My Latest Word of Wisdom Experience

[_Kevin Graham]

So I just drove my mother-in-law back to the airport. She is getting married next month in the Temple in Utah and we're flying out there for the reception. But last night I took the family to Red Lobster and she asked the waiter what kind of drinks they had. I told her to take a sip of my sweet tea to see if she liked it, which she did. She said it was good and asked for a glass. But then she immediately asked about what kind of tea it was. "Was it black tea?" she asked. At first I totally didn't get it. Why did it matter I thought? Then she started going on about being worthy to go to the temple next month for her sealing. At which point I told her it didn't matter what color the tea was, it would still be against the Word of Wisdom.

She disagreed forcefully and started a little religious debate at the table while the waiter was waiting for an answer, so I just said "Ok you win, do you not want tea then"? She had water instead. After the waiter walked off, she and my wife tried to "educate" me on the subject, insisting that only black tea was against the Word of Wisdom because some Church leader in Brazil said so. At first I thought, Ok, maybe things have changed in the Church. I mean I haven't been going for about 10 years now, so maybe this is something new I wasn't aware of. But then I realized this was the same woman who told me 10 years ago that drinking decaffeinated coffee didn't violate the Word of Wisdom either.

So out of curiosity I came home today and started googling the subject expecting to find all sorts of definitive answers from the Ensign or conference talks. And I can't find anything other than random opinions from Mormon blogs.

So for something as serious as worthiness to enter the temple and attain the highest degree of glory, you would think the Church would come right out with it and say one way or another. Especially in this day and age when there are so many types of teas out there, hot and cold. When I joined the Church I was told by everyone NO ICED TEA either. NO GREEN TEA either. And now there are random Mormons posting about how their Bishops and Stake Presidents say herbal teas are OK.

Does anyone have a solid answer to this?

[_Themis]

Does anyone have a solid answer to this?

There is no solid answer. Just millions of opinions from lowly members right up to the prophet. It's all BS. It might look really strange to many that someone might not be worthy to go to the temple for drinking a glass of wine, but they are perfectly fine eating a big mac fries and a large non-caffeinated soda.

[_CameronMO]

I think the fact that she's Brazilian says a lot about this. Here's the lds.org website on the Word of Wisdom:

In the Word of Wisdom, the Lord revealed that the following substances are harmful:

Alcoholic drinks (see D&C 89:5-7).

Tobacco (see D&C 89:8).

Tea and coffee (see D&C 89:9; latter-day prophets have taught that the term “hot drinks,” as written in this verse, refers to tea and coffee).

When people purposefully take anything harmful into their bodies, they are not living in harmony with the Word of Wisdom. Illegal drugs can especially destroy those who use them. The abuse of prescription drugs is also destructive spiritually and physically.

https://www.lds.org/topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng

Now switch the language to Portuguese:

Na Palavra de Sabedoria, o Senhor revelou que as seguintes substâncias são prejudiciais:

Bebidas alcoólicas (ver D&C 89:5-7).

Tabaco (ver D&C 89:8).

Chá preto e café (ver D&C 89:9; os profetas modernos ensinaram que o termo “bebidas quentes”, que aparece nesse versículo, se refere ao chá preto e ao café).

Quando as pessoas deliberadamente ingerem algo prejudicial, elas não estão vivendo em harmonia com a Palavra de Sabedoria. As drogas ilegais, em especial, podem destruir aqueles que as usam. O abuso de medicamentos com prescrição médica também é espiritual e fisicamente destrutivo.

https://www.lds.org/topics/word-of-wisd ... r&old=true

Chá preto, as you know, translates to black tea. That's why in Brazil, there's no official statement regarding chá mate, as far as I know. It's like Coke here. Some members won't touch it. Some think it's fine. But either way, in Brazil, the official teaching is against "black tea."

[_RockSlider]

It's not just a South America thing. My TBM wife will never allow anything but a 'herbal' tea pass her lips for WOW reasons. No idea where the foundation of this grass roots doctrine came from.

[_SteelHead]

Tell southern Brazilians that the can't drink their chimarrao (cha mate very strong) and see what happens.

In my mission we couldn't drink coke but we could drink guarana. In southern Brazil there are chimarrao gourds at the drinking fountains at the ward houses for telele.

[_Dr Exiled]

When I was down in Brazil we all drank cha mate and guarana and didn't drink cha preto. I never understood the difference but maybe it had to do with always being offered cha mate whenever we visited anyone? Give in to custom a little bit and not appear rude? In any event it's always about tithing receipts.

Incidentally, I kinda liked guarana on those hot humid days in the Sao Paulo concrete jungle. It seemed to hit the spot and I don't remember it being too caffeinated.

[_Shulem]

It's regular black tea and other strong teas, notably containing caffeine and other potentially harmful ingredients. Herbal tea is not a strong tea and is actually pretty healthy and good for the body when used moderately.

[_Shulem]

When I joined the Church I was told by everyone

You mean when you joined the cult. Because that's exactly what you joined.

[Guest]

The word of wisdom has gone off the rails. Given as a health counsel it somehow somewhere became a commandment despite saying it isn't. It says beer is good and hot drinks are bad, and now has evolved into coffee and tea and all alcohol, except we now know a little wine is good, as is a little coffee, and tea. So the health law isn't about health. It is about fealty to the club.

[_moinmoin]

I don't have my flip charts from the 90s any more, but the German version specified "bohnen Kaffe" (bean coffee, as opposed to Caro/Pero) and "schwarzen und grünen Tee" (black and green tea). I don't think the English versions ever drew this distinction.

The question I run into is green tea. I tell people who ask that green tea is from the same tree as black; the leaves are just prepared differently. Ergo, they are one and the same thing. But concrete, overt guidance from the Church on this is lacking. Green tea is an ingredient in a lot of drinks that you wouldn't think had tea in it.