Mormons have a health code called the “Word of Wisdom,” found in D&C 89. This is where the idea comes from not to use tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea.
(There’s a lot to say about that interpretation and when it became a “commandment,” but that’s not my purpose today.)
For a good chunk of my life, I prided myself on following the Word of Wisdom to a T, even beyond most every LDS person I knew.
I never touched caffeinated soda.
I avoided green tea extract which is in many supplements and weight loss products.
I shunned Plexus products for their green coffee extract.
And I refused to eat meat.
It really irritated me that the scripture clearly says it pleases God to only eat meat in times of “winter, famine, and excess hunger,” but here was the church killing animals without need and glutting themselves on meat and cheese, with no mind at all to their health or spirituality as vessels of God.
I was very proud and judgmental.
Not only about meat — I couldn’t believe the SUGAR CULTURE!! I struggled with endless frustration to keep my kids healthy, away from sugar and “junk food,” fighting snacks and refreshments at every church activity.
I felt so alone! If our bodies are temples, and we are to eschew the appetites of the flesh, why was I the only one who cared about honoring my temple in this way?
Why was I the only one taking the blessings of the Word of Wisdom seriously and seeking after them?
I was also appalled that Mormons would drink caffeinated sodas and energy drinks.
“Coffee and tea are against the word of wisdom, not caffeine!” The chorus would resound.
Where do you think caffeine comes from? Factories don’t invent caffeine. It came from a natural source. It’s all one and the same!
But then an apostle confessed to drinking large amount of diet soda to keep him up at night doing research, and the entire discussion was now over. I couldn’t argue with that.🙄
Now. But now, where am I now? Now that I am a Christian?
I still want to honor my body as his temple. That hasn’t changed. I still want to subdue the appetites and lusts of the flesh. But I also want to relax and enjoy myself. I don’t want to live a life of pride. I don’t want my strong opinions to come between myself and others, when Christianity is about love and connection.
Jesus taught that there are no unclean foods:
“It is not what goes into your mouth that defiles a man but that which comes out.” (Mark 7:8-23)
“All food is clean.” (Romans 14:20 – the passage in context is about not arguing over food rules one way or the other.)
Colossians 2:16-23 is another great passage on not prescribing food rules and not judging others for what they consume.
“Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink.”
I’ve been judged — literally, by a “judge in Israel” — ever since I was 12 years old for what I eat and drink.
2 days ago, I sipped a coffee for the first time in my life. It’s not something I really care for, but it’s a big middle finger to those who have held this stupid, arbitrary thing over my head all these years.
I don’t plan on ever smoking.
We’ll see about the alcohol…
“Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”
(Colossians 2:23)
All I Possess 