Why do we fast?

It's kind of a weird commandment, isn't it? It's not really to serve others, is it? True, we give our fast offerings, but we could give that without actually skipping any meals if we wanted.

So why do we do it? What purpose does it serve us and/or the Lord? It's been widely said that by fasting we grow closer to the spirit and we are more apt to feel its promptings. Is this true? If so, why?

The answer is similar to why we obey the Word of Wisdom, which I discussed earlier.

Often times we hear or read that we are to put of the flesh or the natural man. Note that we, our souls, consist of a physical body and a spiritual body. Each has it's own intentions and desires, good and bad. For example, the body desires food, sex, back rubs, substances, etc. The spirit desires love, praise, music, etc. They are distinct desrires, and can often conflict.

Our goal, while mortal, is to learn to govern ourselves with our spirit. Our bodies are intended as tools to be governed, not governors of themselves. When we allow our bodies to govern the soul, we become slaves to desires. We may become immoral regardless of the suffering it causes ourselves and others. We may become addicted to substances that temporarily ease our spiritual torment, thus becoming completely dependant on those substances.

If we can govern our bodies, they become a powerful tool in accomplishing our spiritual desires (hopefully for good). We don't even know the powers that can be used once our bodies become glorified.

This is why we fast. We are teaching ourselves to govern our bodies. We must teach the body to submit to our will. We must enslave the flesh, not become slaves to it.

In Marion Zimmer Bradley's book The Mists of Avalon, Morgaine, a druid priestess, explains why the druids would fast. "The people of Avalon fast, sometimes, to teach their bodies to do what they are told without making demands it is inconvienient to satisfy -- there are times when one must do without food, or water, or sleep, and the body must be the servant of the mind, not the master. The mind cannot be set on holy things, or wisdom, or stilled for the long meditation which opens the mind to other realms, when the body cries 'Feed me!' or 'I thirst!' So we teach ourselves to still its clamoring."