Brigham Young taught the Lord does not want his people to suffer from disease but wants them to be the healthiest of all people because they have greatest of all work to do, to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Savior. He further taught that disease is a result of disobedience to God's laws of health, which were given so the Lord's people can live free of disease and said that much of which we claim to be trials given to us from the Lord are in reality the results of disobedience to laws that were give to protect us against such trials. God doesn't want his people to be sick but to be healthy and engaged in preparing the earth for his return.

President Hinckley shared the many benefits we have received by abstaining from harmful substances and invited us to enjoy even greater blessings by adhering to the long-neglected, dietary aspects of the Word of Wisdom.

President Benson taught that our spirits our bound to our bodies and that as we improve our physical health our spiritual capacities increase exponentially. He encouraged us to live in such a manner that the divine potential of our sprits would not be bound by unnecessary diseases that we receive through disobedience to God's laws.

Consider the great work you are to do and why you should enjoy your best health. Do you have a role in helping to establish Zion upon the earth again? Do you have a family to influence in the paths of righteousness. What are the requirements of holiness that will help you to achieve all that you are to achieve in this life? 

Holiness is defined by Christ’s moral characteristics. Christ is kindness, meekness, gentleness, health, and much more. He does not strive to live or be each moral characteristic that define His holiness; He simply is each characteristic! Achieving holiness is so essential to building Zion and preparing the earth for the Second Coming that in 1862 Brigham Young said, “Every moment of my life must be Holiness to the Lord, which is the only course by which I can preserve the Spirit of the Almighty to myself.” It is only while we are seeking, asking, knocking, and striving to grow that we reach sufficiently heavenward that heaven cannot resist ministering to us. As we strive for holiness, the Spirit of the Lord is with us continually. As we become distracted by the multitude of distractions, we lose the influence of the Spirit.

The laws of holiness enable us to transcend striving and becoming—to being, as Christ is. It is the path Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Enoch walked to be made perfect, holy, and without spot in Christ. It is the path that will lead to the translation of thousands of the Lord's covenant Israel who will build the city Zion. It is also the path by which 144,000 translated individuals will go forth as the greatest force of missionaries the world has ever known. They will do all things Christ did during His mortal ministry and greater. The following steps define the path for enabling holiness in our lives, as Enoch, his people, and others have enabled it through Christ in their own lives:

• Law of Obedience: We initiate holiness as we accept invitations of the Spirit toward greater obedience to truth. Obedience releases blessings into our lives that are bound to the principles of truth we choose to obey. I was sick for eleven years; by accepting an invitation of the spirit to obey God's laws of health, I overcame chronic conditions which had remained relatively untouched by modern medicine. Accepting an invitation to obedience does not perfect any truth within us; rather it initiates a trial upon the Word, which converts us to the truth through the release of associated blessings that were previously unexerienced by us. Such blessings awaken us and convert us.

• Law of Sacrifice: To experience this conversion more fully, we must also sacrifice that which stands in opposition to desired blessings. For example, if I increase intake of whole fruits and vegetables, but consume more meat than my body can safely metabolize, I limit the promised blessings of God's laws of health. If I keep God's laws of health but fail to keep is other commandments, I may realize certain associated blessing, but without keeping all of God's commandments, it is unlikely that I will fully realize the quickening power that is given to those who live all his commandments. As Obedience and Sacrifice work together in harmony an awakening within us is experienced toward previously unknown truths. Such awakening occurs through invitation and obedience and never by contraint. Those who would contrain others to obedience are not ordained of God. 

• Law of the Gospel (faith, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost)
• 1. Faith: Obtaining perfection of any characteristic of Christ, as did Enoch and his people, requires more than mere conversion. Blessings of obedience are fleeting unless we enable them fully through Christ by receiving and retaining a remission of weakness unto being made strong in Christ. As we exercise faith in Christ, and continue to renew our covenants toward becoming as he is, we receive the Holy Ghost to comfort, guide, and to teach us more perfectly. We initiate a process that enables us to transcend conversion—to become as Christ is. For example, it is possible to transcend from striving to be kind and loving to becoming kindness and love. Or from striving to be merciful, to being mercy. It is as each of his attributes become us that we are made holy.
  2. Repentance: Repentance is to move from a state of darkness into God's perfect light. It is a process of moving to greater light until that light is made perfect within us. Until truth is fully enabled within us, we must continue to strive, which process is called repentance. The crossroads to perfection require that we diligently seek and find, earnestly knock and have doors are opened unto us, and ask for and receive answers and great knowledge from the Lord. As we seek, knock, and ask for help we must patiently and thoughtfully follow the promptings and light we receive. For example, if you understand the principles of dietary health but continue to struggle applying them to your greatest benefit, then during moments of weakness pause and acknowledge your weakness to God with a broken heart. If you will ask for His help with real intent, and are willing to follow what is give to you with exactness, help will be given to you. The Spirit will come into your mind and heart to teach you more perfectly and will inspire your mind with thoughts and ideas that are customized to the very circumstances you face—from the food you have in your pantry, to the time and energy you have at the moment to meet your needs. God alone knows your custom challenges, and His Spirit alone can teach you how to apply principles perfectly to meet the challenges you face.
  3. Baptism: Baptism represents your covenant with God to be a witness of Christ and to always remember him, and to keep his commandments, and to obey the voice of his Spirit with exactness. It is a covenant to do follow him and do as he did by doing good continually or in other words to lift and bless others--the weary, the lonely, the downtrodden, the maimed, the captive, and so forth. When you are invited by the Spirit to live a truth more fully, and you accept that invitation, you qualify to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost to help, guide, and comfort you in the very moment you need help.
  4. Holy Ghost: The gift of the Holy Ghost represents God’s reciprocal covenant to us—to send His Spirit to give us timely instruction that enables us in the right paths for our lives, or to show us all things past, present and future, or to give us sufficient comfort or reassurance to do his will today. He teaches us the peaceable things of immortal glory, which is to deal justly and to love our neighbor as ourselves. He teaches us the truth of all things, he quickens and strengthens our minds, hearts, and bodies and sustains us from one breath to the next, and he teaches us redeeming knowledge that we might qualify to come back into his presence. He does all these things and gives us the very power we must have in order to do his will, according to his perfect wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgement. His goal or objective for each us is to make us his, or to redeem us. As we strive to become as Christ is in a thing, and as Christ we become so, the Holy Ghost ratifies to our souls that our striving to become complete in that thing is fully enabled within us; and we are now made perfect and holy in that thing, in Christ. To remain such we must continue to live worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost or the natural man will regain power over us in that thing. Enoch and his people became Holy through this Path of Holiness, which requires continual faith, repentance, renewing of covenants with real intent, and by qualifying to receive the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. 

• Law of Chastity and Creation: As Enoch became holy and perfect by receiving each characteristic of Christ, he diligently sought to teach this process to his people. We are to do similarly as we receive perfect gifts of Christ. We are to help create more of that gift in the world within the bounds the Lord has set. For example, just as your procreative gift to create children is bound to your spousal relationship, so too are all other gifts of Christ bound to holy purposes. Using any gift of Christ outside of holy purposes constitutes and adulteration of that gift.
• Law of Service and Consecration: We are to share our gifts freely to bless the lives of others. As we do so we experience increased love, light, and edification--as do those being served. This binds us to each other and binds us more perfectly to Christ and the laws of Holiness. We need each other and we covenant at baptism to lighten and lift each other's burdens. As we lift the downtrodden and weary heart, and as we adminster relief to the sick, the maimed, the captive, and to all who need comfort, we help lift one another to Christ. Each of us has been endowed by God with unique gifts and talents. As we use these gifts to create more holiness in the world, and as we lift and serve the true needs of others, and as we use our gifts and talents to effectively turn others fully to Christ, we fulfill the law to consecrate our gifts to the building of God’s Kingdom. By comparison, using our gifts to set ourselves up as a light to others, rather than turn others fully to Christ, or to use our gifts for unholy purposes, does not fulfill the law, nor does it turn others to Christ, nor does it build God's Kingdom.

Ours is the greatest of all work to do on this earth; we are a generation that has been called as Enoch to build the city Zion. After we have done so, we will send forth the greatest force of missionaries the world has ever known. We will receive the greater blessings of the priesthood that include translation, the power to raise the dead, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and to receive the fullness of the Gospel, which is to part the veil while still in our mortal state and to enter into Christ’s presence. This and more will we do as we heed and readily accept each invitation of God’s Spirit to walk the Path of Holiness. The ability to accept invitations of the spirit is sufficiently important that the Lord gave His saints a law of health whereby they may be strong enough to walk his straight paths. 

As you fully enable the promises of his law of health within you through obedience, you will receive health in your navel, marrow in your bones and you will find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures. Your spiritual capacity will increase exponentially; and, you will run along the path of Holiness and not be weary; and, you will walk along these same paths without fainting, and you will be made perfect, holy, and without spot in Christ.  

Postscript
As I have worked with thousands of people who have struggled to establish and to maintain a healthful dietary lifestyle, and as I have striven to master the Lord's laws of health, I have come to conclude that any lifestyle issue from diet, exercise, and even success in our personal relationships cannot be fully enabled without applying the Laws of Holiness fully to those issues. By so doing we maintain the Spirit of the Almighty unto ourselves.

At the crossroads of holiness and perfection, when we are struggling to make the best decision regarding which way to go, whether it is "what should I fix for dinner (I'm tired, I don't have enough food in the house, why isn't there something already fixed, etc.)" or "what should I say to my son, daugher, spouse, friend..., to help and how should I say it," we tend to do what is comfortable and familiar. So as you strive to live truth more fully and you do not take time at the crossroads to allow the spirit to teach you more perfectly what to do in those hard moments, then you will likely do whatever was most comfortable for you at the latest stage of your progression in that truth.

If your latest stage of progress is to yell and scream, or is to eat junk food when you are stressed, or is to watch television rather than go for a walk when you are down trodden, that will be your default, unless you pause at the crossroads of perfection to look heavenward to bind the Lord's spirit to you through striving for greater obedience.

This articles lays out the basics for progression and reminds us of a simple truth. God has promised that he will send His spirit to teach us more perfectly, as we stop to seek, knock, or ask in the right spirit. Slow down and the crossroads of holiness and perfection and express your need; then listen and receive His spirit to teach you more perfectly. 

I've worked with individuals who have suffered from severe obesity since their teenage years. Until they successfully pull God into the crossroads of their dietary decisions, no matter how many books they read and how much they know or how many times they lose 50+ or 100+ pounds, they always regain the lost weight. Why? Because they never master the application of truth or become as Christ is in that truth. It rarely occurs to them that Christ is their perfect coach, that He alone is already the perfect Master of the truth they seek to learn, and that through faith in him and their binding baptismal covenant, God will absolutely send His Almighty Spirit to assist them in the very moment they need assistance. 

As I sat across from a woman one day listening to her story, I experienced sorrow and pain because of the utter lack of confidence she felt. She had failed so many times that although she knew the principles we were discusssing were true, and although the Spirit had born witness to her soul that they were true, she believed these truths were beyond her grasp. This is a common state of those who have striven valiantly, yet have failed over and over again.  

I was impressed to share the Laws of Holiness with her and to discuss them with her as they pertain to her specific issues. For several weeks we met and discussed how to more easily apply the principles of dietary truth in her life. We made recipes together; we shared ideas; but most importantly, we spoke of the baptismal covenant, of of her renewing of her covenant to live God's laws of health fully. We discussed the nature of the promised blessings for those who do so and we spoke of God's promise to send His Spirit to Her as she needed it. I expressed my belief that if she would pause and ask for His help at the crossroads, He would send it immediately to her; that infact, He was bound to do so because of her sincere strivings to keep her covenant fully to live his laws of health.

At last belief entered into her and she was ready to pause at the crossroads of holiness and perfection to allow God's Almighty Spirit to teach her more perfectly. As she came home from work one day, bone tired and unable to make dinner for her family, she was about to throw something into the microwave and onto the table. In that moment she paused recognizing that her choice for dinner would not be for her benefit or the benefit of her children. Tired, weary, and with a broken heart she told God that she was tired, had little healthy food in the house, didn't believe she could make a healthful meal, but that she wanted to and would if He would help her to do so.

She felt impressed to open her refridgerator. She then quickly assessed what healthful foods she had their, as well as what possibilities existed in her pantry. Intelligence came into her mind and ideas began to form very quickly. She, the very person who had told me at least a dozen times that she was not a chef, that she was horrible in the kitchen, that she could not make healthful food taste good, that she hated preparing food and so forth..., this same person came up with a marvelous meal plan that she was able to create on-the-fly.

In less than five minutes she laid out a wonderful tasting and healthful meal for her and her children. They loved it; she loved it, she suddenly loved preparing food and her paradyme changed forever because her faith in God's covenant to bind His spirit to her obedience was realized. She now knows how to connect the dots at the crossroads of perfection and holiness.

Over the next weeks and months she continued to call me to share similar stories. She taught me that God understood her every need and helped her apply applicable truth according to her exact strength, her budget, and the specific conditions which faced her. While I coached her in general terms about true principles and shared my own experiences, recipes, and so forth with her--which was helpful, the Holy Spirit was coaching her in the moment and according to her custom needs. How appropriate because God alone knows the intimate details of our lives. There is not greater coach when it comes to the critical crossroads.

Daniel's Challenge and Original Fast Foods were specifically written to help enable eating patterns which support greater health. They teach very important principles of truth. They even help you get started by sharing meal plans, shopping lists, and so forth. Use them to further your journey toward fully enabling the promises of the Word of Wisdom in your life. Also, enjoy the support offered by recipe videos, articles, discussion forums, and the live call-in show where you can discuss your questions. Enjoy all this and more as you move forward to fully enable the promised blessings of the Word of Wisdom. However, doing each of these things will be utterly insufficient unless you enable yourself in the crossroads of perfection and holiness.

I wrestled in spirit trying to determine how to best share these critical truths and their relationship to your health. I feared I would offend some; however, I hope more will be helped than offended. Moreover, I ask you to share your experiences at the crossroads, as you strive to live the Lord's laws of health fully. As you share your uniqe and true experiences below, you will edify, and uplift, and each of us will gain thereby.