This year in the Church News you'll find a series of articles about the most significant news events of this century involving the Church. It's an impressive list, from the Church's phenomenal growth to the revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy males.

A more subtle event isn't listed, but it's a source of deep satisfaction nevertheless. It is, in fact, a major milestone in its own right, one that saves thousands of lives every year. That is the vindication of the revelation called the Word of Wisdom, which was received Feb. 27, 1833.

Health officials at all levels know the truth today: alcohol isn't good for you and costs society billions of dollars every year in crime, drunken driving deaths and a host of social impacts; tobacco smoking will kill you; eating too many foods full of animal fat contributes to heart disease; eating grains and fruits is a key to good nutrition.

Church members can't help but smile at the irony of it all. Most of these changes occurred within the past generation, which meant that for years those who followed the Word of Wisdom felt like they were on the sidelines. They were, in fact, peculiar, their health code seen as quaint and irrelevant. But no more.

We should appreciate how profound this change is. Fifty years ago, fully 40 percent of the population of the United States smoked tobacco. It was something that a large percentage of people did. Alcoholic drinks were served as a matter of course. Today, consumption of alcoholic beverages has dropped to the lowest levels in three decades, and the number of adults who smoke has leveled at 25 percent.

Obviously, not only science but also the general public embraces the wisdom of that revelation. It's a shame that it took so long. One reason is that both science and the public look with suspicion, if not hostility, on truths offered from faith.

In fact, the precepts outlined in the 89th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants are absolutely correct. This month it will be 166 years since they were given. Most of us know the story of how they came. Joseph Smith organized a School of the Prophets and invited selected members to discuss the great knowledge coming to the earth through revelations. As they met, their small room was filled with tobacco smoke and the floor was dirty from chewing tobacco. When he asked the Lord about this conduct, he received the answer in revelation as a word to the wise.

First, he was told, it was given as a principle with a promise, one that the weakest of the Saints could live by. Then, he was told, it came because of the evils and designs of conspiring men, not just then, but also in the future. The Lord knew banning alcohol and tobacco would be hated by those who manufactured them, even if the products themselves were dangerous and unhealthful.

The principle was to avoid addictive substances that can harm you. Thus the guidelines: stay away from liquor, tobacco, tea and coffee. Another principle: take care of the body you've been given. So members were encouraged to eat wholesome herbs, fruits, grains, and meat in moderation.

If they did this, the Lord said, they would find wisdom and hidden treasures of knowledge as a reward for their faithfulness, they would be able to run and not be weary, walk and not faint. The destroying angel would pass by them and not slay them.

How well has the health code served the Church? Study after study has shown that faithful members benefit with longer and healthier lives.

For instance, James E. Enstrom, a researcher for the University of California, reported a study in 1997 following the mortality rates and lifestyles of 10,000 members of the Church, all high priests and their wives. He found they had one of the lowest death rates from cancer and cardiovascular disease — about half of the rest of the population. The healthiest of them were living eight to 11 years longer than the general white population in the country. They also had only 16 percent of the expected deaths from cancers related to smoking, and just 6 percent of the deaths from emphysema, asthma, ulcers, cirrhosis of the liver, homicide and suicide.

His is only one of many studies that show the strength of the Word of Wisdom as a health code. For members of the Church, however, it is more than that.

In 1851, following the direction of Brigham Young, it became a formal covenant and since then has been a binding commandment on all members of the Church. It is a mark of faithfulness, such a distinctive feature of the Church that new members cannot join unless they agree to live by its code. As a member, you cannot enter the temples of the Church if you do not live by its precepts.

For many members of the Church, living by the Word of Wisdom used to be a matter of faith. Now it's also a matter of common sense. And it's what the Lord requires.