Apparently, PETA has members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on their team now. A billboard ad was recently erected in Salt Lake City, UT, that has an image of God with a staff in his right hand and a handful of vegetables in the left hand (symbolical?). The caption read, “And [animals] hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.” It then gives Doctrine and Covenants 89:15 as the scriptural reference.<\/p>\n
An article in today’s Salt Lake Tribune quotes from Sean Diener and Tom Rogers. Diener is mentioned as a spokesperson for PETA, and while the article doesn’t specifically quote him as saying the passage says what the billboard ad says it does, it does imply that.<\/p>\n
I’m not sure why the Tribune chose Rogers. Other than being a “dairyman-turned-vegetarian”, the article gives no indication to what significance Rogers has in either interpreting scripture or even commenting on the issue. Of course any average Joe could be used to give his opinion on the issue, but if that was the reasoning, why not pick another average Joe to give an opposing opinion. Why use an official spokesperson from both sides (Diener and LDS spokesperson Mike Otterson), but only an average Joe for one side. I’ll never understand the logic in the media.<\/p>\n
Anyhow, the end of the article has Rogers stating that LDS scripture, if taken literally, makes it pretty clear that meat should be eliminated from the diet. Using his suggestion, however, D&C 89:15?\u00a2\u201a\u00c7\u00a8\u201a\u00c4\u00f9in reference to verse 14?\u00a2\u201a\u00c7\u00a8\u201a\u00c4\u00f9specifies only beasts of the field, flying fowl and wild animals. No mention of poultry or seafood. It could also be interpreted to refer to all grain. That’s literal.<\/p>\n
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The scriptures do not condone an herbivore diet any more than they condone a carnivore diet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"