a few weeks ago.  And the biopsy gun will penetrate into the prostate via the perrenium, aka crotch.  DON'T WORRY!!  I won't be forgetting THAT any time soon!!  In fact, I have bad dreams about THAT!  Thank goodness for the "general anesthesia" part.  I won't remember a thing,.........

So, now that the medical update (if you can call it that) is out of the way, let's get religious!  Woo Hoo!

I attend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Outside the brick walls of the church, most folks know us as LDS (not to be confused with LSD although there are some definite similarities) or Mormons.  Here is a picture of our temple in Salt Lake City, which you have likely seen many times:

Some folks think we are a cult.  That depends on your definition of "cult" I guess.  But we do take pride in being "peculiar."  One of the most popular peculiarities is our belief that it is a sin to drink alcohol, coffee, tea, and to use tobacco.  We believe this commandment was received via "modern day revelation" by a man that we revere as a prophet of God, in 1833.  Amazingly, that is long before any medical folks chose to study the health impacts of tobacco.  We call it "The Word of Wisdom" and it is found in writing in what we call the Doctrine & Covenants, which is a compilation of modern day revelations.

Hanna and I go to a temple a couple of times a month where we seek spiritual guidance from the spirit, and meditate, relax, and look for peace.  A few weeks ago I caught my bride reading through the Word of Wisdom while we were in the temple.  Why not?  She is just a bit freaked out about my cancer (this is a good thing because it makes me feel very much wanted) and the Word of Wisdom really has to do with health.  So her reading it made perfect sense.

The next trip to the temple, she started reading it again.  So I grabbed a book of scriptures and started reading it too.  And some things in the Word of Wisdom really hit me hard and stood out to me.

The Word of Wisdom not only has those official sin-type commandments of what you shouldn't consume, but also contains some other "suggestions" about good health.

I tried to post a picture of some healthy looking grains, but now that I look at it, that may just well be a picture of malt barley..........oops!!

Here are some blips from the Word of Wisdom:

"That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good,..."

Yup, no alcohol.



"... tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man..."

Yup.  Don't smoke.  Or chew.

"Hot drinks are not for the body or belly."

CONTROVERSIAL!  Just what did the Lord consider a "Hot drink"?  Fortunately, more modern modern-day prophets have clarified that it means coffee and tea.  (Not Hot Cocoa, thank goodness.  Not that I'm drinking that poisonous-sugar-induced delightfulness anyways.).  No mention of caffeine.  Although some members of the church interpret it to mean caffeine, it does not.  In fact, the best Mountain Dew known to mankind can be purchase on the campus of church-owned Brigham Young University.  (Don't try to buy an espresso there though........)

And then with the "commandments" out of the way, here come the "suggestions."  I call them that because no one has ever questioned the worthiness of someone eating a 16-ounce Rib Eye.

"...all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature and use of man ... every herb in the season thereof and every fruit in the season thereof."

Yup.  Herbs and fruits are good.  Especially garlic and bananas in my opinion, but not together.

"...flesh of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly."

Have that juicy steak, give thanks for it before smothering it with Heinz 57, but keep it to a small portion.

"All grain is ordained for the use of man ... to be the staff of life... all grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine ...  whether in the ground or above the ground."

Eat your fruit and veggies and grains.  Good stuff.  Even together.

And now the part that really got to me, because God never gives a commandment without also providing a promised blessing:

"... and all who remember to keep and do these sayings ... shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones ... and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.  And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them ..."

I was raised in the church with this "Word of Wisdom" and have done my best to always live it, especially the "commandment" part.  As I read those last few verses in the temple, I came to the conclusion that the cancer won't take me.  It may challenge me just like most trials and tribulations do.  But it won't take me.  The destroying angel will pass me by.  And I will indeed run and not be weary and walk and not faint.  That is the promise.  God always keeps his word.

I trust and believe that.