In what’s rumored as a response to the Sen. Mark Madsen-sponsored S.B. 73 (Medical Cannabis Act), which was approved Friday by a Senate committee, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced it was redacting a single verse from the Doctrine and Covenants:
“And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man.” — D&C 89:10
The former verse, usually overlooked in the Word of Wisdom, was cited by many advocates of the bill in general and the plant in particular.
75-year-old Roy resident, Alice Rindisbacher, found a measure of justification in this crucial verse, borrowing a heady nugg here and there from her “wayward” grandson, who was more than happy to bestow his grandma with an herb to treat her glaucoma. “I know my Relief Society sisters would be shocked to hear it, but after I tried it as a last ditch effort I really came to believe God placed this herb on the planet for our benefit, at least for those who need it for certain things,” Rindisbacher said. “I know my grandson shouldn’t be smoking it, but that’s between him and the Lord. With this new change, though, I guess the Lord wants me to go back to having blurred vision.”
The church has been silent as to the reasoning behind the verse’s removal–it’s unsure yet whether the reason for the redacted verse was put into a book of policies, then defended by a junior apostle, followed by a letter denying any ill-motive. We presume we’ll wait a few months for Pres. Nelson to explain it was indeed a revelation. As to the bill, the church has only offered a vague concern about supposed “unintended consequences” that could come with the use of medical cannabis. Church officials aren’t just telling its members not to use medical marijuana; they desire to block everyone–Mormon or not–in Utah from having access to the medicine.
Sen. Madsen faces an uphill battle against The Word Of The LORD to make Utah the 24th state to legalize the naturally occurring plant; Sen. Madsen touts the proven benefits of medical marijuana as a safer, more effective (with fewer side-effects), viable alternative to addictive and often deadly prescription pain medications. The Utah Department of Health reported that in 2014, 288 Utahns died after overdosing on prescription pain medications.
There is a second medical marijuana bill, S.B. 89 (providing a D&C 89-sized wink to legislators)–a veritable poison pill bill advocated by Sen. Vickers, Rep. Daw and the Utah Eagle Forum that the church supports. This second bill is a caffeine-free version, offering CBD oil-only for those with certain epileptic conditions. Since this bill does not allow extracts of the psychoactive chemical THC, some estimate it will only help approximately 500 people in the state. Madsen’s bill allows the full plant for medicinal purposes–estimates are such that more than 1o0,000 patients would benefit from the medicine since it would cover patients suffering from ALS, Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, chronic pain, etc.
“Maybe they don’t want to be known as the special interest who put their thumb on the scale and decided this for everyone in the state,” Sen. Madsen said of the LDS Church, of which he is a faithful member. “If they’re going to put their thumb on the scale politically and force everyone to a standard, then I think they owe something of an explanation to the people.”
It seems that in order for the church to save face, they must choose the right by choosing the reefer.
I love your articles!!! Keep up the good work!!!
Where is this announcement? It is not in the official church news and the verse is still in the digital copy.
“And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev. 22:18–19.)
I don’t think this is accurate
I just wanna meet this wayward grandson and hip grandma!!!
this is genius
Perhaps it is being revised, because it couldn’t be “translated” the same way TWICE……
Actually this article is false and should at least download the Book of Mormon with the doctrine and covenants for FREE because you can find that verse still there. Every religion can have an opinion, it’s why it’s called a religion and not a government.
Apparently many people don’t understand satirical journalism.
Timothy McFoster is a liar. That verse has not been redacted in ANY version of the Doctrine and Covenants. Get it right, Timothy, before you publish it. Since you have made that huge blunder, I doubt that anyone can trust anything you write. And if it was an intentional lie on your part, you should be censured by the Beehive Bugle, and the LDS Church should sue you for libel. By the way, that is NOT satire; it is downright stupidity. The entire article should be redacted.
Did they retract the Book of Abraham yet? That entire book is a blunder, of course Joseph had no idea while “translating” that the Rosetta Stone would be discovered and anyone would be able to translate hieroglyphs and read them. His translation was way off, talk about a need for retraction. However the matter is actually addressed on the Church’s official website, if you know the exact way to find it, since it too is hidden. Turns out the Church now says he’s not the one who translated it, whew, good thing they saved face there.
The idea that smoking weed helps glaucoma is dubious at best. In order for MM to reduce pressure in the eye, you would have to literally smoke it 24 hours a day.
Wait…I guess for some who need dugs to be happy to find purpose, this is ideal…
http://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/medical-marijuana-glaucoma-treament
Is anyone else horrified by the admission of Senator Madsen in the article’s final paragraph where he plainly states that the church has the influence necessary to make or break a law in the state congress? I mean, everyone knows that the church has some amount of influence with so many members being, well, “members,” but having the ability to flex their political muscle and thereby “force everyone to a standard,” with that standard being the failure or success of the bill, that is very unsettling to put it mildly. Especially for us Gentiles. The quote finished with Madsen stating that only after the church has “forced” the legislature to throw the vote will they need to “give some answers” to Joe Q. Public. This is insane. So long as you live in Utah, you don’t ever need to set foot in a chapel to be under the thumb of the Mormon leadership. I hope national media picks up on this so that the church gets some well earned negative press. That always gets their attention.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does not have to choose anything, nor does it need to “save face”. I don’t know anything more than what is in the article, but in removing that verse, from section 89, they are removing the church from being used as an excuse to disobey the laws of the land. They are not “pro” or “anti” anything when they do not express an opinion.
First and foremost in remaining politically neutral is “obeying, honoring and sustaining the law”.
When the laws are changed to legalize cannabis, then people will be free to use medically (and abuse recreationally) the substance.
I don’t understand why people try to demonize organizations that uphold the Rule of Law instead of lobbying elected officials (with coherent arguments) to change the law.
Dig at the roots of political change, instead of slashing at the branches of social mores.
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Article is a Lie! LDS.org has D+C 89:10 still. It would have been the first thing that they took out. a bunch of Blind idiots without getting the real facts.
Checked all my D&C’s then went online to LDS.org… What do you know? 89:10 is still where it was when it was published.
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/89?lang=eng
There is also a qualifier in the verse. It says “all wholesome herbs”…
Get life Beehive BS…
Writer John Gross once said, “A good parody is a fine amusement, capable of amusing and instructing the most sensible and polished minds; the burlesque is a miserable buffoonery which can only please the populace.” This attempt, if indeed that is what it was, failed on both counts.
To all the LDS people reading these articles, I speak as a devout Mormon of 36 years: These are SATIRES, i.e., articles of sarcasm, deliberately written to entertain the non-LDS, appease the questioning LDS, and irritate the devout LDS.
They are enjoying ENORMOUS pleasure when you look up their “references” and fight back. You are making their day with every single moment you spend frantically “standing up for truth.”
Make a choice: DON’T READ THIS STUFF, and go about your lives in peace, or read it with the slanted eyes these buffoons are using to look at you. Who gives a flip what these people are saying? The truth seekers will finally consult the church, and those who fight against us will eat themselves from the inside out with their acridity. The Church is big enough to withstand this – bigger people than these have assailed us and fallen away. Big deal.
Of course this article is a SATIRE.
The phrase ‘wholesome’ herb is self-evident. Even in 1832, folks knew that some plants were poisonous and avoided them; often, like for many years with the tomato plant, the fruit was blamed for issues that had more to do with its handling in cultivation (i.e., salmonella et al.). The ‘wholesomeness’ of cannabis is subject to debate both politically and within the medical community. Many states have decriminalized it; some have effectively legalized it for ‘personal’ use. However, the Federal Government still claims sovereignty over marijuana possession, cultivation, and/or distribution, which I believe to be outside its enumerated powers from the Constitution.
The Church’s position and counsel is understandable. Candidly, much ‘medical’ marijuana use is a lame excuse to ‘toke up’, witness the sheer numbers of MM permits in CA that claim ‘glaucoma’ as a reason, at levels which most definitely ought to pique the respective interests of the California Dept. of Health and the CDC! Also, many claimed benefits of MM use have not be extensively peer reviewed and fall under the category of ‘quack’ medicine. Nevertheless, I see no reason that persons who suffer from chronic pain and/or nausea due to varying illnesses, including cancer, shouldn’t be able to freely seek relief with the ‘herb’ of choice, and if it works, even for obviously psychosomatic reasons, not be bothered by law enforcement. However, President Trump has promised to more vigorously enforce Federal laws re: Marijuana, which I think he SHOULD, but not agreeing as to WHY. Once we have situations where some minor dillweed faces an effective lifetime sentence for holding or ‘selling’ an fairly innocuous amount of weed, perhaps there will be enough of an outrage at the waste of resources and the sheer injustice of it all, and a repeal of the Federal Government’s patently unconstitutional drug laws, especially re: marijuana, will be enacted.
Will that bother yours truly either way? Probably not, I have no desire to see excuse to ‘toke up’ or ‘get high’, living IAW the letter and the spirit of the WoW is ‘high’ (pun intended) for myself. As it is, mine employer requires a ‘drug-free’ workplace, and honor and integrity demand, therefore, that as long as I’m employed where I am, I observe said policy to the letter, regardless of legality IAW Federal and State laws. Hopefully a relaxation of the insane “War on Drugs” will also loosen the hold of the so-called ‘Prison-Industrial’ complex and the ever-increasing militarization of the police and their increasing disregard for basic civil rights and willingness to inflict violence on the public they serve. This, IMO, is far more of a threat to our great republic than any gaggle of turban-wearing psychopaths or some obese fruitcake in a North Korean bunker.