Why would anybody care what the mormons are drinking? Mind ya own. Talk about a pack of over the top Karens patrolling other people’s lives. Embarrassing!

If you want to understand why this is, you have to take a step back and out of your own pre-conceived notions. Practice empathy for just a minute.

Mormons believe that church doctrine, which, generally speaking, is Mormon beliefs and practices spelled out in more recent literary publications of the church, is considered the word of god. It’s what you are supposed to do even if you don’t understand why. It might seem rational, but as a faithful member, you understand that God’s mind is not man’s mind. You shouldn’t presume to know better than God.

Not all Mormon doctrine is clear, but it is clear that consuming coffee and tea are against the rules. Although you might see some health benefit from following the rule, don’t abstain from coffee and tea for health reasons. You abstain because you have faith that that is God’s will for you. You could call it a test of faith.

I think it’s odd that Mormon doctrine forbids some things that are healthy and leaves open room for things that are unhealthy (no coffee at activities but brownies galore!), but in fairness, Mormons do tend to lead healthier lives and live longer. That could be due to socioeconomic factors and healthcare accessibility, but not drinking alcohol is huge. So overall I do think that despite the soda obsession, Mormons are doing fine on health.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are bars in Utah, too, but they only serve beer and wine. There are liquor stores. If you want hard liquor by the glass you must join a private club. But the those are private clubs in name only. They’re actually bars. Anyone can walk in and “join.”

This changed over ten years ago. They’re just bars.

About 7 years ago, my hotel in Salt Lake City served free wine in the lobby during their happy hour

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh this is so so disgusting. Just another way that followers of most religions are hypocrites.

https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/bm33va/i-drank-down-utahs-dirty-soda-war

I'm guessing most mormons don't see it that way. it's more of a work-around. Like having anal sex to preserve your virginity.

Swing and a miss! There is no official church doctrine that says soda isn’t okay. Plenty of Mormons, including people who have major leadership positions and are looked to as exemplary church members, live on Diet Coke. The anal sex thing is bizarre, I was raised Mormon and almost all my friends and family are Mormon and that kind of thing is absolutely not approved of.

Anonymous wrote:Sugar is really bad for you. They should come up with a reason to ban most of it. Their people would be much better off.

mormons loooove their sugar. I have some mormon family members, and it's ridiculous to see a grown adult consume that much sugar.

Sugar is really bad for you. They should come up with a reason to ban most of it. Their people would be much better off.

Anonymous wrote:There are bars in Utah, too, but they only serve beer and wine. There are liquor stores. If you want hard liquor by the glass you must join a private club. But the those are private clubs in name only. They’re actually bars. Anyone can walk in and “join.”

This changed over ten years ago. They’re just bars.

There are bars in Utah, too, but they only serve beer and wine. There are liquor stores. If you want hard liquor by the glass you must join a private club. But the those are private clubs in name only. They’re actually bars. Anyone can walk in and “join.”

Yes like PPs say, some avoid caffeinated sodas and iced tea, others don’t. I’ve gone to a large Mormon church Christmas lady tea party and everyone ordered hot herbal tea, but in general tea is not served. Weddings include lots of punch, lemonade, juice or water and yes lots of dessert. CF Coke was popular at restaurants in Provo before anywhere else. A lot of Mormons will use sodas as their big bad vice, and everyone thinks it’s cute.

The Word of Wisdom is where all of this is from--avoid hot drinks, tobacco, and strong drinks. I think it was common health advice during the time Joseph Smith came up with it (also some talk about how he included tea and coffee to stick it to his wife Emma, because she constantly drank it during women's meetings). It also says, basically, don't eat meat but that's conveniently ignored.

Some Mormons avoid all caffeine and alcohol (I know some who use imitation vanilla extract, etc). I'd say the majority just avoid coffee and tea, but it depends on the person. Herbal tea is fine for some but not others. For some people it's really important that you see them avoiding all of that and being super observant. It's the same as people who need to have the sign in their front yard about following science and the correct bumper sticker. It doesn't do anything but it's an easy outward display of beliefs.

I'd say most mormons are addicted to sugar and the popular drinks you're talking about have a lot of that (along with caffeine). Also the giant sugar cookies they sell at swig are very popular.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh this is so so disgusting. Just another way that followers of most religions are hypocrites.

https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/bm33va/i-drank-down-utahs-dirty-soda-war

I'm guessing most mormons don't see it that way. it's more of a work-around. Like having anal sex to preserve your virginity.

Ugh this is so so disgusting. Just another way that followers of most religions are hypocrites.

https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/bm33va/i-drank-down-utahs-dirty-soda-war

I know that "strong drinks" aka coffee and tea are a big no-no in the religion. What's up with the soda though? I just got back from Utah and saw soda shops (aka "swig") all over. I learned it is not uncommon for people to get those big 40oz cups daily filled with various mixtures of soda (including caffeinated soda). Like, instead of going to Starbucks in the morning they drive through Swig as their pick-me-up. These stores apparently THRIVE in Utah given the predominate religion. I have a hard time conceptualizing why coffee (which can actually be decent for you depending on how you take it) and tea (which is also quite good for you in many cases) is verboten but a giant 40oz daily cup of Dr. Pepper mixed with vanilla and strawberry puree (seriously, this is the one I tried) is fine??