The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the sect of Christianity that Mormons follow, has recently clarified that vaping, green tea, and any 'fancy' caffeinated drinks ending in 'ccino' are on the list of things that members cannot partake in.
"E-cigarettes are highly addictive, iced tea is still tea, and any drink ending in '-ccino' probably has coffee and breaks the rules," church leaders wrote in an article in their youth magazine New Era.
On a basic level, you would think that just refers to straight up coffee, but when you really think about it, most 'fancy' drinks at Starbucks that taste nothing like coffee still have caffeine in them, which would be against the rules.
Green tea is also highly caffeinated, meaning that despite it not being traditional coffee, it also breaks the rules.
"In Doctrine and Covenants 89:8–9, the Lord forbids our using tobacco and 'hot drinks,'" the article in New Era reads, "Which, Church leaders have explained, means tea and coffee."
"Modern prophets and apostles have frequently taught that the Word of Wisdom warns us against substances that can harm us or enslave us to addiction," the article continues. "Most vaping pods contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, and all of them contain harmful chemicals. Vaping is clearly against the Word of Wisdom."
But they've taken time to explain their reasoning:
"Green tea and black tea are both made from the leaves of the exact same tea plant," the article explains.
"The only difference is that the leaves in black tea are fermented and in green tea they’re not. They’re both tea and against the Word of Wisdom. Some drinks have tea in them but don’t advertise that fact, so always check the ingredients."
However, a recent study shows that 40 per cent of millennial or Generation X church members "said they had consumed caffeinated coffee in the past six months," and "Thirty-eight percent of members with permission to enter the temples said they had consumed at least one of the forbidden substances."
Rules like these may be hard to enforce, but hey, maybe their clear-cut quality helps make life a little easier.
h/t: Yahoo Lifestyle
