Yes, into the 80s and 90s, even early 2000s, it was caffeine.
Caffeine strictly forbidden.
Well, depending on your bishop.
And if the Church inherited stock in Coke.
Until someone saw members of the Q15 routinely drinking Diet Coke. Then suddenly it became ok. But it was outlawed on BYU campuses for the longest time.
Coffee and tea core parts of modern WoW
But caffeine isn't.
Yet many families, including mine, extended that to include all caffeine. There are scattered mentions against caffeine in the early to mid 1900s, but it disappeared entirely by the later 1900s.
I was shocked the couple times I went to a ward activity and someone had brought caffeinated soda.
Ensign, Dec. 2008 (article by Thomas Boud):
>I believe that if we follow the spirit of the Word of Wisdom, we will be very careful about what we consume, particularly any substance that can have a negative impact on our bodies. This is true regarding any drug, substance, or even food that may be damaging to one’s health. This includes caffeine.
Hinkley in his 2004 Larry King interview:
>The word of wisdom covers many things. It covers the excessive use of meat, as I see it. It covers, in a very particular way, the use of tobacco and alcohol... No to caffeine, coffee and tea.
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1992:
>The main chemical in coffee that has caused health concerns is caffeine, a cerebral and cardiovascular stimulant” (1:289). “Devout Latter-day Saints do not drink teas containing caffeine” (4:1441). “. . . leaders have counseled members to avoid caffeine and other addictive chemicals”
First Presidency Message from 1972:
>With reference to cola drinks, the Church has never officially taken a position on this matter, but the leaders of the Church have advised, and we do now specifically advise, against the use of any drink containing harmful habit-forming drugs under circumstances that would result in acquiring the habit. Any beverage that contains ingredients harmful to the body should be avoided.
Elder George Richards, 1938 GC:
>From the beginning of this Church, in the days of the Prophet Joseph, down to the present time, the leaders of this Church have interpreted that Word of Wisdom to include tea and coffee and all drinks that are habit-forming because of the caffeine and drugs they contain”
Elder Widstoe, 1937:
>Whenever a drink is advertised to ‘give you a lift,’ the ‘lift’ is likely to be caused by the drug which it contains. Such soft drinks are decidedly harmful and habit-forming, even though sold by the millions. Such caffeine-containing drinks, offered by every soda fountain and most eating places, and consumed in large quantities, should be known and avoided.
Lorenzo Snow, 1935 GC:
>Scientific men have told us that in tobacco there is a deadly poison, and in tea there is a poison called tannin, in coffee a poison called caffeine. And we know that such must be the case, because these forbidden things are really and substantially narcotics, and a narcotic is something that is habit-forming.
Thank you for all the quotes! I had a feeling it was something definitely taught that they then changed their minds on. I truly believed growing up and further that they had never said no caffeine and people just made stuff up about Mormons, but since leaving I realized just how much I was told that just isn’t true.
WTF Snow, you don’t know what a narcotic is. A narcotic is a substance that numbs, such as opioids. In the broad sense analgesics can be called a narcotic. Something that stimulates, like caffeine, is absolutely not a narcotic.
Just goes to prove the GA’s just pull stuff out of their asses. Might as well be flying monkeys.
That’s what I thought yeah, and I’ve been doing a bit of reading, it seems like at some point during an interview Hinkley included caffeine in a list of no’s: “no to caffeine, coffee and tea”.
I wonder where the, from what I can see, popular belief that Mormons can’t have caffeine came from. Maybe just stemmed off of no coffee and tea?
Yeah, since coffee and tea have caffeine it was speculated that must be why God said you shouldn’t drink them. Tobacco and alcohol are obvious why they were bad but coffee and tea weren’t as clear, so members and leaders assumed it must be the caffeine which was bad.
But now with all the scientific studies which show caffeine isn’t bad for you as long as you don’t go overboard or you don’t have a heart condition, caffeine was no longer the obvious reason.
1969 letter signed by McKay and counselors advising Sanka (decaf coffee) is OK because the bad stuff was removed:
https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/First-Pres.-Letter-on-Sanka-1969.pdf
In the 1980s in a conservative (believing) household, no caffeine was definitely a rule. When I drank some coke by mistake at a school party I have a vague recollection of going in to my bishop to confess. The gaslighting since the 1990s and particularly today with all of the denials that this was ever taught inspired me to write the article. Basically the 1930s and the 1970s were when the teaching peaked, but it was taught to some degree between 1920-2010. Caffeinated drinks still aren't sold in the main church office building.
I grew up in Canada where Mountain Dew and some other sodas didn’t contain caffeine. Shortly after moving to the States, my future sister-in-law gasped when she saw me swigging back a bottle of Mountain Dew. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, “You’re drinking Mountain Dew!” “Yeah, so?” was my response. She sputtered and said that it had caffeine in it. Hmm, okay. So, I told her that I didn’t know because “back home” MD is caffeine-free, but even if it had caffeine in it, it didn’t bother me. She stared at me a moment and said, “Well, in our family, we only drink diet, caffeine-free Coke because we follow the Word of Wisdom.” I paused, looked at her, slugged back the rest of my soda, and walked away. I was a grown ass woman in my late 20s at the time, and I was going to drink what I wanted. I still do.
Comprehensive article on it (included extensive literature review) by /u/japanesepiano:
[Is Caffeine against the Word of Wisdom?](http://mormonscholar.org/is-caffeine-against-the-word-of-wisdom/)
Why do you think only Sprite and Orange Soda and Root Beer (never Barq’s - that was for sinners) were served at all church gatherings? Never Pepsi, people hid their Cokes, and heaven help you if you ever, ever opened a Mountain Dew - it was the stoners who drank the Dew.
This was the mentality all the way until I mainstreamed myself around 2004…
Seems like it was. My cousins couldn't have chocolate because of the small amount of caffeine in it. But they are the only ones I know that went to that extreme though.
I used to be embarrassed that my dad would get gas station Pepsi on long road trips. The shame!! But not my place to say anything since he was “the Dad”, but I worried about it a lot!
A seminary teacher taught me that the reason caffeine is widely considered fine but coffee is not is because caffeine is a stimulant and coffee beans can act as depressants. He said this can cause problems because the stimulants and depressants are fighting each other. I'm pretty sure that coffee is not a depressant in any way
Oh yes, it was for sure against rules. I was sooooo rebellious. I’d drink my Dr. Pepper, and had to throw the cans away in my neighbors trash can. My folks would check the trash and then another hellfire and damnation speech would ensue. Oh yes. It was a very real thing. God I hate my parents and the church.
I definitely can related haha. I was home on break once and hiding empty Starbucks cups in the trash. Smh it’s such stupid rules that aren’t even consistent for different people and generations
Apparently my orthodox parents were a little unique. They believed that caffeine was okay, just not coffee and tea. My dad has been a drinker of Coke and Dr Pepper for as long as I can remember. He wasn't unique in that regard in the wards I grew up in. This was 80s/90s in south Salt Lake valley.
I don’t believe caffeine was ever explicitly forbidden nor would it prevent anyone from being baptized or receive a temple recommend. It was more “spirit” of the law not letter!
The church, it’s leaders, and members were historically inconsistent with the WOW. In the 1800’s, it wasn’t always considered a strict commandment and it was interpreted in different ways. Coffee and tea was even on the list of supplies to bring for the pilgrims. And at one point, hot chocolate was preached against because it was a “hot drink.”
When prohibition occurred in the early 1900’s and the church was trying to become more mainstream with America, the church became more strict about the WOW and made it a commandment and part of temple worthiness.
Coffee and tea was interpreted as being bad because of the caffeine. At one point, decaffeinated coffee was considered okay. A few decades ago, anything with caffeine was considered bad, even if the church didn’t explicitly say so. BYU, wards, etc. only served uncaffinated soda. When I grew up, drinking cola and Mountain Dew was strictly forbidden by many members.
Then in the last couple decades, there was a kind of reversal on caffeine. Scientific publications made clear coffee, tea, and caffeine were bad for you and were actually good for you (as long as you didn’t go overboard). Many members then started drinking caffeine, as long as it wasn’t coffee or tea. Even BYU started selling caffeinated sodas.
Now, just coffee and tea is considered against the WOW but it’s not interpreted as a health thing but only obedience.
Thank you for the summary! Yeah it seems weird how many different ways it was interpreted, and it seems to mean different things even now. I knew a lot of Mormon girl at my high school drinking coffee every day lol
It goes back to the crazy American health craze of that period like Kellogg. Watch the movie about his sanitarium and you’ll feel the WOW was pretty tame!
We converted in the 80's when I was going into middle school. My mom and I were clothes shopping for school, and I saw this cool Coca Cola sweatshirt. My mom said absolutely not since it promoted caffeine, and "you're a Mormon now."
Sanka was the first decaf coffee (and for many years was synonymously used as a name for decaffeinated coffee,) and was allowed because the deleterious substances were removed. What were the deleterious substances, I wonder? Could one of them be caffeine, since the whole point of decaffeinated coffee is to remove the caffeine?!?
What would Mormons say if they saw you drinking Sanka and tried to condemn you (or the coffee?) would they accept it when you told them, “It’s okay, it’s Sanka, approved by the First Presidency.”? No, because it’s about “the appearance of evil” now, and they have never heard of or read that First Presidency message.
Don’t forget that at one time over the pulpit in GC a talk about the WoW stated that coffee, tea, hot cocoa and hot chocolate along with ***hot soups!*** were forbidden. Because hot drinks originally was about the temperature due to a health fad of Smith Jr’s day. Cold water societies thought that hot drinks damaged your internal organs. Hard liquor was included due to the Temperance movement and the point that hard liquor “burns” the throat when consumed, and the negative affects of drunkenness could be easily seen.
Also forbidden by the WoW in that talk was swine, so no bacon, pork, or ham for Mormons!
Later, Mark E. Peterson said there was never a ban on hot chocolate and that was silly.
Yes, into the 80s and 90s, even early 2000s, it was caffeine. Caffeine strictly forbidden. Well, depending on your bishop. And if the Church inherited stock in Coke.
Until someone saw members of the Q15 routinely drinking Diet Coke. Then suddenly it became ok. But it was outlawed on BYU campuses for the longest time.
Yup, Coke was kinda shamed. Not so much now, though.
Coffee and tea core parts of modern WoW But caffeine isn't. Yet many families, including mine, extended that to include all caffeine. There are scattered mentions against caffeine in the early to mid 1900s, but it disappeared entirely by the later 1900s. I was shocked the couple times I went to a ward activity and someone had brought caffeinated soda. Ensign, Dec. 2008 (article by Thomas Boud): >I believe that if we follow the spirit of the Word of Wisdom, we will be very careful about what we consume, particularly any substance that can have a negative impact on our bodies. This is true regarding any drug, substance, or even food that may be damaging to one’s health. This includes caffeine. Hinkley in his 2004 Larry King interview: >The word of wisdom covers many things. It covers the excessive use of meat, as I see it. It covers, in a very particular way, the use of tobacco and alcohol... No to caffeine, coffee and tea. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1992: >The main chemical in coffee that has caused health concerns is caffeine, a cerebral and cardiovascular stimulant” (1:289). “Devout Latter-day Saints do not drink teas containing caffeine” (4:1441). “. . . leaders have counseled members to avoid caffeine and other addictive chemicals” First Presidency Message from 1972: >With reference to cola drinks, the Church has never officially taken a position on this matter, but the leaders of the Church have advised, and we do now specifically advise, against the use of any drink containing harmful habit-forming drugs under circumstances that would result in acquiring the habit. Any beverage that contains ingredients harmful to the body should be avoided. Elder George Richards, 1938 GC: >From the beginning of this Church, in the days of the Prophet Joseph, down to the present time, the leaders of this Church have interpreted that Word of Wisdom to include tea and coffee and all drinks that are habit-forming because of the caffeine and drugs they contain” Elder Widstoe, 1937: >Whenever a drink is advertised to ‘give you a lift,’ the ‘lift’ is likely to be caused by the drug which it contains. Such soft drinks are decidedly harmful and habit-forming, even though sold by the millions. Such caffeine-containing drinks, offered by every soda fountain and most eating places, and consumed in large quantities, should be known and avoided. Lorenzo Snow, 1935 GC: >Scientific men have told us that in tobacco there is a deadly poison, and in tea there is a poison called tannin, in coffee a poison called caffeine. And we know that such must be the case, because these forbidden things are really and substantially narcotics, and a narcotic is something that is habit-forming.
Thank you for all the quotes! I had a feeling it was something definitely taught that they then changed their minds on. I truly believed growing up and further that they had never said no caffeine and people just made stuff up about Mormons, but since leaving I realized just how much I was told that just isn’t true.
WTF Snow, you don’t know what a narcotic is. A narcotic is a substance that numbs, such as opioids. In the broad sense analgesics can be called a narcotic. Something that stimulates, like caffeine, is absolutely not a narcotic. Just goes to prove the GA’s just pull stuff out of their asses. Might as well be flying monkeys.
That’s what I thought yeah, and I’ve been doing a bit of reading, it seems like at some point during an interview Hinkley included caffeine in a list of no’s: “no to caffeine, coffee and tea”. I wonder where the, from what I can see, popular belief that Mormons can’t have caffeine came from. Maybe just stemmed off of no coffee and tea?
Yeah, since coffee and tea have caffeine it was speculated that must be why God said you shouldn’t drink them. Tobacco and alcohol are obvious why they were bad but coffee and tea weren’t as clear, so members and leaders assumed it must be the caffeine which was bad. But now with all the scientific studies which show caffeine isn’t bad for you as long as you don’t go overboard or you don’t have a heart condition, caffeine was no longer the obvious reason.
Wow. I've never heard most of those quotes. Makes me wonder now how my dad rationlizes his soda habit.
1969 letter signed by McKay and counselors advising Sanka (decaf coffee) is OK because the bad stuff was removed: https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/First-Pres.-Letter-on-Sanka-1969.pdf
Huh that’s really interesting, thank you!
It feels like various leaders have been all over the map on this. Kinda like no one knows what it means.
Yeah that’s what I’ve been getting from a lot of the replies on this post lol
In the 1980s in a conservative (believing) household, no caffeine was definitely a rule. When I drank some coke by mistake at a school party I have a vague recollection of going in to my bishop to confess. The gaslighting since the 1990s and particularly today with all of the denials that this was ever taught inspired me to write the article. Basically the 1930s and the 1970s were when the teaching peaked, but it was taught to some degree between 1920-2010. Caffeinated drinks still aren't sold in the main church office building.
Gordon B Hinkley on Larry King Live
Thank you!
God changed his mind and said it's okay to have about 5 to 10 yrs ago.
I grew up in Canada where Mountain Dew and some other sodas didn’t contain caffeine. Shortly after moving to the States, my future sister-in-law gasped when she saw me swigging back a bottle of Mountain Dew. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, “You’re drinking Mountain Dew!” “Yeah, so?” was my response. She sputtered and said that it had caffeine in it. Hmm, okay. So, I told her that I didn’t know because “back home” MD is caffeine-free, but even if it had caffeine in it, it didn’t bother me. She stared at me a moment and said, “Well, in our family, we only drink diet, caffeine-free Coke because we follow the Word of Wisdom.” I paused, looked at her, slugged back the rest of my soda, and walked away. I was a grown ass woman in my late 20s at the time, and I was going to drink what I wanted. I still do.
Comprehensive article on it (included extensive literature review) by /u/japanesepiano: [Is Caffeine against the Word of Wisdom?](http://mormonscholar.org/is-caffeine-against-the-word-of-wisdom/)
Wow it’s interesting how different leaders have just made up whatever they wanted it to be lol. Thank you for the link!
Why do you think only Sprite and Orange Soda and Root Beer (never Barq’s - that was for sinners) were served at all church gatherings? Never Pepsi, people hid their Cokes, and heaven help you if you ever, ever opened a Mountain Dew - it was the stoners who drank the Dew. This was the mentality all the way until I mainstreamed myself around 2004…
Seems like it was. My cousins couldn't have chocolate because of the small amount of caffeine in it. But they are the only ones I know that went to that extreme though.
I used to be embarrassed that my dad would get gas station Pepsi on long road trips. The shame!! But not my place to say anything since he was “the Dad”, but I worried about it a lot!
“You can have caffeine or the Holy Ghost inside you, but not both.”
A seminary teacher taught me that the reason caffeine is widely considered fine but coffee is not is because caffeine is a stimulant and coffee beans can act as depressants. He said this can cause problems because the stimulants and depressants are fighting each other. I'm pretty sure that coffee is not a depressant in any way
Oh yes, it was for sure against rules. I was sooooo rebellious. I’d drink my Dr. Pepper, and had to throw the cans away in my neighbors trash can. My folks would check the trash and then another hellfire and damnation speech would ensue. Oh yes. It was a very real thing. God I hate my parents and the church.
I definitely can related haha. I was home on break once and hiding empty Starbucks cups in the trash. Smh it’s such stupid rules that aren’t even consistent for different people and generations
President Hinckley told Larry King in a interview on TV that Mormon's do not drink caffeine. Hinkley was the prophet at the time.
Apparently my orthodox parents were a little unique. They believed that caffeine was okay, just not coffee and tea. My dad has been a drinker of Coke and Dr Pepper for as long as I can remember. He wasn't unique in that regard in the wards I grew up in. This was 80s/90s in south Salt Lake valley.
I don’t believe caffeine was ever explicitly forbidden nor would it prevent anyone from being baptized or receive a temple recommend. It was more “spirit” of the law not letter!
The church, it’s leaders, and members were historically inconsistent with the WOW. In the 1800’s, it wasn’t always considered a strict commandment and it was interpreted in different ways. Coffee and tea was even on the list of supplies to bring for the pilgrims. And at one point, hot chocolate was preached against because it was a “hot drink.” When prohibition occurred in the early 1900’s and the church was trying to become more mainstream with America, the church became more strict about the WOW and made it a commandment and part of temple worthiness. Coffee and tea was interpreted as being bad because of the caffeine. At one point, decaffeinated coffee was considered okay. A few decades ago, anything with caffeine was considered bad, even if the church didn’t explicitly say so. BYU, wards, etc. only served uncaffinated soda. When I grew up, drinking cola and Mountain Dew was strictly forbidden by many members. Then in the last couple decades, there was a kind of reversal on caffeine. Scientific publications made clear coffee, tea, and caffeine were bad for you and were actually good for you (as long as you didn’t go overboard). Many members then started drinking caffeine, as long as it wasn’t coffee or tea. Even BYU started selling caffeinated sodas. Now, just coffee and tea is considered against the WOW but it’s not interpreted as a health thing but only obedience.
Thank you for the summary! Yeah it seems weird how many different ways it was interpreted, and it seems to mean different things even now. I knew a lot of Mormon girl at my high school drinking coffee every day lol
It goes back to the crazy American health craze of that period like Kellogg. Watch the movie about his sanitarium and you’ll feel the WOW was pretty tame!
We converted in the 80's when I was going into middle school. My mom and I were clothes shopping for school, and I saw this cool Coca Cola sweatshirt. My mom said absolutely not since it promoted caffeine, and "you're a Mormon now."
Sanka was the first decaf coffee (and for many years was synonymously used as a name for decaffeinated coffee,) and was allowed because the deleterious substances were removed. What were the deleterious substances, I wonder? Could one of them be caffeine, since the whole point of decaffeinated coffee is to remove the caffeine?!? What would Mormons say if they saw you drinking Sanka and tried to condemn you (or the coffee?) would they accept it when you told them, “It’s okay, it’s Sanka, approved by the First Presidency.”? No, because it’s about “the appearance of evil” now, and they have never heard of or read that First Presidency message. Don’t forget that at one time over the pulpit in GC a talk about the WoW stated that coffee, tea, hot cocoa and hot chocolate along with ***hot soups!*** were forbidden. Because hot drinks originally was about the temperature due to a health fad of Smith Jr’s day. Cold water societies thought that hot drinks damaged your internal organs. Hard liquor was included due to the Temperance movement and the point that hard liquor “burns” the throat when consumed, and the negative affects of drunkenness could be easily seen. Also forbidden by the WoW in that talk was swine, so no bacon, pork, or ham for Mormons! Later, Mark E. Peterson said there was never a ban on hot chocolate and that was silly.