If any member is to pass a worthiness interview for any calling or temple admittance etc,are they still denied the deeper church membership privileges because they consume caffiene in colas and energy boosting beverage drinks?There are probably innumerable historical cases of members being sanctioned by their interviewers such as bishops and stake presidents for consuming caffiene in colas.I was told 22 years ago in a Sunday priesthood class that we must limit caffiene in to out bodies.One guy told me a bishop must not be a bishop anymore if I saw him drinking cola.That was clearly the understanding that we must not drink caffiene in any form.A statement was issued by the church that colas are not prohibited,because some high profile Mormon running for the highest public office and limelight in America did drink Pepsi.

So who here was chastised by church interrogators possibly many years before any public statement was put on the record about the church position on colas?Who was denied a temple admittance or any calling or privilege in the past?

I can't speak for members in the morridor, but out here in the Minnesota mission field, the Mormons I know are Coke fiends...and my TBM BIL slams 5-Hour Energy regularly. My TBM wife and I are not teased for drinking Coke, but for drinking Diet Coke.

I think Tommy's pepsi addiction put the kibosh on most of the caffeine shaming.
Though as a youth I was regularly dinged for liking Dr. Pepper :(

I've always been a HUGE Dr. Pepper fan! When I was on my mission and we'd go out to eat I'd get a Dr. Pepper, then tell everyone that whatever restaurant we were at had great root beer. Which could have been true, I just wasn't drinking it.

I went to BYU after my mission and one of my roommates freaked out when I had Dr. Pepper in the fridge. He asked why I would go and buy that stuff. I told him, "Because the beer in this state is too damn expensive!" I had a lot of fun making his little brain explode.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2016 10:50AM by bezoar.

It's all dependent on your arbitrarily chosen local leader, and whether or not he's sensible, a total dick, a meat-head, or whatever. The church has already denied that they have a dog in the fight. Just can't consume coffee or tea, although in 1973 the church president indicated that caffeine-free coffee and tea were fine. The membership apparently didn't read the memo, just as they missed the memo in 1993 when Holland spoke at General Conference about Smith translating by using a rock in his hat.

During my first temple interview we spoke of the Word of Wisdom. The bishop admitted that he drank coffee until he was married; his wife put a stop to it. I told him I understood completely, because the same thing happened to me.

A smile passed between us. Not a smile between two church members but between two men who know that we're both absurdly lucky to have these women in our lives. And not because they convince us to do dumb stuff like stop drinking coffee because of some silly religion, but because they're just plain adorable. I'm well-acquainted with his wife and he with mine; there are women in this world easier to live with. No matter.

Guys do crazy stuff because of the ladies in their lives. I even drag my ass to church one hour a week so my wife will have someone to walk in with. Non-Mormons ask, why would you do such a thing? They're not clear on the concept: being p----whipped is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on the p----.

Yeah, I go to church every week with my wife, too; just to keep her company. I'm even the reason she's actually on time, or even early...something unheard of before she married me.

I still drink coffee and beer, though; and there's no way I'm going to join. I don't ever see myself crossing that line of crazy.

>>>being p----whipped is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on the p----.<<<

I hear you, but don't mormon guys ever wonder why it doesn't work the other way around; that their d--- isn't capable of whipping as well?

How many guys on here have actually persuaded their wife to do something by threatening to withhold sex?

TBM mother switched over to Postum when family joined the church. Unbeknownst to her she orders caffeine-tainted mochas quite often and loves them. I'm not telling her. Tee hee.

My TBM wife has a mischievous side when she invites missionaries over for dinner. I must admit that I can't quite rectify it with her devotion to the church's covenants.

DW loves to cook, and is very good at it...I have 35 lbs. bearing testimony that it may be too good.

Her brownies have always gotten rave reviews, especially the frosting. Missionaries have often asked what she does to make them taste so good; and even when they don't ask, she will volunteer the information with but the slightest prompting from me.

As the missionaries are enjoying a second or third brownie, DW explains that the "vanilla" she uses in the recipe is actually Canadian Club whiskey.

Some missionaries just stop eating and look as though they are about to spit out something disgusting; but a majority simply pause, shrug, and even ask for another.

Cool, although real vanilla is suspended in what is essentially vodka anyways, so not too much of a stretch.

That's another fun fact my wife likes to share with unsuspecting Mormon dinner guests. She can go through a whole list of Mormon-accepted foods that contain either caffeine or alcohol just to see the reactions of her fellow Mormons.

Many non-Utah Mormons I've known were capable of drinking colas by the caseload. Also, the local college and university Institutes had actual Coke machines that were often full of the caffeinated stuff.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2016 12:34PM by adoylelb.

I don't care because I no longer grant theological interviews

It just so happened that I was in the MTC at the same time my sister was graduating from BYU. My parents were in town, so I requested that they bring me multiple 6 packs of Coke, cherry Coke and Dr Pepper. They complied, and my roommates were grateful.

So--- as a non-Mormon, what I understand from the various topics on this board, all the rules of the LDS are up to the bishop and/or the stake president, or how good you are at lying to them. Nothing is cast in stone.

Did I get it right?

I remember being a young member of the church in 60's and 70's. From what I can remember, caffeinated soft drinks NEVER kept you out of the temple or from having a calling. But if you brought coke to a ward picnic in the 60's and 70's, you would receive several snarky comments.

The question is are stimulant- pushing market drivers still trying to get the public addicted to caffeine so they can garner profit on your addiction with total disregard for the health outcomes, not the least of which are cardiac events, chronic migraines, anxiety, insomnia, vasoconstricion related compromised healing factors, high blood pressure, esophageal cancers, stomach ulcers, acid reflux disease, difficulty concentrating, and the list goes on. Check the medical data, or just rewind the video from the former President Bush's visit to China after overdosing on six cups of coffee and taking a head dive into his soup bowl with a toxic reaction. No one really wants to see that happening to anyone. Stimulants are not anything the body needs and they have toxic effects. It doesn't matter what form they're in, whether caffeine, nicotine, ephedrine, or any other pollutant to the body, or what product they are consumed in, whether coffee, tea, colas, juices, chocolate or any other product. They should be avoided. They are widely known to do physical and cognitive damage. Check your Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data over the decades of longitudinal studies. The best prevention is abstinence. Read labels and avoid toxic substances.

Yes I do know people who did not practice the WoW and were denied recommends until they practiced the self discipline of taking care of their health. They became educated and aware of the consequences of consuming harmful substances. When they did not stick with it there were regrettable health effects. I and they both wish they had maintained their health. These are modifiable risk factors and no one who is informed of the health risks need be a victim of marketing machinations by sellers of harmful substances who know they are harming the public health. We are responsible for our health and we can make informed choices about what we put into our bodies. If you live in a perfect world you don't have to worry about making responsible choices. If you are not there you can't trust other people, least of all profiteers, to make those choices for you. We got the truth about tobacco. We now have the truth about caffeine and other stimulants. We have the truth about alcohol and drugs. Do you think the dealers are going to tell you that? The medics and the allied health professions who have to put lives back together will even if dealers don't. Those of us who served outside the perfect world bubble haven't forgotten who was trustworthy and who wasn't. We don't want harmful substances in anyone's life. We are mindful of who put them there.

"High habitual coffee consumption has been associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, but data on lower levels of consumption and on different types of coffee are sparse."

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/29/2/398.short

Case in point....My mother, at my age, was a TBM who did not drink coffee. She had full blown type 2 diabetes. She drank 2 twelve packs of diet coke every week.

I am built just like my mother, same height, weight, health issues, etc. I DO NOT have type 2 diabetes. I drink coffee. In fact, I drink a lot of coffee, and joke that I'm making up for the 19 years I was a mormon withou caffeine. I quit my diet coke habit 6 years ago. I drink water and green tea once I hit my coffee limit in the morning.

I think I will keep drinking coffee to my heart's content. applesauce

Completely unhealthy caffeinated soda pop = good. Healthy coffee and tea = bad. You know, cause it's a health code.

The latest I've heard from some of my friends who are still TBM, and what I was taught growing up is:

Energy drinks and caffeinated soda = Okay

Coffee and tea = Bane of the devil

Even if it's tea for health purposes, or decaf coffee, still bane of the devil. But drink 2 Monsters every day? Not a problem.

I discovered Kirkland matcha/sencha green tea from Costco when on vacation last two weeks in Utah & Idaho. I liked it so very much that my cousin took me with her to their Costco in Pocatello where I stocked up on some. I gave a box to her mother, and kept one for me.

They're fairly active TBM churchgoers. They also keep more open minds than many other active TBM's I've known.

After reading up on the benefits of green tea and matcha they were sold on it.

My brother who's into homeopathy medicine (he grows his own herbs,) I left some of my tea packets with him when visiting there during my trip. He may or may not try it, it's hard to say. He eats green alfalfa (dried powder) by the cupful in his smoothies, so actually the matcha green tea would be better for him than that. But he is a TR holder and well, that 'green tea' is still a tea thing.

When visiting a nephew and niece I was going to leave some as a love offering as I left there. They're both RM's, and as nice as they were, don't imbibe in the benefits of green tea or matcha, so I had more to bring home with me, which can also be steeped cold. It's the first tea I've bought that can be steeped in cold water as well as hot. That's how fine it is. :)

For all its health benefits I wouldn't try to force it on anyone. I didn't discover it myself until visiting Japan in 2014. Have been 'hooked' ever since. The bargain price at Costco makes it one of the best deals around for the less enlightened.

It was only $11.99 for a box of 100 muslin wrapped tea bags. Matcha typically sells for hundreds of dollars an ounce for the premium quality stuff. So I consider that a true bargain even with the sencha tea blend - both direct exports of Japan. Don't settle for cheap imitations! Only Japanese matcha as it's the best of the best. The Costco brand is sweet without needing sweetener; which is one way to detect the quality of the product of matcha used. And it's up there.

One of the last LDS meetings I went to an investigator asked the Sunday School teacher what was wrong with green tea, because it contains so many health benefits? The teacher told him not to drink it because it says so in the WoW. And if he still wanted the benefits to get a capsule form. That investigator didn't come back after that lol. He could see how shallow the thinking went into that pat answer.

The focus seems to have shifted; it's not about "caffeine" any more, but about obeying the WoW because obedience and trust.

Tea & coffee are evil because the only clarification we have is that a GA or Apostle once said tea and coffee were what the WoW meant by "hot drinks."

Members work overtime to find reasons for the WoW (except for the obvious one, which is that Smith incorporated popular 19th-century health fads into it), hence the caffeine issue. For decades, that was the popular go-to response, and for a while (before investment in Coke stocks and Monson's Pepsi habit), cola was semi-evil, too. Eventually, that position became problematic, so for the last 10-15 years, I've been hearing that it's all about obedience and that God has his reasons so we should just shut up and obey and get the blessings.

This is how you get Mormons who won't go near green tea in any form (one of the healthiest drinks on the planet), but who will gulp down energy drinks, caffeinated sodas made from high fructose corn syrup, and hot drinks made from ground roasted brewed cacao, all without a thought. It makes no sense, but they don't care because they're being obedient.

I'm a relatively closetted NOM and my wife is totally TBM. I haven't had a temple recommend for over 10 years now. I regularly drink iced tea, mostly green tea because it's healthy, My TBM wife regularly drinks energy drinks but is irritated that I drink iced tea. I don't see anyone overtly getting on people at church that drink cafinated soda.

If the WoW is about promoting good heath, why are soft drinks (caffeinated or not) allowed at all? Sugar is the major problem with these drinks, not caffeine. Aren't the GA's inspired enough to know this? (sarcasm)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2016 05:46PM by brett.