Wednesday, April 2, 2014

WoW - hot drinks


"That the children may live long / And be beautiful and strong, / Tea and coffee [...] they despise" says the hymn. Tea and coffee are what we are now to understand by "hot drinks" in Section 89. It just kind of happened that way, but it definitely makes sense. Consider how wise God has been in protecting his children from a drink that does not negatively effect your health. Now consider how infinitely wise God has been in prohibiting a drink that has significant positive effects on your health.

Don't let actual science beguile you on this matter, though, and don't you dare try to worm your way around the wording of the verse - iced coffee and ice tea are still no-nos. Temperature is not the issue here, even though originally is was very much the issue which is why, in addition to coffee and tea,  you couldn't drink hot chocolate, hot cocoa, hot soup, or any other hot liquids.


But look on the bright side, the ban on hot cocoa and soups never really stuck, so all that stuff's good too. And if you thought the ban on coffee and tea was about caffeine/theanine, you were wrong:

"With reference to cola drinks, the Church has never officially taken a position on this matter, but the leaders of the Church have advised, and we do now specifically advise, against the use of any drink containing harmful habit-forming drugs under circumstances that would result in acquiring the habit. Any beverage that contains ingredients harmful to the body should be avoided." (Priesthood Bulletin, Feb. 1972, p. 4.)


So drink all the non-harmful habit-forming substances you want, hot or cold, as long as they don't include coffee or tea. Herbal teas and Postum, for example, are just fine! (Just make sure you avoid the appearance of evil!)

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