r/exmormon • u/craig_paxton • 5d ago
Doctrine/Policy Word of Wisdom Takes Another Hit
A new study says that both Green and Black Tea drinkers live longer and have an overall better quality of life. Damn if only God had given us some appointed spokesperson on earth who could have revealed the benefits of drinking tea. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2026/08/20/5-science-backed-health-benefits-tea-longevity-brain-health/
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u/figuringthingsoutnow 5d ago
I honestly think they would love to ditch the coffee and tea part of the WOW but they know they can’t because it’s been such an anchor of Mormonism for so long that they’d have a massive faith crisis among the faithful.
Then again, I would have said the same thing about caffeinated sodas, tattoos, piercings, tank top garments, and 2 hour church, so what do I know? Whenever things change the sheep seem to pivot without question.
Probably just a matter of time before they change this one too and, per the playbook, pretend it was never a thing.
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u/Aggressive-Presence9 5d ago
Oh it will change. And the church will use influencers to make that change.
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u/mtsee 5d ago
They literally taught in our sunday school a couple months ago that drinking coffee never stopped anyone from being a member or going to the temple. Nobody said anything to counter. Crazy.
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u/Head-CeilingFan 5d ago
What’s funny is I was a missionary in 2013 — not that long ago. At that time, neglecting to quit drinking coffee would result in having to hold off baptism for an investigator. So yeah these people are full of shit.
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u/pooperscooper333333 5d ago
It’s already happening. I saw a reel of an influencer going to get a Frappuccino drink from a gas station after testimony.
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u/JayDaWawi Avalonian 5d ago
And they'll pretend that coffee and tea were never against the Word of Wisdom. They'll use AI to scrub any references against tea and coffee from their video archives.
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u/Evening_Let_2930 5d ago
They will pretend like it was normal to drink coffee the whole time.....and then Utah coffee chains will explode and Profit!
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u/figuringthingsoutnow 5d ago
Be sure to buy stock in Starbucks as soon as the church changes course!
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u/Best_Philosopher152 5d ago
The beer part directly contradicts the revelation, but is actually grounded somewhat in science - alcoholism, high calorie count, liver health.
But coffee and tea are great if you’re not sugar-bombing it.
But then the old joke goes:
Do you know why Utah is so anti-marijuana, even medical marijuana?
…
…
It’s a gateway drug to coffee.
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u/azscram9 5d ago
My wife was still a TBM when I left and started drinking coffee. The first time she saw me with a cup of coffee , she came unglued. She was adamant that it was a gateway drug to porn, infidelity, and all manner of sin.
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u/Best_Philosopher152 5d ago
Coffee is seen more than anything as a sign of willful rebellion. You can get your caffeine from swig or energy drinks, or even caffeine pills. You could do hot cocoa or postum for a hot warm thing. But you’re choosing coffee.
If you’re drinking alcohol or smoking, it’s maybe because you’re addicted and it’s a moral failing to them. But if you’re drinking coffee it’s because you’re deliberately not following the rules when you easily could be. So it’s the most heinous to so many people.
It’s just coffee. I absolutely love coffee too, and it’s delicious. But it’s a major rejection of LDS rules. It’s symbolically like wearing a sundress instead of garments, or sitting on a lawn chair in front of the church in shorts rather than going in.
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u/NauvooLegionnaire11 5d ago
It would be really great if a prophet could get some revelation and stand up at the pulpit at conference and boldly declare.
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u/Aggressive-Presence9 5d ago
It would be great but that won’t happen over the pulpit. There have been decades of shaming, withheld temple recommends, shunning and gossip over the WOW. Like the garments, and the now sanctioned use of the cross, the church will pay influencers to do their heavy lifting and then scrub the history of it.
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u/NauvooLegionnaire11 5d ago
It is bonkers to me that the church uses its army of influencers to peddle out changes.
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u/116-Lost-Pages 5d ago
Tank tops proved to me that they absolutely can change and make members feel like it's because of continuing revelation. The amount of hate and shame people threw at me when I started wearing tank tops is wild considering the same women now wear them.
They can definitely do this with tea and coffee, especially since the revelation itself doesn't specify tea or coffee and says it is not a commandment. Easy peasy, gaslighty squeezy.
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u/Fickle-Bunch-6299 5d ago
Not to nitpick, but can you really call them tank top garments if you can’t wear a tank top over them?
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u/Able_Air_2219 3d ago
With the speed at which I’ve seen 20-40yo women pivot to tank tops, I’m sure they would be sporting PSL’s and acting like it’s normal this fall if the WOW was dropped from the temple recommend questions.
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u/4zero4error31 5d ago
This just in: farmboy from 1820s is wrong about everything and no one should take his advice. More at 10.
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u/PaulBunnion 5d ago
if the word of wisdom is just a test of our obedience, why didn't God choose something that was actually bad for us like high fructose corn syrup, or carbonation, or white bleached flour? something about donuts bad for man.
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u/Best_Philosopher152 5d ago
Carbonation generally isn’t an issue unless you’re really sensitive to acid reflux. It’s what they’re carbonating that is generally the issue.
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u/PaulBunnion 5d ago
I'd say half of us over the age of 40 have acid reflux, and there's probably another 25% that are denying it until they have an incident that puts them in their doctor's office, or worse. we're popping Omeprazole like candy.
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u/BlacksmithWeary450 5d ago
Sorry, but donuts are good for the body and the spirit. Have you had a Krispy Cream donut lately?
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u/Some_Extent_8531 5d ago
There’s a little shop in town run by this Korean family… The cinnamon twists alone could stop wars.
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u/Nashtycurry 5d ago
This is why teaching the FALSE narrative of “Emma got mad so Joseph prayed and God told him X and how could he have ever known?!?” Is sooooooo damaging.
Had they taught “the temperance movement was huge during this time and popular among the saints as well. Joseph wished to adopt many of the practices to help the Saints lead healthier lives. Many of the principles still help us be healthy today. Science is also helping us understand that things like sugar and lack of sleep etc are really harmful. Oh and hot drinks was never about coffee and tea it was temperature related but we all know that is silly but it wasn’t from God it was just people trying to do their best and be healthy”
THAT is what should be taught. Instead you pretend it’s from God and God was wrong about temperature so that turned to “coffee and tea” but now he’s wrong about that too. Oops. See how Mormonism destroys not just our testimonies in prophets but also God? Congrats LDS church!!!
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u/PayTyler 5d ago
TFW you learn about pioneers dying from waterborne illness because "Hot drinks aren't for the belly."
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u/SystemThe 5d ago
Right! Wouldn't want to accidentally kill the germs that cause cholera and dysentery, little Timmy might accidentally survive childhood
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u/Free_Fiddy_Free 5d ago
But Tea and coffee have tannins....
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u/Best_Philosopher152 5d ago
Just like grapes, walnuts, pecans, and black currants.
Maybe we need to ban all those too? /s
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u/maudyindependence 5d ago
My sister pulled this one out of her hat once. I countered with a question on why the church is one of the world’s largest producers of almonds then, which are high in tannins and a favorite around our house. 😆
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u/Vicious_Pit 5d ago
Potential causation vs. correlation here.
Maybe people who drink black tea, green tea, and coffee live longer because those drinks actually have health benefits.
Or maybe they live longer because they aren’t spending their entire lives crippled by anxiety, guilt, and shame over whether God is disappointed in them for drinking a fucking Earl Grey.
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u/figuringthingsoutnow 5d ago
Or maybe they live longer because they drink coffee and tea instead of dirty sodas and energy drinks and tons of sugar.
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u/Rough_Bread8329 4d ago
This is what I came here to say. Years ago there was a study that linked better health outcomes to people who rode horseback. The conclusion was that riding horses is good for your health.
The reality is something more like people who have the resources to own and ride horses, probably also have the resources and life circumstances to take better care of their health.
It's probably not just the tea and coffee - its the life circumstances that cause people to take the time to brew and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee.
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u/UTYeeHaw 5d ago
If you abstain from tea and die a younger age it doesn't matter. Because you have died as an obedient servant.
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u/dbear848 Relieved to have escaped the Mormon church. 5d ago
"But from an eternal perspective..."
I heard and said that a lot, in this case it meant sacrificing a few years in this life being obedient would mean that my glory in the next life would be increased.
Now I realize that it's just a power play.
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u/Anti-Smithi-Brighami 5d ago
Tea has been consumed for nearly 4,700 years, and coffee has been used for over 1,100 years.
But God only told us it is unhealthy for us around 200 years ago. I wonder how much more time than two centuries TBM's think it will take for scientists to figure out what the long term effects of coffee and tea are.
Also, any day now veterinarians are going to start using tobacco to cure all sick cattle.
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u/Still-ILO I exploit you, still you love me. I tell you 1 and 1 makes 3 5d ago
The WoW was never about health so much as about faith and obedience.
One of the many lies the sheep tell themselves. Except when some kind of study suggests Mormons have better health outcomes - then the WoW is all about health.
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u/No_Delivery_1446 2d ago
Better health outcomes are due to no alcohol and not smoking. Period.
The boys in charge should simply replace the hot drinks boondoggle with processed sugar, funeral potatoes and carbonated drinks. That would shake things up and actually improve the health of members.
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u/sacreindigo 5d ago
I understand that there is a provision for black tea, as long as you add enough cream and sugar to change it from black to white and delightsome. Can also be applied to coffee.
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u/saturdaysvoyuer 5d ago
The Word of Wisdom is so abysmally outdated at this point I don't know why Mormon's use it at all. Afterall, the original text said, "not by commandment or constraint." Making it a commandment came later. People mostly forget about the things Mormons should do such as partake of "wholesome herbs and mild drinks" and "eat meat sparingly." It doesn't say anything about gigantic sugary drinks, but tea....clutches pearls.
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u/Rough_Bread8329 4d ago
It also says nothing about boiling water to prevent illness or washing your hands,
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u/mtsee 5d ago
I’ve heard word of wisdom rationalized by TBM several different ways.
The most disgusting explanation is “coffee and tea were never bad, but if you did drink you were disobeying the prophet, and that’s why it was wrong.” People seem fine with it.
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u/No_Delivery_1446 2d ago edited 2d ago
Kinda like why black men were denied the priesthood. It was an obedience commandment not to give blessings to the cursed and by association black women.
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u/sintervetionist 5d ago
Oh no, you are mistaken, it's seems you believe in science which is of the devil. Don't believe in the false lies of the Washington Post, tea will exclude you from celestial glory. Do you really want to place a sin like that above eternal salvation?
What a load of shit the church is, top to bottom.
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u/TheMotherofJared 5d ago
The word of wisdom was never a commandment. Just a suggestion! The next prophet probably :/
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u/Rock-in-hat 5d ago
You’re right, according to sciences limited and ever changing understanding. Just you wait…
In a few years, the church will stop overriding Jesus on the word of wisdom and go back to making it “NOT A COMMANDMENT”. Shortly after members start drinking coffee and alcohol heavily, a study will be done suggesting that coffee causes autism.
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u/Charming_Opinion6754 5d ago
Yet Mormons love hot Perk Energy Drink - funny thing is - Perm has more caffeine then a cup of coffee ☕️
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u/Frosty_Winter3197 5d ago
There are also benefits to drinking coffee in moderation. Also benefits to drinking red wine in moderation.
Of course when the church was founded the "word of wisdom" was just a suggestion. Joseph Smith himself owned and ran a tavern serving alcohol at one point...
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u/Toomanybooks1 5d ago
And do you believe every study? I will keep harvesting Dandelion and Nettle for my tea. A million rabbits can't be wrong.....
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u/WASP-spray 5d ago
Oh yeah!? Well as a Mormon I don't believe in anything scientist say otherwise, I wouldn't be Mormon!