Why do Mormons go against coffee and tea?

Question

i was curious about their beliefs and visited their web site. i find it awe and krazy why they can't drink coffee and tea. btw, would they really have the strength to resist drinking them??

thanks,

God bless

its a gift only if we beliieve in Jesus Christ and God. not every1 can get to Heaven pepsco63.

Answer 1

Coffee and tea contain caffeen which is addicting like drugs can be addicting and alcohol or smoking. Some Mormons will only drink noncaffinated drinks. My Mom got an ulcer from drinking Big gulps from 7-11 and never drank a caffinated drink ever again (she passed away last year). The sad thing is the Mormons still die of cancer and lung disease and everything that drugs, smoking and alcohol cause because of all the stress they go thru. I went thru years of no coffee drinking until I became a wiccan, I think thats when I first tasted coffee, but didn't really drink it even when I was atheist. When I saw how much the christians drank it (when I became christian) thats when I started to notice what I had missed out on. It was easy to never drink it in Utah in the 80's. I had never tasted it before, and never gotten addicted, plus when I first tasted it, I was parshal to flavored coffee. I also lived in a community were my whole neighborhood was Mormon, so I would alwasy be around mormons that were addicted to sofe drinks not coffee.

Answer 2

They're unhealthy, and any nutritionist can--and often will--tell you so. Coffee stunts growth, is addictive, and can actually lead to depression and lack of energy. Tea is the same. Caffeine, however, is fine in moderation (i.e. chocolate). Caffeine and coffee and all the rest do have a few very minor health benefits, yes, but that's like saying wine is good for us. Maybe a glass a day does help your heart, but how can that matter when it also destroys your liver? Still, if you need a list, here's the deal with coffee: people who consume coffee on a regular basis have higher stress levels, subdued natural instincts (the alertness people feel after drinking coffee is completely fake. The person feels more aware, but it's the same sort of awareness someone on drugs would have and is not a good thing). It also causes irritability, fatigue, and insomnia. The oils from the coffee beans cause heart problems. Coffee raises cholesterol, blood pressure...need I go on? Tea does all of the above to a slightly lesser degree, but then tea also contains tannic acid, which is the same chemical used to tan animal hides. This is SO not good for your insides! Tea is also linked to kidney failure...and again, need I go on? There are always going to be studies "proving" that tea and coffee (and wine, and smoking, and a number of other things) are beneficial, but most studies prove the opposite. The small health benefits are not worth the problems, and too many of my friends or neighbors have problems with addictions to coffee or tea. I don't want that for those I love or for myself. A morning cup of coffee just isn't worth all that to me. I understand why a lot of people have a problem with this doctrine of ours, but really, any health adviser of any faith (or none at all) would be able to list dozens of reasons for avoiding such things. And independent studies have shown that Mormons who abide by this live several years longer and are so much less likely to contract fatal or painful diseases. And the key to all of this is moderation. Caffeine isn't a problem when taken in small amounts and not every day, but it was never about the caffeine anyway. There are so many more things wrong with coffee and tea than caffeine! What I love most about this doctrine, though, is that when Joseph Smith first told the members of the LDS church to stop smoking, drinking coffee, tea, or alcohol, nobody at the time even suspected there could be any health problems linked to them. It was a completely foreign concept. A lot of people at the time drank coffee...and yet Joseph Smith began warning people of the dangers roughly a full century before anyone even thought there could be any. Isn't that proof enough that this was genuine revelation? God was trying to protect us, and so He warned us of a health hazard that nobody even realized WAS a hazard. Gotta love it.

Answer 3

It is because there is caffeine in the coffee and the tea. The LDS members still drink tea, caffeine free. Some also do not drink coca cola or other caffeinated sodas. Also no ice tea.

This is because of the word of wisdom, given in D+C.
Another theory is that coffee is not a good business, especially for the people in the poor country providing us with the coffee beans. But now Starbucks has started getting "good" coffee that comes from a "good" place. I forget what they call it sorry. LDS also can drink cola, some choose not to.

Answer 4

We believe in Prophets, ancient and Modern.

God gave a health code to us through Joseph Smith, a modern prophet. Part of this health code talked of how we shouldn't smoke. At the time Physicians taught that smoking some was actually good for your body.

Coffee and Tea were included in this. I'm a bit gray on which teas are and are not bad for you, but many herbal teas are fine to drink. (I'm not a tea drinker, so I've never learned, or cared to know the distinction).

Do some research of Coffee and Tea. They're not exactly good for you.

I've never had Coffee or Tea. Never really cared to and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. I'd rather have a nice fruit smoothie!

I like to think of having a God that cares so much about me that he wants me to be healthy, happy, and strong.

Answer 5

The reason is a spiritual/health commandment which we call "the word of wisdom." It has to do with the spirit and body being closely connected, and keeping ourselves sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

It actually doesn't say one darn thing about caffeine (that's a misnomer I think a lot of my fellow members get into). It says to abstain from:
-harmful drugs (properly used medications being an obvious exception).
-Tobacco products
-alcohol
-coffee
-Tea (just the actual tea leaf, black, green grey varieties - we can have herbal tea all we want).

It also teaches us to seek out a generally healthy diet - I think that's the hardest part really. I've never really had any desire to drink coffee or tea-leaf-tea, it's just never taken much thought or effort for me.

Thanks

Answer 6

It's not that we aren't allowed to drink coffee/tea, etc...it's that we choose not to. We believe in the Word of Wisdom, which was a revelation given to Joseph Smith...it is sort of a guideline for healthy living. It teaches us to stay away from drinks that may be addicting and hazardous to our health, such as coffee, alcoholic beverages, etc. It makes sense to me, though.. I think I read that the average LDS person lives about 7 years longer than everyone else, and I think this healthy lifestyle is a big reason why.

Edit: Why did so many people bother replying if they weren't even going to answer your question? Anyways, I hope I answered your question well.

Answer 7

The 'coffee and tea' think I thought was related to the caffeine; but apparentlyit is not (per LDS people). There are other 'things' in coffee and tea that harm the body (the temple of God) presently, according to them.

Answer 8

We have this thing called the Word of Wisdom. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/89
We believe that God revealed it to Joseph Smith. Of course we have agency and we don't have to follow it if we don't want to. But it says that if we follow the Word of Wisdom God not only promises to save us in the last days, but that we will be able to do physical and mental activity to the best of our ability. Really these commandments set us free from pain that comes from drugs.

Answer 9

They have a tenant from way back that says they are not to drink any hot beverages, now they say it is because of the caffeine and that's bad for you, they are not suppose to drink colas either.

Answer 10

This is what religions are all about. They are "made for man" religions and the elders lay down the doctrines to be followed.

If you don't like them then you find a religion that works for you.