Episode 244: What About the Word of Wisdom? | A Conversation with Linda Hamilton

At Last She Said It

Cynthia Winward

Religion & Spirituality, Feminism, Motherhood, Ldswomen, Spirituality, Lds, Thechurchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints, Mormonwomen, Religion, Marriage, Mormon, Faith

5 • 900 Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2025

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Though Section 89 of the Doctrine & Covenants describes itself as a "principle with promise," "to be sent by greeting, not by commandment or constraint," contemporary Church leadership has elevated some of its prohibitions to the level of requirement for temple worship. Other suggestions this section contains seem to be completely ignored. To complicate things, current medical research hasn't always supported the specific tenets that have been designated "commandments." No wonder lots of Latter-day Saints have lots of feelings about the Word of Wisdom and its application in our daily lives and choices! In Episode 244, Cynthia and Susan are joined by historian Linda Hamilton for a conversation unpacking it all. What do you think about the Word of Wisdom? What aspects of it feel relevant to your faith life? What are the narratives of women we find in its history and practice? And what parts of Word of Wisdom lore actually hold up to historical scrutiny?

Transcript

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0:00.0	My thought is that this is this is baked into Mormon Doctrine 101.
0:10.8	Okay.
0:11.4	The idea that we can control our salvation and that we can control God and demand that he
0:19.7	save us because we have done X, Y, and Z.
0:24.7	Because we have to have that tangible thing, that temple recommend in our hand that says,
0:32.6	God approves of me.
0:34.2	I am worthy.
0:35.7	I am going to heaven.
0:42.2	But where's Jesus? Where's grace? Where is the belief that we can grow and try and learn and actually use agency to make decisions for ourselves?
0:51.0	Hello, I'm Cynthia Winward. And I'm Susan Hinkley.
0:54.7	And this is at last she said it.
0:56.4	We are women of faith discussing complicated things.
0:59.7	And the title of today's episode is What About the Word of Wisdom, A Conversation with
1:04.5	Linda Hamilton?
1:06.2	Hello, Linda.
1:07.2	Hi, Linda.
1:08.2	Hello.
1:09.2	Hi!
1:10.2	We are so thrilled to have you.
1:11.4	Totally thrilled to have Linda back.
1:13.6	She's back in the house.
1:15.1	Some of you might remember Linda.
	...

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