I’m a Mormon, So…

Chel Owens

For Mondays, I thought to alliteratively write about Mormonism. Technically, we Mormons are officially members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and are to drop any name but that. …That might work for Tuesdays…. Since many still run with the nickname of ‘Mormon,’ however, I will keep pace.

My other note is that I will keep to official doctrinal practices. I will add my own application of them, especially in response to comments.

My final note is that I LOVE discussing anything I write. Don’t be rude, obviously, but any and all queries or responses are welcome.

My final note beyond the final note is that I do not seek to convert anyone. I ought to, but am motivated by forming connections, answering curiosity, and straightening pictures. So, you’re safe.

…..

I’m a Mormon, so I do not drink coffee.

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

In the Doctrine and Covenants, scriptures containing revelations given to Joseph Smith and a few prophets following him, we Latter-day Saints are given a list of healthy guidelines. They range from no alcoholic drinks to no tobacco to eating meat sparingly …to no coffee.

And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.

D&C 89:9

‘Hot drinks?’ What about cocoa or wassail? you might wonder.

The only official interpretation of “hot drinks” (Doctrine and Covenants 89:9) in the Word of Wisdom is the statement made by early Church leaders that the term “hot drinks” means tea and coffee.

Members should not use any substance that contains illegal drugs. Nor should members use harmful or habit-forming substances except under the care of a competent physician.

Selected Church Policies and Guidelines, 21.3.11

Not drinking coffee or tea is the official rule for members of the LDS church. Herbal teas, cocoa, Ovaltine, apple cider, Postum, wassail, warm milk, and hot sodas are all fine (so long as they’re non-alcoholic).

Ahhh, GIPHY. A Classic.

I, personally, avoid cold coffees as well. I eat desserts which contain coffee, but rarely. I’m not fond of the taste in general and have never wanted to take up drinking it. For one thing, I read that consuming a hot mug of joe every morning will not do much for you. One’s body acclimates to the level of alertness the caffeine provides, thus dumping the drinker’s brain to only a normal level once the drink is drunk.

I’m dragging along many days but it’s only M&Ms what fuel me.

©2022 Chel Owens

82 thoughts on “I’m a Mormon, So…”

  1. I’ve never taken up the coffee habit, but have never been a Mormon. I was dissuaded from coffee by the Seventh-Day Adventist church, but I haven’t belonged to that church since childhood. I think it’s kind of funny to see people get the jones for coffee, and how they can’t seem to function well in the morning without it, while I’m perking along just fine, content with a glass of tapwater.

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  3. Interesting insights about guidelines. Isn’t it Peter that learned that it’s not what we consume that we should be concerned about but what comes out of our mouths that causes the most harm? Maybe that was Paul. Is it caffeine that is the stumbler—because chocolate has caffeine.

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    1. Oh, don’t worry. We talk about more than just coffee. 🙂

      And I’ve witnessed many the debate about what it is in coffee that is so wrong, and how we ought to avoid chocolate as well (which does not have caffeine exclusively -it contains theobromine, caffeine, and theophylline. And it contains varying levels based on where it’s grown and the level of solids…). So, yes, many do avoid chocolate as well.

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  4. Coffee is a comfort drink for me. My parents drank/drink tea, but my siblings and i all drink coffee. I LOVE the aroma and well, I drink two cups in the morning. All my friends think I’m addicted, because I love the coffee memes…. but now my acid reflux has put up a stink – uh burn. I’ve found low acid coffee that treats me better. But yeah! I like coffee…. But I can do without if I need too-I just don’t want to. 😉🤔😘😊

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    1. That sounds lovely, Ruth. There are some chocolates that leave me with a headache or indigestions later in the day, so I get the reaction with acid reflux. :/

      My mother loves the aroma of coffee. She says it reminds her of her grandparents’ house. I am not a fan; it reminds me of dirt.

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      1. You made me smile… my mother disliked the smell of coffee and my grandparents were avid coffee drinkers!! Cooking bacon and eggs and the after lingering aroma reminds me of visiting my grandparents.

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  5. On the specific point…
    I had to learn to like coffee as a teen; ghastly drink but then I’d have said the same about tea. Now I enjoy them both and have for years. I acquired the taste because it was what you did. I tried with alcohol but I could never get the taste so eventually I realised how silly I was being and gave up on alcohol 30 plus years ago. But it’s all a matter of taste for me. It was the same with Brussel sprouts and parsnips; hated them then, love them now.. Coffee doesn’t work as a stimulant for me; I can drink it whenever and sleep fine, act the same with or without it. I drink maybe three cups a day at most. It’s a habit, really. It doesn’t harm me, not that I can see and it doesn’t do me much good, beyond a bit of hydration and a pleasant warm sensation. But it was my choice both to start coffee and tea and to stop alcohol.
    More generally, I see the original injunction ‘no hot drinks’ had to be interpreted to be limited to ‘no tea and coffee.’ Has any set of subsequent leaders debated changing that list? These days ‘hot sodas’ indeed cold sodas are, I’d suggest with their excessive sugar, far more damaging than coffee and definitely worse than tea. Has it come up for debate?

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    1. Coffee and tea are far less damaging than alcohol, I’m sure! We’ve lots of stories of addiction running in our family history, so I thought avoiding alcohol would be best as well (besides the religious laws against that one as well). As to parsnips, well…

      To answer your other question, the only debates I’ve seen regarding sodas are a general guideline to not drink caffeinated beverages. That rule is listed in those specifically listed for the youth and it’s been mentioned at a few meetings -but I’ve yet to see it printed in the official handbook.
      It’s enough that most LDS do not drink caffeine sodas; at least, I was forbidden as a child and maintain that standard unless I’m curing a headache.

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  6. I was in my final semester of college, running on 3 hours of sleep and utterly exhausted when I picked up a cup of coffee from the student coffee shop. I took one sip, and my life changed. The stress evaporated, and I felt a renewed sense of energy coursing through my body. I remember thinking that if it took getting addicted to coffee for me to feel like that it would totally be worth it.

    I’ve never looked back.

    On an entirely unrelated note, the Salt Lake City airport has some pretty good coffee shops. I thought that was kind of interesting.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. I was just thinking yesterday.: it is 53 years since a friend challenged me to drink coffee with no milk or sugar. So that’s what I’ve done for the last 53 years. No coffee after lunch however, and rarely after breakfast. Tea usually once breakfast has passed.

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  9. I’m sitting here having my evening coffee as I write this! My wife is LDS and we’ve had her home teacher and the elders over several times. My wife does drink coffee, as does her family, but I never noticed that she didn’t drink it in front of LDS members. When I asked her about it she said it was not hiding it but refraining out of respect. I guess I shouldn’t have offered some to the missionaries.

    They have had numerous studies over my lifetime about the positive and negative effects of coffee consumption, but the last one I heard is that coffee drinkers have more longevity. If that’s the case I’ll probably live well past one hundred…

    Also wanted to say – thank you for opening the discussion in a non-judgmental or proselytizing way. I have questions. My wife and I have no issues discussing our faith, but quite frankly, I was a little upset, with the home teacher who came by. It felt (feelings aren’t facts) argumentative. I do have one question I hope you can answer – Why do they call young missionaries elders? I’m not trying to be funny, just curious.

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    1. 😀 I would have offered the missionaries coffee if I were in your position. It seems the polite thing to do.

      And you ought to live past 100. You do so many good things in your community. I’m just hoping, if I live long, I don’t lose something important like my right foot.

      To answer your question, the title of ‘Elder’ is one applied once a man receives the highest order of priesthood we have, the Melchizedek Priesthood. The boys may receive the title of Deacon at 12, Teacher at 14, Priest at 16, and Elder at 18.
      It’s a priesthood office they hold the rest of their lives, so they’ll eventually be ‘elders,’ right? 🙂
      It comes from the Bible, apparently. The New Testament talks about ordaining Elders, so I assume that’s where it’s first mentioned. We believe in continuing the order had in the first church (Jesus’ time), so the logic is that Jesus Christ ordained men to these offices and so we are now, too.

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    2. This morning when I awakened to feed the baby, I realized that I didn’t quite answer your question. We specifically say “Elder” for the male missionaries as a way of noting they’re in a special circumstance (the mission); as a sign of respect. The mission is rather focused: praying, scripture study, service; no dating or social activities outside church standards; stick with your mission companion all the time; etc.

      A man serving as a stake president, or the prophet of the entire church, are referred to as “President So-and-so,” as another place where an ecclesiastical title is used.

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    3. Happy to see that our mutual follower GregoryJoel has a similar conundrum re interfaith marriage as I do! I’m sure we’ll both learn a lot from this new feature – Greg about his spouse and me about my ex and his family.

      Chel-I just sent you a FB PM re my specific situation and what I’m thinking you might be able to help me with.

      One of the reasons my ex is now my ex is that he is an alcoholic. Besides that, he imbibed coffee and sodas, probably more than I do! He also had me lie to the missionaries who came to the house to see him while he was hiding from them! Great practitioner of the faith, right?

      Enough about him, though. I don’t drink a lot of coffee. It is mostly a receptacle in which to bury the powdered fiber I add to it to keep my old digestive system functioning comfortably. At this point, I don’t think caffeine really does anything for or to me. The coffee is just part of my morning routine and I very seldom drink any more than the two cups with which I like to start my day.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. That sounds very reasonable. There are many who get too caught up in what you can and can’t do to the point where they overdo as a guilty pleasure -which is exactly me with chocolate on a diet. 🙂

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  11. We all believe what works for us. I came from a family that was steeped in the tradition of a hot pot perpetually on the stove; Whoever emptied it made a new brew or there was- well, a price to pay.
    First, the breakfast treat / Hot, rich, bitter-sweet / All work day long / I’ll keep perking along / End the working day / With a decadent latte / Wife tried converting me / To ghastly caffeine free / Almost grounds for divorce / Best end this discourse.

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  12. I had always assumed the prohibition was expressly due to the caffeine in coffee and tea, and didn’t realize the distinction was about “hot drinks.”

    I only took up coffee because years ago it was the only beverage for which restaurants offered free refills.

    I can see why you’d associate the smell with dirt. For me, dirt is exactly what I taste whenever I eat a mushroom.

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    1. And here I love mushrooms. Sometimes the dirt has not been fully washed from them, though.

      There are many who explain a reason behind the LDS standards, but the official one is the one I quoted.

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  13. Equality is supposed to be one of our guiding principles, yet different ethnicities, colors, sexes, and religions don’t seem to receive equal treatment. What makes the whole stronger is the sum of the individual parts—too bad not everyone is on board with that concept.

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      1. I have a lot of excellent humans in my life, but it bothers me that others are treated less than simply because they are perceived as “different.”

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  15. I’ve had to drop caffeine due to health issues, and now I’m sleeping better, so I suspect it probably wise to abstain. Do you have a favourite herbal tea, if you drink it 😁

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  16. No to hot drinks? Soup, I imagine, is in a bit of a grey area. I’ve often argued that soup isn’t a meal when it’s been suggested as such. Especially when it has been served up in a cup.

    I’m always fascinated by different beliefs ever since I had a book out from our school library: Religions of the World. I may still have it somewhere as I didn’t return it by the time I left school. I think I’d be hard pressed to choose just one if I had to. When I read the first chapter of Life of Pi, I couldn’t help smiling. The naive Pi didn’t understand why he couldn’t embrace all the beliefs together because each one held an attraction. I’m a bit like that.

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    1. My husband says he gets full from eating (drinking?) soup! I’m with you, realizing that I need the sorts with meat and vegetables. If not, I say it’s solely a beverage.

      I loved Life of Pi. I find the sort of all-religion you describe in being LDS.

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  17. Wassail here would generally be wine or cider, mixed with spices. It’s sometimes associated with pagan rituals; folk would dance around an apple tree and pour some of the wassail (cider) onto the roots to bless the tree spirits for a good apple harvest.

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      1. The best part of me! Depends on the type. In the morning it’s strong black tea with milk and sugar. At night it’s more of an herbal tea with maybe a bit of honey. But it varies

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  20. I rarely drink regular coffee, it’s usually flavored. The day I gave up drinking it in the morning and strictly went to a jug of water, I’ve been less sluggish from the not very lasting caffeine high. How is herbal tea ok but regular tea isn’t?

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    1. The tea question is definitely one I’ve heard people ask. The answer would therefore be speculation, but regular tea leaves do have more addictive chemicals than herbal ones (i.e., caffeine).

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  21. I’ve read that drinking coffee can actually be good for you and tea too. But that’s science for you. I mix my brew with half decaf. And I add milk and a sugar subsitute. But then they also say you should consume quite a bit of water daily too. And personally I just can’t drink that much in a day. I’m up several times a night as it is…(old lady bladder!).

    There are foods in my own faith that I’m not supposed to eat or mix. But when I’m at someone elses home I don’t point out when they’ve made a boo-boo. Since my faith also says you should be kind and not embaress your host. And at resturants I can opt for vegitarian dishes. So everybody wins. 😀

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    1. The water consumption confuses me, too! My husband insists that your body adjust to that much water if you keep at it, but I can only be up so many nights.

      I’m a hostess who wants to serve what my guests can eat. If someone offered me tea or coffee, I don’t see that as big of a deal as, say, there only being dairy items for a guest who’s allergic.

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      1. I’ve gladly accomadated friends when our holidays collided and they couldn’t eat meat. There was meat at the table, but I made other dishes for them to go along with the veggies. Everyone was happy 🙂

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  22. I wonder if you had any reservations about posting this – if you did, I’m glad you overcame them and stuck to who you are- which is a fine human being! 🙂 And if you had no concerns then continue as you were (which I am sure you will)! 😀 Much respect here!

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  24. I just saw this post today. Thank you for opening up and sharing a bit about your faith. It made me aware of how little I know about your religion. I try to stay informed on most things and get annoyed when people know so little about My faith. And yet, here I am realizing I have no business getting my feelings hurt that so few people don’t know anything about Judaism, when I know so little about your religion. We all need to be more informed about each other’s customs.

    I admit I was surprised to read what you can and cannot eat. Or drink. Dietary restrictions in various religions are interesting.. each faith usually had or began with a good reason when these restrictions were created. In the case of my faith pork was not allowed…(I was brought up not eating it.) So for me it’s the norm. And yet five thousand years ago when the ancient Hebrews didn’t allow it it was to protect their people from disease. Now, in my opinion,that’s outdated today and has become simply tradition. We can prevent our food from spoiling because we have refrigeration! Since we have solved a lot of the food bacteria problems, those restrictions seem very out dated to me. However, tradition is tradition! And traditions can be comforting and lovely. .( I’m of the mindset that It’s up to the person to decide how to deal with food and faith. It’s personal . My mother never mixed milk with meat.It was forbidden to mix meat and Dairy.). But, She never prevented her family from doing so. However, she didn’t encourage us either. So I grew up used to avoiding dairy and meet. And even now if I see other people mixing it I want to vomit. So if that’s what you believe in or are used to then do what works for you and your faith. Most restrictions were created for a good reason or for safety.

    Coffee and tea are a daily part of my life. Although I didn’t drink coffee while on certain types of chemotherapy. They clashed and tasted funny. After a week it didn’t matter. You CAN live without it! I drink half caff anyway. ( half regular coffee and half decaf) . And I drink decaf tea. Tea was a staple growing up. My maternal grandmother was Russian so tea with sugar and milk was a delicious treat after dinner. We usually had some form of a pastry with it. As a child I had a small Russian semivar to play with. When we were sick my mom gave us hot/warm tea with honey and lemon. Tea and chicken soup were a staple for a cold. My younger son always has tea on hand for a cold. My oldest son doesn’t like hot drinks and therefore has never drunk tea, coffee or soup. That drove me crazy. All my traditional remedies for a cold he wouldn’t follow. 🙀

    Religious traditions can be heart warming and ever so comforting.. Some seem bizarre when we aren’t used to them. My daughter in law is Filipino so she has some interesting food traditions. The roasted pig one I am used to now but I about fainted when her family invited me over when my son was engaged to her and there was a roasted pig on the counter. Oh my Goodness! I can’t even tell you how sick I felt. 🤮BTW Both my sons loved the pork. Lol so does my grandson. My grand daughter doesn’t care for it. She likes fish, fruit and veggies like her grandma. I say, embrace your faith, enjoy it. I take great pleasure in enjoying traditional Jewish food on holidays. And my son always brings me matzah ball soup after chemo. It always is warm and comforting and brings back memories of when my parents and grandparents were alive. Your traditions will most likely bring comfort to your children when they grow up too.
    Peace and Live ❤️

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    1. You are so right. I only vaguely know of the dietary restrictions of other faiths; namely, Judaism and Hinduism.

      I agree about memories of food with traditions and such and well. My mother made us a warm drink with apple juice, lemon, and honey when we had a cold. I’m sorry your son dislikes it; I love how warmth feels for a sore throat.

      I hope my boys remember most of their upbringing fondly.

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  25. I am looking forward to this series as I know little about the Mormon Faith…I don’t drink coffee or black tea for no particular reason I just prefer coconut juice and green tea(Oolong) which has less caffeine than both black tea and coffee but as I only have one cup daily in the scheme things its minimal…:) x…I have also enjoyed the comments on this post its good to learn about other religions 🙂

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  26. As my husband works in Idaho sometimes, we do know several LDS folks. I find your reference to official doctrine decisions interesting; there was a big stink at the office when one guy’s kid reported SODA (gasp) on Idaho State University’s campus. I think that family may have been super traditional rather than up with all the current interpretations, or maybe it was a personal aversion to sugary drinks. Either way, the office argued on whether Universities should be allowed to provide sodas.

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    1. Yeah; there’s no official word on soda, although there are instructions about it in the pamphlet they hand out to the youth so maybe that’s where it all starts?

      BYU, the infamous LDS university in Utah, was the only place I’d seen caffeine-free Diet Coke. What’s the point, really? Drink some water.

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      1. Haha, why would one do caffeine-free diet Coke? I mean… maybe if you love Coke and gain health issues that require you not to have original Coke? Now I’m looking at “Coke” and having one of those moments where I wonder if that’s a real word. Coke Coke Coke.

        New question, though: what about sweet tea or iced tea? They’re not hot tea, so are they allowed?

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