The airport was already bustling and I was exhausted from a week of university finals. I needed something hot in a cardboard cup to get me through this hectic travel day.
Luckily there was a Starbucks on the way. I got in line and glanced over the menu.
Then I read it again, more slowly.
The barista could sense a problem. “Can I help you?”
“Um... do you sell hot chocolate? It’s not on the menu.”
“Oh! Sure, I can make that for you.”
“Thank you.”
---
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Starbucks hot chocolate is heavenly, but obviously not the most popular item.
This little story prompts a question-- why didn’t I just order coffee?
Why don’t I join the 587 million cups drunk per day in America?[1]
I don’t drink coffee because my religion includes a standard of living and health which I know came from God. This standard is called the Word of Wisdom and it states that hot drinks (which we understand means coffee and caffeinated tea), tobacco, and alcoholic drinks are not good for the human body.[2]
(As a sidenote, modern prophets have clarified that illicit drugs are also included in our Word of Wisdom, which was received before most modern drugs were found or invented).
Much of our standard of health is now in general agreement. Smoking tobacco, for example, is now known to have huge health consequences. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States. This is about one in five deaths annually, or 1,300 deaths every day.[3]
It's a similar story with alcohol.
Around 88,000 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women) die from alcohol-related causes every year. This makes alcohol the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States.[4] The first is tobacco, by the way, and the second is poor diet and physical inactivity.
A study published in June of 2017 shows that moderate alcohol consumption will contribute to atrophy in the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain concerned with memory, emotions, and motivation.[5] Even light drinkers were not protected from these detrimental effects.
“Ah,” you wisely say. “But abstinence from tobacco and alcohol makes sense medically. Let’s say that your church’s standard of health prevented something healthy. What would happen then?”
Ah indeed; a very good question.
What would my church do if research showed that, say, coffee, has some health benefits?
Marc J. Gunter, PhD and other researchers followed over 500,000 people for about 16 years to see how coffee intake affected their health. The researchers found that people who drank coffee had statistically significantly lower all-cause mortality.[6] A correlating study by different researchers had similar findings.[7]
Woah.
That’s a pretty big deal, guys.
So, what will my church do? Will our leaders whip out the wite-out and change our scriptures to include the consumption of coffee?
Will our policies change now that we know what the scientists are saying?
Actually, the Word of Wisdom has gone against common beliefs and practices ever since it was received. In 1830, the average American consumed seven gallons of alcoholic beverages per year.[8] To put that in perspective, when our code of health was received whiskey was commonly drunk by men, women, and children.[8]
And actually, as late as 1940, tobacco companies ran ads promising that cigarette smoking aided digestion, a claim that is absolutely untrue.[9]
Our code of health has clashed with traditions, medical beliefs, and common practices for almost two hundred years.
If our Word of Wisdom were merely good suggestions or precepts designed by men, yes, it would likely change. It probably would have changed decades ago.
But if any of our doctrine had been designed by men alone, our church would have failed when our first prophet was violently murdered and our people forced to walk across a continent.
The principles found in the Word of Wisdom are God-given and God-designed. We violate them at our peril and we obey them to our temporal and eternal gain. They will not change according to the precepts of men, no matter what those precepts are.
Members of my church obey this code of conduct happily and without regret because we know that when God speaks and man obeys, that man will always be right.
We know that when our current prophet President Monson speaks and woman obeys, that woman will always be blessed.
Our belief in and adherence to the Word of Wisdom comes down to faith. Does this really come from God?
I know that it does.
I have no doubts about the origin of my church’s doctrines; I know through powerful personal revelation from the Holy Ghost that our prophets are and were led by God. I do have questions, but I have no doubts.
There’s a promise made at the end of Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants, which is where you’ll find the Word of Wisdom.
“And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
“And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
“And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
“And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.”
Do you see?
This is a principle of temporal health and wellness with deep spiritual application. It’s about faith, not about science. Are we willing to do whatever Heavenly Father asks, even when it’s hard?
Even when you’re the only one on the team who doesn’t drink?
Even when scientists state that coffee is good for you?
Have faith. These are principles with promises, commandments with promised blessings, and God always keeps His word.
-Jenna
Footnotes
[1]Fernau, Karen. 2013. “Coffee Grinds Fuel for the Nation.” USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/09/coffee-mania/2069335/ (accessed October 3, 2017).
[2]Word of Wisdom Overview. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://www.lds.org/topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng (accessed 10/3/2017).
[3]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2017. "Smoking and Tobacco Use." https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm (accessed October 3, 2017).
[4]National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 2017. "Alcohol Facts and Statistics." https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics (accessed 10/4/2017).
[5]Topiwala, Anya et al. 2017. “Moderate alcohol consumption as risk factor for adverse brain outcomes and cognitive decline: longitudinal cohort study.” The BMJ. http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j2353 (accessed 10/3/2017).
[6]Gunter, Marc J. PhD et al. 2017. “Coffee Drinking and Mortality in 10 European Countries: A Multinational Cohort Study”. http://annals.org/aim/article/2643435/coffee-drinking-mortality-10-european-countries-multinational-cohort-study (accessed 10/3/2017).
[7]Song-Yi Park, PhD. 2017. “Association of Coffee Consumption With Total and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Nonwhite Populations.” Annals of Internal Medicine. http://annals.org/aim/article/2643433/association-coffee-consumption-total-cause-specific-mortality-among-nonwhite-populations (accessed 10/3/2017).
[8] Woodworth, Jeff. 2013. “The Word of Wisdom.” Revelations in Context. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://history.lds.org/article/doctrine-and-covenants-word-of-wisdom?lang=eng (accessed 10/3/2017).
[9] Stanford University Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising. “For Digestion Sake.” http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_main/images.php?token2=fm_st059.php&token1=fm_img1381.php&theme_file=fm_mt003.php&theme_name=For%20Your%20Health&subtheme_name=For%20Digestion%20Sake (accessed 10/3/2017).
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