[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 19th We took the parting hand with Br & Sister Moulton who had treated us kindly And we rode to Gray + And spent the night. 50 m.
During the evening we accompanied Rhoda Foss to A lecture deliverd at the Teachers Institute. The subject was the Oxigen of the human system. He said it was the Oxigen that entered the system that sustained life. That we recieved so much into our bodies each day And that we discharged so much each day. We flung of so much Oxigen at each respera-tion. He said the oxigen would meet with the Hydragen & carbon & create a heat or cholorie & this was the cause of the heat in man the same as it was with a burning lamp. And if Oxigen should scease to be created in man he would scease to breath or live.
He explained the difference in Quantity of the Oxigen created from vegitables or animal food. That animal food produced far more Oxigen than vegitable, And that the body discharged Oxigen much faster in cold countries than in hot, & in Cold weather than in warm. And advised that people Subsist more upon Animal food in cold weather than in hot. He had tried it by going without Animal food for years And became convinced that it was injurious to him. He injoyed much better health since he made use of Animal food in Cold weather fat meat produces oxigen in far greater quantities than lean And believes this is one reason of the prevelant fevers in Hot Countrys & seasons. That Oxigen is created so much faster than it discharges that it breaks the law of nature And the man has to suffer in consequence of it.
Oxigen is also recieved & discharged through the pores of the skin And hence their was great propriety in keeping the body Clean & washing often. He urged the necessity & importance of having all dwelling Houses School & meeting houses & all sleeping rooms well ventilated. Our sleeping rooms should be the largest rooms in the house instead of small bedrooms & them closed without any fresh Air. Go into A crouded room that is not well ventilated And the air you breath is poison to the Human System.
Mothers should be careful to see to their Children that they do not lie with their heads Coverd up that they need not breath the air under cover.
The faster A person respires or any creature the oftener he discharges Oxigen & the oftener he needs food & the shorter would be his live life without it. A bird can ownly live 3 days without food A man 9 or 12 A child not as long while some Animals or reptiles will live three months without it. A child needs food much oftener than A man. It respires oftener discharges Oxigen oftener which needs replenishing oftener. If A person lives without food the elements pray upon the body itself to creates oxigen. The flesh waste away & the persons dies. It is the fat of the bear, the ground Hog & all Animals that burrow up for months without eating that feeds the Oxigen & keeps life in the animal. Yet when he comes out he is poor.
He also recommended that we put on warm clothing when we begin to feel the chill of Autum & not wait unill we feel the blast of winter.
We should eat in the morning before we expose ourselves to riding in the Cold. And if we wished to save hay and provi[n?]der give our Cattle & Stock warm stables in winter for it would take much more to sustain the system in the open air. He opposed the principle of Air tight stoves. They were not healthy And many other remarks were made by the speaker.
I have discoverd in my travels of late in the eastern states A great exhertion Among the people to improve their system of education to make it interesting to the youth & changing the mode of teaching. The black board is introduced into the schools generally & it is found not profitable to confine the scholar in one place not more than an hour & are giving attention to children of weak lungs & stomach using gymnastics &c filling the lungs with air & exploding it suddenly with sounds like O, Bo, Ba &c loud to exercise the lungs making them stand strait. I find many good things of this kind among the people.
But when we look for the things of the Kingdom of God it appears to me this nation was never more barren than at the present time. Their hearts seem to be bared up. They are bound in bands which are made strong & no man Can loose them. They seem to be ripe for the Judgments of God. And well they may be inasmuch as they have rejected the gospel shed the Blood of Prophets Apostles & Patriarchs & driven the church & Kingdom of God into the wilderness And have finally been Cut off from the Church & kingdom of God by A general vote & Acclamation of the Saints of God with uplifted hands to heaven in the Temple of the Lord at Nauvoo And who can expect to get access to the hearts of this Nation now? No one. Their Condemnation is made shure & their damnation slumbereth not.
1 - Diaries of Hosea Stout
2 - Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies
3 - Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology
4 - The Woodland Institute 'On This Day Historical Database,' http://www.woodlandinstitute.com
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