Why can't Mormons drink coffee and tea?

Question

Is there a good explanation for this? What does drinking coffee and tea have anything to do with being good and wanting to go to Heaven after you die? I don't understand what is so wrong about coffee and tea, now alcohol I do but coffee and tea?

Answer 1

We believe that the heavens are not shut and that God still speaks to us today through His chosen servants, the prophets and Apostles. We believe that God called and chose Joseph Smith to be His Prophet of the restoration of His Gospel and His Church after the Great Apostasy which occurred after the deaths of His Apostles anciently. Joseph Smith continually received direct revelations from God throughout his life. One of those revelations is the Word of Wisdom which prohibits certain substances. One of these are "Hot drinks." Now that's pretty vague, but a later Prophet of the Church received revelation from God that this meant coffee and tea. The Word of Wisdom also said that tobacco was not good for smoking, neither for chewing, but was good for all sick cattle and bruises. This revelation came in the 1800's when nobody had any idea that tobacco was unhealthy for you. Modern scientific evidence has shown the harmful effects of tobacco. Joseph Smith, because of the revelations of God, was surely ahead of his time. Now, I don't know exactly why coffee and tea are forbidden by the Lord, just as many saints didn't understand why tobacco was forbidden in the 1800's. However, the blessings will come after the trial of our faith. We don't always understand the commandments of God. But we are blessed when we keep them even if we don't understand the reason for them. Adam was commanded by God to offer the firstlings of his flock of sheep as a sacrifice to the Lord. An angel came to him and asked him why he sacrificed the firstlings of his flock. He said that he did not know why, except that God commanded him and he obeyed. Then the angel explained the reason for the commandment. He said that this thing was in similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son. So you see that there is a reason for every commandment of God, even if we don't understand the reason at the present time. There has been some research that suggests coffee (with all of the caffeine and other substances that it contains) may be harmful to your health. There is also some research on the unhealthy effects of tannic acid (tannins) in tea. (Not to mention the caffeine that most tea has.)

Answer 2

Most people have answered this the way I would. I would like to add that they have done some research on coffee and tea and have found that the acids in coffee can cause serious health problems. Caffeine also has side effects. There is nothing against caffeine in the word of wisdom, some LDS people have expanded the word of wisdom to include caffeinated drinks, but there is nothing that says that a coke or pepsi is bad for you. It is, but we can drink it if we want. This isn't something that will get us into heaven, or keep us out. It's a way to live our lives free of being addicted to any substance- aka caffeine.

I can't drink caffeine at all. It makes me jittery, sick to my stomach and I just feel plain yucky when I have it. I used to drink diet coke by the can full!!! At least 4-5 a day. I couldn't understand why I always felt gross. Well, I decided to give it up after high school. I did, and as soon as the caffeine was out of my system, I felt better. So now, I only drink it if I have a really bad headache that won't go away. Caffeine does help with that.

Here is a link to the word of wisdom. It will tell you what we believe about how we should eat. Not saying that I follow it all the time, I eat more meat then I should, but I try.

Answer 3

God obviously wants us to be healthy and happy, and so He's warned us against that which can cause problems. All of those things screw with our emotions and our health (if you really want a list, email me), and some of them are addictive and take our freedom, even if in small degrees. Mormons, as a whole, live longer than other groups and are generally healthier to boot, but while that would make it worthwhile to me, I've never cared about it. It's not like I can't live without coffee, right? It's just a drink. And yes, there are worse things. Of course there are...but the worst things are usually more obvious, and most people avoid them automatically. And even so, if something is unhealthy, does the fact that it seems minor make it any less unhealthy?

Answer 4

Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the LDS (Mormon) church, received a revelation which was later named the "Word of Wisdom." In this revelation, the Lord outlines his law of health, and included in that is that we abstain from hot drinks. At the time of the revelation, coffee and tea were very popular drinks, and drinking it was frequently prescribed for a number of illnesses, including typhoid fever.

Also, at the time of the revelation (1833), the harmful effects of coffee and tea were not known by the scientific community.
Below are a couple of links below that might help you to find out some more information about the LDS church and their beliefs on the use of coffee, tea, alcohol, and other substances.

Answer 5

Please allow me to straighten some facts here. Section 89 in the Doctrine and Covenants--a holy set of scriptural revelations--outlines from the Lord what we should ingest and not use for the benefit of our temporal bodies. In the LDS Church, this information is now a commandment of the Lord to follow--and all active and faithful Mormons adhere to this commandment. That is the paramount reason why we do not drink alcoholic beverages, coffee and tea, and use tobacco.

Secondly, caffeine was a substance not known in the early 1800s, only the Lord knew, but He did not elaborate in the revelation. He said what to use and what to avoid and that is good enough for me. We now know caffeine and tannic acid is harmful to the body, and while there is no specification against the consuming of caffeinated drinks, it is not wise to do so.

Coffee and tea contain tannic acid as well as caffeine, and that was not known either in the early 1800s. To date, there is no official Church word to the membership about avoiding the use of caffeine, but as one prophet told us many years ago, "caffeine is not good for the body and we should shun it" (paraphrased). Those words are good enough for me to follow.

I have no problem whatsoever in obeying the Word of Wisdom except for a minor addiction I have in chocolate. While chocolate is not condemned by the Church I realize it could have some addictive qualities as caffeine in it. Of course, the use of illegal drugs as marijuana and cocaine are off-limits too.

Again, I repeat: the reason Mormons do not use alcohol, coffee, tea, and tobacco is because the Lord commanded us not to use them. The second reason is that all those items are harmful to the body.

Answer 6

i'm not a mormon, but I actually think this rule makes some sense. I'm currently giving up caffeiene. It can really mess with your emotions and your stability, as well as being addictive. I can certainly see while a religious people would feel it gets in the way of inner peace. It's probably best- and certianly healthiest- to stay in a natural state as much as possible. And respect your body by not putting anything unhealthy into it.

Answer 7

The Word of Wisdom, as it is commonly called, is a revelation that was given to the prophet Joseph Smith. It prohibits smoking, drinking strong drinks, and provides guidelines for a healthy diet. So far, almost all of the guidelines have been scientifically backed by research not even related to this revelation. It is a general guideline for how to take care of our bodies, since we believe bodies are sacred and should be treated such.

Answer 8

It's not that we can't drink coffee/tea. It's that we choose not to. LDS (Mormons) follow the Word of Wisdom, which is sort of a guideline for healthy living. It teaches us to stay away from addictive drinks/substances that may be hazardous to our health.

Answer 9

Because of a code of health known as the Word of Wisdom. This health code provides for good health. Per capita across the world, Mormons have better health than any other group. Seems to have practical application.

Answer 10

It is more than it not being good for you. (My sister gets the shakes if she doesn't get something with caffeine right after she gets up and continuously through the day). It is also a matter of obedience to the rules. Can you follow a simple rule? If you can't, then what about the big ones?