Gospel vs. Culture.
Doctrines & Policies.
“The Church is True” or “The Gospel is True”.
There’s a lot of discussion today among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about these ideas and other, related concepts. Regular changes within the Church make the topics increasingly interesting.
In working through and wrestling with these notions, I’ve found the model below to be useful. I hope you find it useful too.
As indicated, the three columns on the right are from David A. Bednar‘s book Increase in Learning. The rest is my attempt at showing the various types of applications that exist. There is much more to be written on the subject, especially as it relates to our obedience to various applications and our judgment of other people’s obedience to various applications.
There also an opportunity to explore specific doctrines, principles, and applications through this model. This is my first pass at using the model to better understand The Word of Wisdom:
I hope you find this useful. I hope to continue refining the model and using it to better understand God’s plan, His kingdom, and my role in it.
Please share your thoughts and comments below or via direct message.
travisaacson 
Travis, you may also want to take a look at the book, Seekers Wanted for a discussion on this subject as well.
LikeLike
We got the book finally. Now I need to read it!
LikeLike
This is so helpful! I am including this in my YW lesson Sunday as a handout. Thank you!
LikeLike
Glad to hear it. It’s been really useful for my gospel study too!
LikeLike
it seems like there are things on the application side in regard to the word of wisdom that you may have added for your personal word of wisdom. That is great for your inspiration and life, however I would be cautious is saying that no processed foods, sugar, caffeinated drinks etc.. should be on that list. Doctrine and Covenants 89.
LikeLike
Exactly, that’s the point of this article–everyone has their own personal applications to the Word of Wisdom. I’ve only presented some common applications.
LikeLike