A new Word of Wisdom

[ERCougar]

The other night, my newly-baptized 8 yr old comes up behind me and asks what I'm drinking.
"Dr. Pepper"
"Why are you drinking that?
"Uh...because I like it?"
"It has caffeine in it."
"Son...go to bed."

This one bugs me a little because we've never talked about caffeine in relation to the WOW. My caffeine intake is essentially limited to nightshifts and roadtrips where I'm getting tired, as I don't drink much soda at all. But my wife had bought a 12-pack for some friends who had come over to visit and they had left it untouched, so I treated myself to the wonderful goodness that is Dr. Pepper. So my first question is, where did he get this caffeine connection? And how does he know Dr. Pepper has caffeine in it? I'm suspicious that my MIL was involved, the same one who is 100 lbs overweight and has never walked the two blocks between her home and her work, yet won't touch or allow a drop of caffeine into her house.

But I digress...The deeper point that this has gotten me thinking about is how to teach the WOW to my kids. I feel like I grew up with an unhealthy obsession on rules, and as I'm raising my kids, I've tried to step back and teach them the principles behind the rules, and let them make their own. In relation to the WOW, I think the idea is clear--value and take care of the gift of your body that God has given you. Yet, the practical meaning of this seems to have warped into something entirely different--a sort of litmus test for the "active" Mormon.

So, I present to you my NIV of the WOW, or how I would set it up if (God forbid) I were in charge:
1) Make it a WOW, not by constraint.
2) Keep the ban on alcohol, or at least limit it to persons over say, 25. I know, there is a healthy way to drink alcohol. But there are so many unhealthy ways to do it and the havoc it can wreak on society is tremendous. It's as least as dangerous as MJ (and really, more so--I've NEVER seen anyone die from an overdose of MJ). Additionally, part of "valuing your body" is, in my mind, valuing the clarity of soberness, not just in relation to alcohol, but in relation to all substances whose chief purpose is to alter it. Hence the ban on people under 25--I think this is the age where most stop drinking for a buzz or to get drunk and transition over to a healthy sort of drinking.
3) Keep the ban on cigarettes/cigars/etc. A vile disgusting habit with no redeeming value.
4) Ban illicit drugs, including MJ (sorry Robin). See sobriety point above.
5) Change no coffee, tea, etc to "Eliminate excessive use of caffeine or stimulants". No coffee is just nutty and everyone around us thinks so. They're not admiring it, they're thinking "what the heck does coffee have to do with morality?"
6) Put sugar on the same level as caffeine--eliminate excessive use.
7) Maintain a healthy weight. I'm tempted to suggest in Sunday school some day that we require a BMI under 30 to attend the temple. Ridiculous? Yeah, so is the coffee ban.
8) Daily activity or exercise.
9) Eat plenty of fruits of vegetables.

Any other suggestions?

[CardiacCoug]

I think I agree with most of this. But sometimes I'm glad I'm not addicted to coffee. I frequently have a Diet Coke or Diet Mountain Dew in the AM, which completely violates the spirit of the Word of Wisdom, but it's not something I need no matter what.

When I was in Las Vegas for a conference last week, I saw people waiting in long lines (it looked like for at least 30 minutes) to get coffee at a coffee shop in Caesar's Palace. A bunch of docs told me they missed one of the really great talks at the meeting because they were waiting in line to get their coffee. I found it interesting that of all the potential "vices" to be found in Las Vegas, coffee seemed to reveal itself as possibly the most addictive. I don't think anybody would have missed that great talk at the conference to play poker or stand in line for alcohol.

As far as health purposes, the WoW would ideally simply limit alcohol to no more than 2 drinks per day rather than banning it outright. That amount of alcohol has been correlated with better health outcomes than complete abstinence (albeit not in a randomized, blinded study). And that amount of alcohol doesn't cloud judgment enough that people could blame any subsequent sins on the drinking.

I agree completely about the weight and exercise points. "Addiction to food" was mentioned in the last General Conference and hopefully we will continue to hear more emphasis on this increasingly important part of healthy living.

[TripletDaddy]

Sometimes I wish the Church would be very clear on the caffeine thing. There are mixed messages being sent, esp with regards to Coke products.

For me, I have no problem with the current incarnation of the WoW. I loved Dr. Pep and Dew, but I am fine not drinking them. I don't drink much soda anyway. And the caffeine free varieties taste pretty much the same, esp if you are not used to chugging 72 oz of it every day.

I don't care about alcohol. Wine would be interesting, but I am fine not drinking it.

I certainly have zero desire to do drugs. In fact, I find the attempts by some here to portray weed as fun and cool to be quite charming.....in a pathetic sort of way. Just my opinion.

For me, the Wow is one of the least interesting aspects of doctrine/practice in our Church simply because it pertains to a bunch of stuff that I don't care about anyway.

I am guessing that overall, the traditional ortho definition of the WoW will probably set me up with the best chances at good health in the long run. I know of no disadvantages to my health that result from abstaining from weed, cigarettes, beer, or whatever. So that works for me. It seems that the studies that allegedly show that wine is actually beneficial are still yet to be fleshed out...there is always some caveat. So for now, I am cool with teaching the benefits of being a teetotaler.

[smokymountainrain]

As far as health purposes, the WoW would ideally simply limit alcohol to no more than 2 drinks per day rather than banning it outright. That amount of alcohol has been correlated with better health outcomes than complete abstinence (albeit not in a randomized, blinded study). And that amount of alcohol doesn't cloud judgment enough that people could blame any subsequent sins on the drinking.

Cardiac, forgive me on this, but while you are much, much, smarter than I am, it seems incredibly naive to think people are going to stop at just two drinks per day. Sure some people might stop at two, but it seems to me that once you say to yourself that it's okay to have a drink or two per day, it would be very easy to go beyond that until you ultimately have a serious problem.

I think the same goes for something like gambling - a little here and a little there isn't a problem and can even be therapeutic for some people. I have two people close to me who gamble - my grandma and my brother. My grandma has been able to keep it under control and it is indeed therapeutic for her. My brother thought he could keep it under control, but he now has a problem.

Why play with fire? Drinking seems like a serious enough issue that it should simply be avoided all together. The supposed health benefits of a couple drinks aren't worth the risks, IMO.

[RC Vikings]

No hard alcohol and moderation on beer and wine.

[Tim]

Sometimes I wish the Church would be very clear on the caffeine thing. There are mixed messages being sent, esp with regards to Coke products.

For me, I have no problem with the current incarnation of the WoW. I loved Dr. Pep and Dew, but I am fine not drinking them. I don't drink much soda anyway. And the caffeine free varieties taste pretty much the same, esp if you are not used to chugging 72 oz of it every day.

I don't care about alcohol. Wine would be interesting, but I am fine not drinking it.

I certainly have zero desire to do drugs. In fact, I find the attempts by some here to portray weed as fun and cool to be quite charming.....in a pathetic sort of way. Just my opinion.

For me, the Wow is one of the least interesting aspects of doctrine/practice in our Church simply because it pertains to a bunch of stuff that I don't care about anyway.

I am guessing that overall, the traditional ortho definition of the WoW will probably set me up with the best chances at good health in the long run. I know of no disadvantages to my health that result from abstaining from weed, cigarettes, beer, or whatever. So that works for me. It seems that the studies that allegedly show that wine is actually beneficial are still yet to be fleshed out...there is always some caveat. So for now, I am cool with teaching the benefits of being a teetotaler.

Perhaps your ambivalence toward those substances is a result of your adherence to the Word of Wisdom.

[TripletDaddy]

Cardiac, forgive me on this, but while you are much, much, smarter than I am, it seems incredibly naive to think people are going to stop at just two drinks per day. Sure some people might stop at two, but it seems to me that once you say to yourself that it's okay to have a drink or two per day, it would be very easy to go beyond that until you ultimately have a serious problem.

I think the same goes for something like gambling - a little here and a little there isn't a problem and can even be therapeutic for some people. I have two people close to me who gamble - my grandma and my brother. My grandma has been able to keep it under control and it is indeed therapeutic for her. My brother thought he could keep it under control, but he now has a problem.

Why play with fire? Drinking seems like a serious enough issue that it should simply be avoided all together. The supposed health benefits of a couple drinks aren't worth the risks, IMO.

There is a word for someone that drinks alcohol every single day, even in "moderation"......

[TripletDaddy]

Perhaps your ambivalence toward those substances is a result of your adherence to the Word of Wisdom.

Could be, but not sure. Even as a teen, pre-Church, I had zero desire to smoke or do drugs. That stuff never interested me. Drinking seemed stupid, although now that I am older, wine holds an allure.

But for the most part, I am not too put out by the WoW.

[Fiyero]

So my first question is, where did he get this caffeine connection?

I find it ironic that the straight edgers who preach that caffeine is against the WOW (due to its addictive element) usually appear as though they average three or four helpings of dessert per day. And when I say usually I mean a good 90% of them.

[RockyBalboa]

Nothing like CUF turning into Cougarboard on a Sunday.

[All-American]

My family always emphasized that the word of wisdom was as important for its list of "do"s than its "don't"s. I remember telling the bishop, when I was being interviewed for baptism and he asked me if I kept the word of wisdom, "I try." He was a little concerned at first.

[RobinFinderson]

ER, I like your points as an infinitely better alternative to the typical way that most active LDS approach the WOW. I think your brood will be much better off.

As open as we are with Little Robin about mind altering substances, we also let him know that we believe that it is important for a body to develop and grow up without them. We expect Little Robin to experiment with all kinds of mind altering drugs. I've even told him that I hope he will trust me to shepherd him through some of the early stages of experimentation. But this we have made very clear -- a body and mind should develop without drugs and alcohol. We are encouraging the little one to abstain until his body has done most of its growing. We don't expect him to abstain into his early twenties (lots of people are still growing then), but we are hoping that by the time he wants to experiment, he will have done most of his growing, and will come to us to learn about safety and moderation. Who knows? He may also rebel and be a total teetotaler.

[Tim]

Cardiac, forgive me on this, but while you are much, much, smarter than I am, it seems incredibly naive to think people are going to stop at just two drinks per day. Sure some people might stop at two, but it seems to me that once you say to yourself that it's okay to have a drink or two per day, it would be very easy to go beyond that until you ultimately have a serious problem.

I think the same goes for something like gambling - a little here and a little there isn't a problem and can even be therapeutic for some people. I have two people close to me who gamble - my grandma and my brother. My grandma has been able to keep it under control and it is indeed therapeutic for her. My brother thought he could keep it under control, but he now has a problem.

Why play with fire? Drinking seems like a serious enough issue that it should simply be avoided all together. The supposed health benefits of a couple drinks aren't worth the risks, IMO.

That's the thing, though: those who want to grow closer to the Lord will stop at their personal limit. Those who want to maintain self-control will do so at their own will. If they're not able to maintain self-control, they're not ready to progress in the sight of God yet.

We would be better off if we had NO Law of Moses-style rules in the church. People should be allowed to decide for themselves that they are going to grow closer to God. Those who are willing to live a higher law (governing themselves rather than being governed by arbitrary rules) will receive higher blessings.

[Clark Addison]

As open as we are with Little Robin about mind altering substances, we also let him know that we believe that it is important for a body to develop and grow up without them. We expect Little Robin to experiment with all kinds of mind altering drugs.

I don't mean to threadjack, but are you serious about "all kinds"? While it really doesn't hold much of an allure for me, I don't really have much of a problem with marijuana. Anything beyond that, though, and you get into the realm of stuff that can really mess people up pretty easily. I think that's a pretty dangerous message to send to a kid.

I've even told him that I hope he will trust me to shepherd him through some of the early stages of experimentation.

Forgive me for sounding judgmental here, but I think that is a spectacularly bad idea. If you are lucky, he will rebel against you, abstain from all, and think his parents are a couple of major league freaks. And that's the upside. While there may be a few of them around, I've never known anyone who was comfortable doing drugs with their parents. The message I think he will hear from this is, I would suspect, "anything goes".

[byu71]

One time in a Priesthood meeting while a rather large fellow was going off on caffeine and near beer drinkers, I couldn't resist.

I said each of us could know if we were obeying the WOW by seeing if we could walk and not be weary or run and not faint. It goes something like that.

I then suggested the Bishop could hold an annual 5 mile run to see who is following the commandment. I didn't get the laughs I expected and one serious dirty look. That's why I keep my mouth shut most of the time in Priesthood Meeting.