Does the LDS Church prohibit the use of caffeine?

score:7

Accepted answer

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that our bodies are temples where the Holy Ghost can dwell (1 Corinthians 6:19–20) and that they were given to us as a gift from God, therefore we are expected to take care of them.

The Word of Wisdom was originally given in 1833 as a word of counsel and is found in Doctrine and Covenants 89. Later prophets have reemphasized the Word of Wisdom as a law of health and today it is set forth as a commandment that all church members are expected to follow.

Because the Word of Wisdom is the most well-known health-related commandment, often members group related commandments and the general idea of taking care of one's body into the Word of Wisdom (for example, things like using moderation; establishing healthy sleep habits; warnings against recreational drugs, relying too heavily on medicine have to do with our health but are not mentioned in the Word of Wisdom).

Joseph Smith, who received the Word of Wisdom, and prophets since his time have stated that "hot drinks" means tea and coffee. This includes decaffeinated coffee, and cold coffee and tea. It does not include chocolate, hot chocolate, or warm milk.

Often tea is further interpreted by Latter-day Saints to be any drink derived from the plant Camellia sinensis – like green tea, black tea, and iced tea – but there's still debate around mate, herbal teas, etc. The Church has not officially clarified beyond "coffee and tea."

Some members of the Church abstain from caffeine – you will find that it varies from family to family. This is an effort to take care of the body and likely stems from the fact that one of the obvious ingredients in coffee and tea is caffeine. Caffeine is, in fact, a drug. However, the Word of Wisdom, as set forth in D&C 89, does not specifically prohibit caffeine, nor has the Church officially taught that members should not drink caffeine.

More post

Search Posts

Related post