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Dear
Gramps, I joined the church 23 years ago and gave up coffee and tea. At
that time our Stake President and his councilors were not issuing temple
recommends to anyone who was drinking cola soft drinks.
So, because I wanted to be worthy to go to the Temple, I gave them
up. That was 22 years ago. Well,
now I have a Stake President who tells me that drinking cola soft drinks
cannot keep anyone out of the Temple. I’ve noticed that many Temple-going
Saints including my bishop and his children drink cola drinks. Well, here
is my problem. I have three children that my husband and I have raised to
avoid cola drinks. They now are looking around at the Bishop’s children
(their peers) and telling us that drinking cola drinks is OK and that they
can’t keep them out of the Temple. I realize that they must choose for
themselves, but I seem to remember a Priesthood Bulletin from sometime in
the 1970s that addresses this issue. Could you find that bulletin and then
give me your opinion on how I might talk to my teens about this? I have
read many of your answers, and I have a lot of respect for your wisdom.
Thank you, Karen, from Washington |
Dear
Karen,
We
have two issues here—the Word of Wisdom and the use of wisdom. The Word of
Wisdom, as recorded in Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants, is a formal
document, although given “not by commandment or constraint” was accepted
by the Church in general conference in 1851 as binding upon the Church. That
document includes a proscription against alcohol, tobacco and “hot
drinks.” Hot drinks in the context of that revelation have been officially
defined as tea and coffee.
Since
that scripture and its official interpretation represent doctrine of the
Church, church members are bound by covenant to obey it. Those who do not are
going against the revealed will of the Lord, and therefore may be prohibited
from enjoying certain blessings of the gospel.
Now
the reason for not drinking tea and coffee was not given in the revelation,
other than by the statement that they “are not for the body or belly.”
There are multiple ingredients in both tea and coffee, some of which have been
found to be beneficial to the system and others, which have been found to be
harmful. Among the harmful substances is caffeine, which is a debilitating,
habit-forming drug. Although caffeine is harmful to the system, it, as a
substance, is not mentioned in the Word of Wisdom, and is therefore not an
official part of it.
Here’s
where the “use of wisdom” comes in. First, some people rationalize that
because caffeine is not mentioned in the Word of Wisdom, there is no problem
in using it. How foolish! Neither is strychnine mentioned in the Word of
Wisdom, but “wisdom” would dictate against its use as an ingredient in
food. Secondly, in promoting “wisdom” among the members of the church, the
brethren have counseled against the use of harmful drugs, including caffeine
and Cola drinks—the word “Cola” being a trade name for caffeine. Here
are the words of some of the brethren on the subject—
“Wisdom
goes beyond the letter of the law. Generally when we speak of the Word of
Wisdom, we are talking about tea, coffee, tobacco, and liquor, and all of the
fringe things even though they might be detrimental are not included in the
technical interpretation of the Word of Wisdom. I never drink any of the cola
drinks and my personal hope would be that no one would. However, they are not
included in the Word of Wisdom in its technical application. I quote from a
letter from the secretary to the First Presidency, ‘But the spirit of the Word
of Wisdom would be violated by the drinking or eating of anything that contained
a habit-forming drug.’ With reference to the cola drinks, the Church has never
officially taken any attitude on this but I personally do not put them in the
class as with the tea and coffee because the Lord specifically mentioned them
[the hot drinks]” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.202).
“Obviously
the standard of judgment must be uniform throughout the Church, and local
officers are not at liberty to add other items to this list. However, there are
many other substances which have a harmful effect on the human body, though such
particular things are not specifically prohibited by the Word of Wisdom.
Certainly the partaking of cola drinks, though not included within the measuring
standard here set out, is in violation of the spirit of the Word of Wisdom.
Harmful drugs of any sort are in a like category” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon
Doctrine, p.845).
“The
drug caffeine is found in many other plants than tea and coffee, such as yerba
mate, Cola nuts, guarana paste and yonpon tea. Decoctions of these and similar
plants are often used where found for their stimulating effects and for
commercial purposes the world over. They do not bear the names coffee and tea
but have the same effect, because they usually contain the same poisonous
drugs” (J. Widtsoe & L. Widtsoe, The Word of Wisdom: A Modern
Interpretation, p.96).
“Speaking
of those who rationalize the church’s stand on cola drinks, Bishop
Featherstone said, ‘We can find loopholes in a lot of things if we want to
bend the rules of the church’ (The Church News, Conference Issues 1970-1987,
p.9).
We
could go on. But now the question comes of how to justify adherence to the
principles of the Word of Wisdom and the laws of good health when we see members
of the Church in positions of authority abusing the principles. It’s curious
how we expect perfection on the part of those who are called to represent the
Lord in various official capacities when we understand that there has been but
one perfect man who ever walked the earth. Recognizing that every person is a
mixture of good and bad, obedience and disobedience, it behooves us to try to
teach our children to emulate the good and not the bad. We should respect and
honor those in authority, but we should never try to rationalize copying their
faults. If we can teach our children to be independent in their righteousness,
in spite of what they hear or see on the part of others, they will have gained
great spiritual strength. Perhaps it would help to discuss with your children
that their ultimate relationship is with the Lord, and if their lives could be
lived with Him as their guide, rather then any of his representatives, how much
stronger they would be. We must exercise caution, however, not to imply that it
is acceptable to go against the counsel of those who preside over us. They do
represent the Lord and speak for him, although their actions may not always be
exemplary. Here again comes into play the “use of wisdom.”
Gramps