The Word of Wisdom

Today I was told that Mormons have too many rules and we are missing out on so much! So I asked this lady, "Well what are we missing out on?"

She said, "Well y'all can't drink milk, you can't drink coffee or tea, you don't celebrate Christmas. Y'all don't walk on grass even!"

I looked at her, smiled and replied, "We can drink milk, I drink it all the time. I love Christmas, we are Christians and so we celebrate Christ's birth. And we can totally walk on grass."

This lady was shocked! She replied, "What? I didn't know that! But you can't drink tea or coffee right?"

I looked at her, smiled and replied again, "We don't drink coffee or tea. And it is one of the greatest blessings in my life."

She had a look of disbelief. She couldn't see how it was blessing. She said, "Well you haven't even tried a good cup of coffee or a nice cold southern sweet tea, So you really don't know."

Well, I smiled again and replied, "I have had coffee in many forms, many times. I have had all kinds of tea, many times. And some of them were pretty decent, but I would much rather have my health, than a decent drink."

I went on, "We don't drink coffee and tea because there are some long term health side effects that we would rather avoid."

She asked me what kinds of bad side effects there are?

So I told her, "Just for a few examples of tea, it creates a digestive system diseases, and it increases the toxicity in the body. It can create an addiction as well as coffee. For coffee, some bad side effects are that it increases or creates heartburn and it can cause ulcers."

She had no idea about these side effects. So she then asked me, "What if you want to drink coffee, can you still be part of your church?"

My answer, "ABSOLUTELY!!!!!! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints excepts everyone and their choices. The church has issued a health code called the word of wisdom. Where we are expected to CHOOSE for ourselves to not: smoke, do illegal drugs, drink coffee and tea, alcohol or any tobacco products. But ultimately it is up to us. God has given us knowledge, but also agency. He has told us that those things are bad, and has left it up to us to make the right choices."

She told me that she was going to quit drinking her coffee and sweet tea, because if they are as bad as the other things listed, then she doesn't want them in her body.

The word of wisdom is truly just a way for God to bless us. We get to live healthier lives and he gets to bless us for following His commandments. It is a win-win situation!!! How awesome is that?! Why wouldn't you choose blessings? Because you don't want to "miss out"? Trust me, you are not missing out.

Read more about the Word of Wisdom here: https://www.lds.org/topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng

Here is an awesome talk on the Word of Wisdom and the blessings that com from it:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/04/the-word-of-wisdom-the-principle-and-the-promises?lang=eng

Here are some websites that talk about the bad effects that coffee and tea have on us. The links are:

http://www.healthmw.com/20/02/2012/mens-health/tea-side-effects-top-10-bad-effects-of-tea-on-health-49.html

http://www.healthambition.com/negative-effects-of-coffee/