Appendix 1
385
I eat but two meals a day, and still follow the light given me thirty-
five years ago. I use no meat. As for myself, I have settled the butter
question. I do not use it. This question should easily be settled in
every place where the purest article cannot be obtained. We have two
good milch cows, a Jersey and a Holstein. We use cream, and all are
satisfied with this.—
Letter 45, 1903
21. I am seventy-five years old; but I do as much writing as I ever
did. My digestion is good, and my brain is clear.
[491]
Our fare is simple and wholesome. We have on our table no butter,
no meat, no cheese, no greasy mixtures of food. For some months a
young man who was an unbeliever, and who had eaten meat all his
life, boarded with us. We made no change in our diet on his account;
and while he stayed with us he gained about twenty pounds. The food
which we provided for him was far better for him than that to which
he had been accustomed. All who sit at my table express themselves
as being well satisfied with the food provided.—
Letter 62, 1903
The Family Not Bound With Rigid Rules
22. I eat the most simple food, prepared in the most simple way.
For months my principal diet has been vermicelli and canned tomatoes,
cooked together. This I eat with zwieback. Then I have also stewed
fruit of some kind and sometimes lemon pie. Dried corn, cooked with
milk or a little cream, is another dish that I sometimes use.
But the other members of my family do not eat the same things
that I do. I do not hold myself up as a criterion for them. I leave each
one to follow his own ideas as to what is best for him. I bind no one
else’s conscience by my own. One person cannot be a criterion for
another in the matter of eating. It is impossible to make one rule for
all to follow. There are those in my family who are very fond of beans,
while to me beans are poison. Butter is never placed on my table, but
if the members of my family choose to use a little butter away from
the table, they are at liberty to do so. Our table is set twice a day, but if
there are those who desire something to eat in the evening, there is no
rule that forbids them from getting it. No one complains or goes from
our table dissatisfied. A variety of food that is simple, wholesome, and
palatable, is always provided.—
Letter 127, 1904