Evil And Conspiring Men In The Last Days

[Fig-bearing Thistle]

Doctrine and Covenants Section 89 begins with this warning in v. 4:

"4Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—"

Conspiring men. Evils and Designs. One evil design that the Book of Mormon warns about repeatedly is the lust for power and money. As I look over our Western Society, I love our freedoms and our form of Constitutional Government, but I see a lot of evil designing in our food and medical system.

Particularly the processed, boxed foods that emerge from our food industry. These have many of the natural healthy elements stripped out, and then a few chemicals are re-added to call it "fortified". Our Nation spends more on health care than any other nation, and we are close to (if not THE) least healthy country in the world. I have seen how food corporations have dumped in sugars, flavoring, man-made sweeteners and fats, etc, in order to addict the people to the taste and convenience of our American diet, and it makes us sick taking us to the brink of death. And then we have the drug companies advertising to us directly with products designed to barely keep us from going over the brink, and make lots of profits in the mean time.

This is just one example I see of evil and conspiring men and women in the last days. I don't fault the doctors, they are just doing what they are told to do by their text books and by the USDA and FDA. The FDA and USDA don't exist to assure healthy food, but to assure profitability in the American food and drug industry. The problem more lies with them, IMO.

[frankenstein]

the man who created the disposable razor that was used by GI's in WWI was told "create something that has to be thrown away", much of the American society is goated on by conspirings of excess, lust of money, and wanton waste.

[Arkholt]

Nobody's making you buy that stuff. It exists because people want it. It was created because someone thought someone else might want it. I don't understand how that makes them "evil and conspiring."

[LeSellers]

Nobody's making you buy that stuff. It exists because people want it. It was created because someone thought someone else might want it. I don't understand how that makes them "evil and conspiring."

One word: Monsanto. Add a few more: bovine growth hormone, patented soybeans, weed killer.

Here's another thought: ADD, ADHD, Asperger's, Autism, cancer, allergies.

Why are they rising like the proverbial rocket? (Hint: there's a connection between the first 'graf and the second, but paid-off politicians and bureaucrats won’t tell you about it. What they will do is publish "findings" that directly contradict the facts in the same studies.)

I believe that defines a "conspiracy", and it certainly is "evil and designing".

Lehi

[DarkScythe]

Everything and everyone can be exploited by others with bad intentions even if the thing has good intentions when it was being developed. There will always be someone else to use it to a bad end.

[CV75]

Doctrine and Covenants Section 89 begins with this warning in v. 4:

"4Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—"

The dietary measures in this Section 89 certainly offer those surrounded by bad medicine and bad food an advantage over those not practicing them, and this would apply all over the world where evil and conspiring men, stupid men, well-meaning-but-unwise/ignorant men, and accidents have a deleterious impact on medicine and food. Not to minimize the point that evil and conspiring men do operate within these industries.

[Walden]

Doctrine and Covenants Section 89 begins with this warning in v. 4:

"4Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—"

Conspiring men. Evils and Designs. One evil design that the Book of Mormon warns about repeatedly is the lust for power and money. As I look over our Western Society, I love our freedoms and our form of Constitutional Government, but I see a lot of evil designing in our food and medical system.

Particularly the processed, boxed foods that emerge from our food industry. These have many of the natural healthy elements stripped out, and then a few chemicals are re-added to call it "fortified". Our Nation spends more on health care than any other nation, and we are close to (if not THE) least healthy country in the world. I have seen how food corporations have dumped in sugars, flavoring, man-made sweeteners and fats, etc, in order to addict the people to the taste and convenience of our American diet, and it makes us sick taking us to the brink of death. And then we have the drug companies advertising to us directly with products designed to barely keep us from going over the brink, and make lots of profits in the mean time.

This is just one example I see of evil and conspiring men and women in the last days. I don't fault the doctors, they are just doing what they are told to do by their text books and by the USDA and FDA. The FDA and USDA don't exist to assure healthy food, but to assure profitability in the American food and drug industry. The problem more lies with them, IMO.

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but the United States is quite far from being " close to (if not THE) least healthy country in the world." Don't believe me, then check out here, here or here. In a 2008 study reported in Forbes magazine on the world's healthiest countries, it was reported that "Despite the fact that an estimated 47 million Americans lack health insurance, the U.S . ranked 11."

Now I do not mean to state that the US is a beacon of health by any means. But to heap all the blame on food manufacturers is a bit much. Food manufacturers will not make a profit by selling food that American’s won't buy, so someone, the American public, is certainly providing a demand for this type of food. Likewise, activity rates among Americans are particularly shameful, as Americans seem to prefer sitting in front of the television and snacking on processed foods to getting outdoors and performing some exercise. Kids would rather sit in front of their gaming console and play a football video game than actually getting out there and playing football for real.

And though my opinion of drug companies in America is pretty low, to say that they create "products designed to barely keep us from going over the brink," is a bit much. Have you seen the advancements in HIV-therapy drugs in the past two decades.....HIV used to mean certain death, and now, through the miracle of pharmaceuticals, it is a rather manageable disease. In the past century, drug companies have helped to eradicate diseases such as polio, have developed a wide spectrum of antibiotic and vaccine therapies that have saved millions, if not billions, of lives, and have designed unique delivery systems for drugs so that they no longer require painful injections or surgeries.

For me, personally, a lot of it comes down to personal choice and freedom. Last year, I decided to give up processed foods as a means to get healthy. I limited my diet to meats (chicken, fish, beef), vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and healthy oils. I cut out processed foods and processed sugars. The result...I've gone from 242 lbs. to 204 lbs. in 7 months.

The point of all this, in relation to your post relating the food and drug industries to warnings found in the D&C, is that those who are looking to find "signs" can find them if they look with a narrow enough focus. If you cut out all the good that the drug companies have done, and only focus on the bad, well then of course you will see them as "conspiring men". Same with the food industry.

IMO, in the end, it is not about these "conspiring men", but rather, personal responsibility.

[Deborah]

But to heap all the blame on food manufacturers is a bit much. Food manufacturers will not make a profit by selling food that American’s won't buy, so someone, the American public, is certainly providing a demand for this type of food.

I have to say for once I agree with Walden. Shocker, I know. Americans like the convenience of packaged foods and so if the manufactures are guilty of playing to that then the public is guilty for enabling them.

It is interesting that as the American people have become more nutrition conscious, so have manufacturers. They are doing away with hydrogenated fats and high-fructose corn syrup products and we see more labels such as "all natural" and even organic. I personally like my Lean Cuisine entrees for a quick lunch, even knowing there are better ways to eat.

[Whiskeypete]

Since the thread already includes examples of consipiring men seeking a profit at the expense of the well being of others, I would also have to include those who peddle extremely expensive sugar tablets supposedly containing a remedy for illness, but knowing full well that the substance that has been added to the sugar pill has been diluted far beyond the point where even a single molecule of the "remedy" could possibly remain.

[shalamabobbi]

If you are unaware that profit has taken a higher consideration than health you need to do some reading.

The major food groups that we were taught in grade school were invented and funded by the food industry.

"The China Study" by Colin Campbell used from $6.99 on Amazon

"The Food Revolution"(used from $11.87) "Diet for a New America"(used from $0.43) "Healthy at 100" (used from $4.99) by John Robbins

"Skinny ****" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (used from $0.01) Warning: this one contains some crude language.

If you have lost the talent to read try watching:

"Banana's" with Juan Accidetes Dominguez (2011)(though some of the Nicaraguan witnesses are suspect the interaction between Dole and Dow is beyond dispute)

"Supersize Me" John Banzhaf, Bridget Bennett, Ron English

"Food Inc" Eric Schlosser

"King Corn" Earl L. Butz, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis

"Diet for a New America" available on VHS 1992

"Earthlings" narrated by Joaquin Phoenix

I can say that following the change in diet suggested from the above made a dramatic change in my health, weight, and mental state.

If you like meat don't let yourself get turned off by the vegetarian lean of the above.

Just see the reasoning behind lessening the AMOUNT of meat in your diet and give it a try.

[Whiskeypete]

Here's a fun idea. Lets look at the logical fallicies in this thread:

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

One word: Monsanto. Add a few more: bovine growth hormone, patented soybeans, weed killer.

Here's another thought: ADD, ADHD, Asperger's, Autism, cancer, allergies.

Why are they rising like the proverbial rocket? (Hint: there's a connection between the first 'graf and the second, but paid-off politicians and bureaucrats won’t tell you about it. What they will do is publish "findings" that directly contradict the facts in the same studies.)

Correlation does not equal causation. Ever since Leave it to Beaver went off the air, the number of Cancer cases has skyrocketed. Therefore the Beaver was curing cancer.

Ad hominem circumstantial

The major food groups that we were taught in grade school were invented and funded by the food industry.

Just because a group benefits from a claim doesn't make that claim false. Are you ready to reject all pro-mormon comments on this board because they come from Mormons?

Edited June 15, 2011 by Whiskeypete

[LeSellers]

Correlation does not equal causation. Ever since Leave it to Beaver went off the air, the number of Cancer cases has skyrocketed. Therefore the Beaver was curing cancer.

The few lines I wrote on the matter do not begin to present the evidence.

Lehi

[KevinG]

Conspiring for gain can be as simple as selling cigarettes and booze to make a profit, even when you know they are destroying your customers.

I would put the Kennedy clan and RJR Reynolds in the conspiring section of the bleachers before Conagra, ADM and Frito Lay. Even the booze and cigarette makers pale in comparison to the drug cartels. The word of wisdom doesn't have to be read to cryptically to identify some obvious conspiracies to harm that we can avoid.

[LeSellers]

I would put the Kennedy clan and RJR Reynolds in the conspiring section of the bleachers before Conagra, ADM and Frito Lay. ... The word of wisdom doesn't have to be read to cryptically to identify some obvious conspiracies to harm that we can avoid.

There is one critical difference, at least in recent times.

The food and drug administration has said that all the food we eat is safe—they are, after all, protecting us. They are saying that booze and tobacco are not.

The problem is that the food they have approved is not (all) safe. Much of it is very unsafe. Anyone who eats soy (except fermented soy products, like soy sauce) is turning himself into an old woman. It turns young girls into women (the age of menarche has dramatically fallen since the widespread use of soy in the late 80s). It turns young women into old women. It turns little boys into little girls. It turns men into women. Soy has extremely high levels of phyto-estrogens, estrogens so powerful they are the basis for some menopausal drugs. Estrogens (absent other female hormones) cause cancer. Men who get breast cancer almost always have taken some form of estrogen, and often it's soy.

This list goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and .... .

Yet soy is approved for infant formula (itself a fiasco, even absent soy). Soy is in everything from Silk® milk substitute, where it's obvious, to ranch dressing, where it's not.

Even the feeds given to cattle and other m eat source animal now includes high levels of soy protein. The protein part is great, but you don't get one without the other.

Lehi

[cinepro]

The few lines I wrote on the matter do not begin to present the evidence.

Lehi

I agree.

[cinepro]

Conspiring men. Evils and Designs. One evil design that the Book of Mormon warns about repeatedly is the lust for power and money. As I look over our Western Society, I love our freedoms and our form of Constitutional Government, but I see a lot of evil designing in our food and medical system.

You seem to be making the argument that things are getting worse when it comes to our food and medical care. Just so I have a reference point for your argument, can you tell me what time period you look to as the benchmark for food quality and medical care in the USA?

[shalamabobbi]

Just because a group benefits from a claim doesn't make that claim false.

Certainly. The possibility of a CONFLICT OF INTEREST however exists. And that IS recognized as being ethically undesireable. We were never informed growing up that the food industry was behind the teaching of what was "orthodox" thinking about the subject of a healthful diet.

http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-08-monsanto-FDA-taylor

The proof is in the doing however. That is why I wrote "I can say that following the change in diet suggested from the above made a dramatic change in my health, weight, and mental state."

Hey Lehi,

I for one would appreciate a list for further reading. Thanks.

Robert

[LeSellers]

I for one would appreciate a list for further reading.

It's not online (that I know of), and I am not up to typing it in right now. But you might start here.

Why You Should be Concerned About rBGH in Your Milk

Samuel Epstein, MD, a scientist at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, is one of the top experts on cancer prevention. He is frequently called upon to advise Congress about things in our environment that may cause cancer, and he has written eight books, including two books on this particular topic What's in Your Milk?, and Got (Genetically Engineered) Milk?

In his books, Dr. Epstein explains that rBGH milk is "qualitatively and quantitatively different from natural milk," and is "supercharged with high levels of a natural growth factor (IGF-1), excess levels of which have been incriminated as major causes of breast, colon, and prostate cancers."

In addition to increased IGF-1 levels, other differences between rBGH milk and natural milk include:

• Contamination of milk by the genetically modified hormone rBGH
  
• Contamination by pus and antibiotics resulting from the high incidence of mastitis in rBGH-injected cows
  
• Contamination with illegal antibiotics and drugs used to treat mastitis and other rBGH-induced disease
  
• Increased concentration of the thyroid hormone enzyme thyroxin-5'-monodeiodinase
  
• Increased concentration of long-chain and decreased concentration of short-chain fatty acids
  
• A reduction in levels of the milk protein casein

What's Wrong with Our Soy and Corn?

Another common ingredient in processed food is soy, which is also one of the top eight food allergens.  And again, we see the presence of something "foreign" as the vast majority of soy now grown in the US is genetically engineered to withstand massive doses of weed killer.

Ditto for corn.

Corn allergies are on the rise, and while some genetically modified corn is engineered to withstand Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, other varieties are engineered to create their own internal pesticide (Bt toxin).  The biotech industry claimed there were no health risks to worry about from these altered foods. In the case of Bt corn, the concern that your gut might turn into a pesticide factory was shrugged off with lame assurances that the Bt toxin wouldn't survive once ingested.

However, just last month, a study revealed that Bt toxin was detected in:

• 93 percent of maternal blood samples
  
• 80 percent of fetal blood samples
  
• 69 percent of non-pregnant women blood samples

Turns out you cannot replace actual safety studies with lip service after all. Another recent review of 19 animal studies on genetically modified organisms (GMO) revealed that nearly 10 percent of blood, urine, organ and other parameters tested were significantly influenced by GMOs, with the liver and kidneys faring the worst. Additionally, Jeffrey Smith, executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology and author of two books on the topic, has previously documented more than 65 serious health risks from GM products of all kinds.

Among them:

• Offspring of rats fed GM soy showed a five-fold increase in mortality, lower birth weights, and the inability to reproduce
  
• Male mice fed GM soy had damaged young sperm cells
  
• The embryo offspring of GM soy-fed mice had altered DNA functioning
  
• Several US farmers reported sterility or fertility problems among pigs and cows fed on GM corn varieties

Lehi

Edited June 16, 2011 by LeSellers

[Mudcat]

Our Nation spends more on health care than any other nation, and we are close to (if not THE) least healthy country in the world.

Top 15 healthiest countries in the world.

#11 United States

The U.S.far outspends any other country on health care, but 15% of the population still lacks health insurance. However the U.S does have the lowest infant mortality rate in the world, the second-highest healthy life expectancy, and a low TB rate.

Source

http://blog.healia.com/00222/top-15-healthiest-countries-world

[The Nehor]

It all started when the Communists fluoridated our water to taint our precious bodily fluids.

[Fig-bearing Thistle]

You seem to be making the argument that things are getting worse when it comes to our food and medical care. Just so I have a reference point for your argument, can you tell me what time period you look to as the benchmark for food quality and medical care in the USA?

I'm looking at chronic illness as a measuring stick. Things like Diabetes, Heart Disease, Cancer, and Obesity rates over the last 50 years or so.

[BCSpace]

This is just one example I see of evil and conspiring men and women in the last days. I don't fault the doctors, they are just doing what they are told to do by their text books and by the USDA and FDA. The FDA and USDA don't exist to assure healthy food, but to assure profitability in the American food and drug industry. The problem more lies with them, IMO

Maybe. But I think it also refers to situations more akin to "Can I buy you a drink?".

It all started when the Communists fluoridated our water to taint our precious bodily fluids.

I think it would be unpatriotic not to seek after fluoridated water. I myself have seven non-mutant children and absolutely no cavities after 40 plus years of existence, perhaps 15 of those with fluoridated water.

[Fig-bearing Thistle]

Maybe. But I think it also refers to situations more akin to "Can I buy you a drink?".

I think it would be unpatriotic not to seek after fluoridated water. I myself have seven non-mutant children and absolutely no cavities after 40 plus years of existence, perhaps 15 of those with fluoridated water.

This does not mean that added fluoride in our water supply has no deleterious effect on your children, or any of millions of others who are not cookie cutter prototypes of your children.

Just the idea of government enforcement of medicating our public drinking water makes me uneasy. Where would such a precedent stop? American used to define patriotism differently, I guess. For them, patriotism didn't mean "Please assume more personal responsibility for me and all my neighbors."

Edited June 16, 2011 by Fig-bearing Thistle

[BCSpace]

I think it would be unpatriotic not to seek after fluoridated water. I myself have seven non-mutant children and absolutely no cavities after 40 plus years of existence, perhaps 15 of those with fluoridated water.

This does not mean that added fluoride in our water supply has no deleterious effect on your children, or any of millions of others who are not cookie cutter prototypes of your children.

I was mostly kidding about the unpatriotic bit. But I don't see why one wouldn't want to aspire for their own children to be cookie cutter copies of my own perfect children......

We don't currently live in an area of fluoridated water, but we have chosen to fluoridate our children. They don't glow in the dark. They are big and strong and intelligent. They are quite antiCommunist as that is how we raise them. And the dental savings are significant though we are putting the orthodonist's kids through college.

Edited June 16, 2011 by BCSpace

[zerinus]

Doctrine and Covenants Section 89 begins with this warning in v. 4:

"4Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—"

Conspiring men. Evils and Designs. One evil design that the Book of Mormon warns about repeatedly is the lust for power and money. As I look over our Western Society, I love our freedoms and our form of Constitutional Government, but I see a lot of evil designing in our food and medical system.

Particularly the processed, boxed foods that emerge from our food industry. These have many of the natural healthy elements stripped out, and then a few chemicals are re-added to call it "fortified". Our Nation spends more on health care than any other nation, and we are close to (if not THE) least healthy country in the world. I have seen how food corporations have dumped in sugars, flavoring, man-made sweeteners and fats, etc, in order to addict the people to the taste and convenience of our American diet, and it makes us sick taking us to the brink of death. And then we have the drug companies advertising to us directly with products designed to barely keep us from going over the brink, and make lots of profits in the mean time.

This is just one example I see of evil and conspiring men and women in the last days. I don't fault the doctors, they are just doing what they are told to do by their text books and by the USDA and FDA. The FDA and USDA don't exist to assure healthy food, but to assure profitability in the American food and drug industry. The problem more lies with them, IMO.

That scripture comes from the Word of Wisdom revelation, and should be understood in the context of the prohibited substances mentioned in it, notably alcohol and tobacco and other addictive substances. I am sure there are "evil and conspiring men" in all industries who try to make money in unethical ways, including the food industry. The food industry, however, is so highly regulated in most countries nowadays that it is hard for manufacturers to be "unethical" about it without breaking the law and getting themselves into trouble. Furthermore, with the tough regulations about food labelling, and increasing consumer awareness about additives in what they eat, companies are competing with each other to produce foods that are considered "healthy" from the consumers' point of view to meet the demand. I think that food will always be healthier if you buy the raw ingredients and prepare it yourself; but the convenience of buying prepared foods compared with the hassle of making it yourself means that it will continue to remain the preferred choice for many people, notwithstanding the alternative being the healthier choice.

Edited June 16, 2011 by zerinus