We Should Relish Our Food, March 24

Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Ecclesiastes 9:7. It is important that we relish the food we eat. If we cannot do this, but eat mechanically, we fail to be nourished and built up as we would be if we could enjoy the food we take into the stomach. We are composed of what we eat. In order to make a good quality of blood, we must have the right kind of food, prepared in a right manner. It is a religious duty for those who cook to learn how to prepare healthful food in different ways, so that it may be eaten with enjoyment.... The eating has to do with the life.... It is highly essential that the art of cookery be considered one of the most important branches of education.... Knowledge of how to prepare food healthfully, especially bread, is no mean science.—Testimonies for the Church 1:682. To the health and happiness of the whole family nothing is more vital than skill and intelligence on the part of the cook. By ill-prepared, unwholesome food she may hinder and even ruin both the adult’s usefulness and the child’s development. Or by providing food adapted to the needs of the body, and at the same time inviting and palatable, she can accomplish as much in the right as otherwise she accomplishes in the wrong direction. So, in many ways, life’s happiness is bound up with faithfulness in common duties.—Education, 216.