Did you hear? Diet Coke is now the official drink of the Mormons! Just playin' ya'll that ain't true, but in an effort to clear up some of the errors on Rock Center's "Mormons in America," a recent television special that aired on NBC, the LDS Newsroom posted Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right and said this about caffeine:
Despite what was reported, the Church revelation spelling out health practices (Doctrine and Covenants 89) does not mention the use of caffeine. The Church’s health guidelines prohibit alcoholic drinks, smoking or chewing of tobacco, and “hot drinks” — taught by Church leaders to refer specifically to tea and coffee.We Sistas decided a few months ago that we would embark on "30 Days of WoW", a self imposed challenge to follow the Word of Wisdom verbatim and chronicle the effects, both spiritual and temporal. We're starting on October 1st. Following the Word of Wisdom word for word is not as simple as it sounds, some aspects of the WoW seem vague, open to interpretation or have been taught, but aren't necessarily written and caffeine consumption is one of those. Over the years we've heard many things regarding LDS health guidelines and the Word of Wisdom such as:
- The caffeine in coffee and tea is the reason why Mormons don't consume these drinks.
- BYU doesn't serve caffeine and there must be a greater spiritual reason for that.
- Caffeine is an addictive substance so it should not be consumed.
- Caffeine is not against the Word of Wisdom, but we are counseled not to use it.
- No "hot drinks:" tea and coffee are out but herbal teas are fine.
- Eat meat sparingly: it's ok to ignore this one.
- No alcohol: alcohol free beers like O'Dules are ok, they have less alcohol than NyQuil.
- Herbs are good: smoke a joint.
What do you think we should refrain from as we try to live the Word of Wisdom word for word?
Go With God,
Sista Beehive & Sista Laurel
Good goal! I have recently been doing the "very little meat". I like it!
ReplyDeleteThis a timely post for me. We, meaning my husband and I are going to work on our eating habits. More fruits and vegetables for us and less chocolate. Now remember I said less chocolate. Please do not put this on your list of do not eat. Regretfully it has caffine in it too. I have taught classes on the Word of Wisdom through the years but I still weigh more than I should. I do know the W. of W. is a true guideline for good health. It is kinda sad that there hasn't been more preaching on the good aspects. I drank Dr. Pepper for a long time which was for my daily headaches. I also used to take Excedrine for headaches and it has caffine in it. Caffine is a drug and is not healthy to have in your drinks .The caffine was suppose to help that. I gave it all up about 7 years ago and I seldom have a headache. However, I haven't been able to give up chocolate yet. Sorry, this is long. I will be cheering for you both and hopefully, I will have better health soon by obeying the Word of Wisdom myself. Here is a link for a great site on the W. of W. ; http://www.wowsecrets4health.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteWhat I should refrain from is probably overeating! And too much sugar.
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I get up in arms over the meat thing. It says to eat meat sparingly and only in times of winter or famine. The Lord also says that while he gives us animals for our use, it is "pleasing unto [Him] that they should not be used" except in the conditions I mentioned above.
ReplyDeleteI've never understood why we get so up in arms over whether Mountain Dew or Diet Coke are ok when they're not specifically mentioned, and instead completely ignore the very straightforward counsel about meat. I really don't get that!
Our ward is having an activity this month at which brisket will be served. We have dutch oven dinners with chicken. The ward Christmas dinner isn't right if there's no ham. I've never seen a meatless ward dinner. Ever. Instead, there is meat in almost obscene abundance.
I figure, based on what the W of W says, if I'm desperate enough to eat my pets, then meat is OK. ;o) The great irony is that some of our ward members view us as freakish borderline apostates because we don't want to eat meat unless we truly need to. I got an anonymous email from a ward member who was trying to point out the dangers of our plant-based diet. I didn't respond because it was pointless to try to reach this person, but I'm pretty sure the W of W has my back - fruits, veggies, whole grains, and meat only in dire circumstances. I may not be perfect at keeping every commandment, but I got that one covered, thankyouverymuch.
Stepping off my soapbox now. ;o)
Girl we hear you! Of all the components of the WoW that are hard to under stand; "hot drinks," "strong drinks," "pure wine," the direction about meat consumption is very clear. We don't know why we Mormons overlook it. In our 30 days of WoW we are planning to adhere to that very strictly. No meat unless there is a sudden October famine. Send us any good recipes you've got since you and your fam got this one down!
ReplyDeleteYou are preaching to the choir sista Sue, we will definitely be trying to do that and we hope it sticks after the 30 days of WoW.
ReplyDeleteWe too want to be more conscious about consuming fruits and veggies. We're like you sista LeAnn we love us some chocolate, but we are hoping to get it under control. ;-) Thanks for the link to the website!
ReplyDeleteFor one of us the meat will be harder than for the other, but we are going to give it all we got. Glad it's been working out for you, you give us hope!
ReplyDeleteStick with the farmers markets (fruit/veggie vendors). You're doing this at a great time; there is so much delicious food in season!
ReplyDeleteWe actually both really do like fruits and veggies so we are excited to be more conscious about consuming them. Going to farmers markets is a great idea, thanks for the tip! We'll be in time for pumpkin season.
ReplyDeleteAccording to a lot of the health research, eating little meat is healthy. You can get all your nutritional needs met with vegetables, grains, and beans.
ReplyDeleteSo I applaud you for this challenge. Let me add something else here. My husband and I spent some time looking into the WoW. Grains are to be used as the "staff of life" and we looked into that. This is not gospel, but our own understanding. So please find your own answer. We looked up staff and found it to mean crutch. When you're injured or ill, you need a crutch. So to sustain life, when needed, grain is a crutch. You don't use a staff or crutch daily do you? Normally no. But sometimes grain is needed in abundance. Since we have cut back, not out, just back, on the grains and breads we are doing so much better. But that's us. I just thought you'd like a little different perspective. I still struggle with the meat thing. I have a B-12 deficiancy that I get shots for and as the shot is wearing off I crave meat like nothing else. But the other weeks I do great at keeping things in a much better balance. Ratatouille is an amazing meal. I love it over ravioli. (see, grains, just not as much or as often) And mushrooms are a very nice, meaty addition to meals that help me not miss the meat as much.
ReplyDeleteI agree, as Mormons should be more cautious in our consumption of meat, but in the end the whole debate comes down to a comma. The original copy of the Book of Commandments (now called Doctrines and Covenants) dated 1835, does not include the comma after the phrase, "should not be used" which changes the meaning of the sentence.
ReplyDeleteGoogle it for more info.
I think comma or no comma, verse 15 clarifies the intended meaning of the verse in question: "And these hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger."
ReplyDeleteI meant to post this in response to aperferctplayroom but it ended up in the wrong play. Sorry about that! :)
ReplyDelete*place! Good grief!
ReplyDelete"Guest," I've been thinking a lot about this topic and came across this article which certainly helped me: http://www.lds.org/ensign/1977/04/the-dos-in-the-word-of-wisdom. In the end however, it all about personal reflection.
ReplyDeleteHere's a great blog by a Mormon grandfather who is really trying to live the WoW: http://www.wordofwisdomliving.com/about/
ReplyDeleteI argued with my Sunday School teacher in High School about the meat thing. He was bent on proving to me that vegetarianism is wrong. I eat meat, I married a hunter, but meat is rarely our main dish. There's a lot of really good food that doesn't have meat, just don't call it vegetarian or it's ruined!
As for caffeine, its an addictive drug. What else is there to say? Yet Diet Coke/Mountain Dew/Dr. Pepper are worshipped by so many Mormons I know. I don't get it.
Good luck on your WoW month! I love your blog!!!
Thanks for the link! We actually do like a lot of vegetarian foods, we are actually getting a little more excited to be more conscious of the foods we are putting into our bodies.
ReplyDeleteThis is great information, we've never looked at it from this perspective at all. We'll have to look up some recipes with mushrooms. Neither of us have ever made Ratatouille before maybe we'll give it an attempt.
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