I Was ASTONISHED When I Found This List of Quotes From Modern Prophets About Eating Meat

I Was ASTONISHED When I Found This List of Quotes From Modern Prophets About Eating Meat:

Joseph Smith

“Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the sucking child can play with the serpent in safety.’ Documentary History of the Church, Vol. II (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1904), pp. 71-72.

Joseph Smith added a clear cautionary warning to the text of Genesis 9 in the Joseph Smith Translation (found on page 797 of the current LDS biblical index section). It reads, “And surely, blood shall not be shed, only for meat, to save your lives; and the blood of every beast will I require at your hands” (JST Genesis 9:11).

Hyrum Smith

"(God)...has appointed the word of wisdom as one of the engines...to remove the beastly appetites, the murderous disposition and the vitiated taste of man; to restore his body to health, and vigour, promote peace between him and the brute creation...

Let men...be sparing of the life of animals; 'it is pleasing saith the Lord that flesh be used only in times of winter, or of famine.'- Hyrum Smith, Times and Seasons, 3, no. 15 (June 1, 1842).

Lorenzo Snow

“We have no right to slay animals or fowls except from necessity, for they have spirits which may some day rise up and accuse or condemn us.”- An Apostle’s Record: The Journals of Abraham H. Cannon, Dennis B. Horne, 2004, p. 424

“The unnecessary destruction of life begets a spirit of destruction which grows within the soul. It lives by what it feeds upon and robs man of the love that he should have for the works of God. Men can not worship the Creator and look with careless indifference upon his creation.”- Juvenile Instructor, April 1918, pp. 182-183.

Elder Lorenzo Snow expressed the opinion that The Word of Wisdom was violated as much or more in the improper use of meat as in other things, and thought the time was near at hand when the Latter Day Saints should be taught to refrain from meat eating and the shedding of animal blood.

A year later, he spoke again to his brethren on the Word of Wisdom: [He] drew special attention to that part which relates to the use of meats, which he considered just as strong as that which relates to the use of liquors and hot drinks. He also referred to the revelation which says that he that forbids the use of meat is not of God. . . . Bro. Snow said he was convinced that the killing of animals when unnecessary was wrong and sinful, and that it was not right to neglect one part of the Word of Wisdom and be too strenuous in regard to other parts. (Both paragraphs Journal History of Church)

Heber J. Grant

In the April General Conference of 1937, Heber J. Grant said he believed that rarely eating meat was what led to having "splendid strength for an old man," and being able to work long hours "without fatigue and without feeling the least injury."

“... I have not, with the exception of not more than a dozen times, ordered meat of any kind… I have endeavored to live the word of wisdom.”- Conference Report, General Conference, April 1937, p. 15

George Albert Smith

In the April 1950 Improvement Era magazine, the son-in-law of George Albert Smith said that his "meals are simple and nourishing. In the summer he eats no meat, and even in the winter months he eats very little."

Joseph Fielding Smith

Jessie Smith, wife of Joseph Fielding Smith, said "my husband doesn't eat meat, we eat lots of fruits and vegetables." (Improvement Era, April 1970).

Spencer W. Kimball

"I...don't eat very much meat." Then he shared his "feelings concerning the unnecessary shedding of blood and destruction of (animal) life." Then he added, “take not away the life you cannot give, for all things have an equal right to live.”-Fundamental Principles to Ponder and Live, General Conference, Oct. 1978

Ezra Taft Benson
President Ezra Taft Benson’s son said that his father, “In his personal life, was sparing in his use of meat and generous in his use of fresh vegetables and grains.” 

Bruce R. McConkie

“Man and all forms of life will be vegetarians in the coming day; the eating of meat will cease, because for one thing, death as we know it ceases. There will be no shedding of blood.”- Millennial Messiah, 1982, p. 568-9

Hugh Nibley

“Man’s dominion is a call to service, not a license to exterminate. It is precisely because men now prey upon each other and shed the blood and waste the flesh of other creatures without need that ‘the world lieth in sin’ (D&C 49:19-21).”- Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless: pp. 95-110.

“Again, sparing is a good word. It means sparing God’s creatures… The family who needs a deer to get through the winter has a right to that. The Lord will not deny them, but He is also pleased with those who forbear. They can eat meat only in times of starvation, winter, cold, famine.”- The Word of Wisdom: A Commentary on D&C, Dec. 1979 G

Ezra Taft Benson

“Most of us are acquainted with some of the prohibitions, such as no tea, coffee, tobacco, or alcohol. What need additional emphasis are the positive aspects—the need for vegetables, fruits, and grains, particularly wheat. In most cases, the closer these can be, when eaten, to their natural state— without over refinement and processing—the healthier we will be. To a significant degree, we are an overfed and undernourished nation digging an early grave with our teeth, and lacking the energy that could be ours because we overindulge in junk foods...We need a generation of young people who, as Daniel, eat in a more healthy manner than to fare on the “king’s meat”—and whose countenances show it (see Daniel 1).”- In His Steps, BYU Address, Mar 04, 1979)

Gordon B. Hinckley

"This Word of Wisdom came to us from the God of Heaven, for our blessing. I regret that we as a people do not observe it more faithfully...but even though we do not, the Lord pours out His blessings upon those who try." (October General Conference, 1990 & 1993)