The second-highest-rated comment over there is: "I’m not usually a humorless scold, but this is not a good thing. Completely empty calories, mountains of probably not biodegradable waste, and cutesy names/flavors tailored to an eight year old. I’ll stick with plain old water, and a glass of wine before bed. But then, I’m a grown up. And don’t get me started on 'The Church.' Cheers."
December 9, 2021
"After Mitt Romney was photographed drinking a Diet Coke while running for president in 2012, the church posted a statement on its website clarifying its stance on caffeine, saying it 'does not prohibit the use of caffeine.'"
"The Word of Wisdom, the church’s health code, specifically bans hot caffeinated drinks, like coffee and tea. Brant Ellsworth, an associate professor at Central Penn College in Summerdale, Pa., specializes in the history of the church. He said that its clarification about caffeine did not likely spur the popularity of soda shops in Utah... 'Moms can’t function without caffeinated beverages,' said Ms. Durfey, a mother of two. 'We’re exhausted... I don’t know a single mom who cannot [sic] go through the day without some form of caffeine. I think that has definitely aided in the popularity of soda shops, because L.D.S. women can’t have coffee, they can’t drink alcohol. So their vice of getting that relaxation, that energy, and that whole kind of ritual I guess you could say — I feel like soda is their only option.'... As a nod to her hometown, Atlanta, Olivia Diaz, who is 27 and lives in Orem, Utah, likes to order Life’s a Peach — Dr Pepper with peach and vanilla syrup flavorings, and half-and-half to make it 'extra dirty.' (The term 'dirty' refers to the flavor add-ins, and its use in marketing was the basis of a 2015 trademark lawsuit, when Swig sued Sodalicious.)... Many of the dirty sodas, which come in sizes up to 44 ounces, can contain up to 1,000 calories."
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37 comments:
I'm not usually a humorless scold, but I will sure be one today!
And don’t get me started on 'The Church.'
People whose beliefs differ from my own make me feel uncomfortable inside.
The U.S. is drowning in drug use, many of which are quite lethal and contribute to very large numbers of overdoses each year. And drugs make people dis functional for work, driving a vehicle, and positive social interactions. Drugs drive much of crime and killing in cities. Yet people focus on caffeinated soda? Liberals focus on such things because they can claim to be clean on such drinks but they are very much implicated with drugs including facilitating them through lenient drug laws and bail laws.
As (I think) Charles Murray noted, it's strange how our current culture eschews all judgment of others' sex lives, but devotes immense energy to policing their eating habits, and assigns huge moral valence to the latter but not the former.
About Top comment: It's so easy to cherry pick news about what those Other People and their religious beliefs are getting wrong and sneer at them, casting yourself as the Wise Other who sees through all that. People do it with Catholics, with evangelicals, with Baptists, with Jews, with atheists, and likely Zoroastrians in their own cultures. It's mildly annoying that someone even wrote it, but very annoying so many people liked it. Frightening levels of bigotry when you think of it, especially give the many social positives the LDS seems to have worked out pretty well. Full disclosure: I am an evangelical pretty close to Catholicism now, and find many LDS doctrines wrong and incomprehensible. But I try not to congratulate myself on how much better I am than those 'ridiculous' Mormons.
Sounds like a typical humorless scold to me.
Cafeteria Mormon in more ways than one.
I wonder where cold brew coffee stands for LDS, as it does not need heat to brew and except for the beans being roasted never was hot.
"I'm not usually a humorless scold..." For some reason I highly doubt that.
Wonder when NYT's is going to post article's about all the silly inconsistencies in other religions. It seems to do this only to Christian sects. Lets have some NYT article's on all the wacky rules of Judaism and how people circumvent the Sabaath in Israel. I'm sure its the same with Islam.
Other than that, its scary that Mormon's are following Mitt Romney. A bad example in so many ways.
Moms can’t function without caffeinated beverages
This is RIDICULOUS! haven't these mormons heard of Adderall ?
be like the white elites! become a Speed Freak!
Neither proscription nor prescription. It's a choice.
Disclaimer: No babies were harmed in the use or avoidance of consuming a caffeinated drink. There is no mystery in the consumption of either caffeine or sugar substitutes. Any and all effects are voluntary. Consult with your doctor if you are pregnant or are having sex.
AS a resident of Utah, and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which is the proper name of the Church--"Mormons" is inaccurate, as Mormon was a specific person. So no, I am not a Mormon as Mormon died a long time ago), it is not surprising that the "sophisticated" elitists at the NYT sneer and mock the Church. They are the same, after all, who approve of the gutting of Notre Dame, to riff on an earlier thread.
Look, the Church doesn't forbid caffeine. They also do not encourage it, either. The Word of Wisdom (the health code) preaches moderation and healthy living. Don't do drugs, especially tobacco or alcohol, which in 1835 or so when the Word of Wisdom was issued were the drugs of choice or availability. I don't think cocaine or anything more than opium, if that, were even available.
So caffeine is not specifically forbidden, but it's not encouraged either. It's not good for you. I'm not going to say I avoid it 100%, because I don't, but I try not to drink too much soda. Rots your teeth, gives you diabetes, makes you fat... lots of good reasons to avoid soda and caffeine. Still, it's better than having a meth or mary jane addiction.
More to the point, why even have a health code as a religious thing? Well, health, of course. The ancient Jews notoriously had a health code--eating pig is forbidden--which makes sense for the time without refrigeration in a hot desert.
But ultimately a health code that forbids tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea is a way to set apart the Lord's people from the world. The Jews are "different" than the rest of us. And that's by design. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ are "not of the world" either, or at least not supposed to be. Of course, early on polygamy served as the primary difference. For the vast majority of the 20th century the Word of Wisdom was the biggest difference between members of the Church and the rest of the world. Sadly, once again our marriage practices --only heterosexual marriage, no LGBT stuff-- is once again rapidly becoming the biggest thing setting us off from the world.
Has the Mormon Church sometimes "swung" an entire doctrine to suit the ambitions of Mitt Romney? Probably the most successful Mormon politician so far? When he was running in MA, it was suddenly OK to be pro-choice.
Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker.
But if you get a Mormon gal all hopped up on Cherry Coke, she'll do anything, if you know what I mean...
If you begin your comment by telling me you’re not usually a humorless scold, I assume you are one.
What was weird when I lived in SLC 20 years ago, was that it was almost impossible to find ice tea, and esp unsugared ice tea. Coming in to the Wasatch Valley on US 6 (from Green River on I-70), I knew I was in Mormonland, when the McDonald’s right before I hit I-15 (just south of Provo) didn’t have ice tea. Just some raspberry tea concoction. Ugh! It carried on into SLC. I did find a couple of 7-11s with ice tea, and frequented them. Interestingly, we had a soda fountain at work. It had regular Coke, Diet Coke, and Caffeine Free Diet Coke.
My guess is that whoever wrote that flies a lot, wasting fossil fuel, doesn't realize aluminum is prized as a recyclable, thinks her restaurant's food is grown on the roof, not shipped around the world in giant belching trucks and planes to her superior city, and may be married to her cat.
Even though the cat technically couldn't consent, unlike Romney's wife.
"I’m not usually a humorless scold, but..."
The favorite intro line of humorless scolds the world around.
Nothing before the "but" matters.
-George RR Marten, possibly derived from Mark Twain.
Yes, a humorless scold. Compare to Starbucks offerings.
"But then, I’m a grown up."
And you're worried about "mountains of probably not biodegradable waste"? In Utah?
O-kay.
You need a Phyllis Dalmation tag. She frequently posts longing for the death of white males while calling conservatives nazis and claiming their sons are murderers. Amd she seems to have a carbon footprint that would put ordinary people to shame. Now I really pity her cat.
We must be doing good lately if the current criticism is that the culture spawns new kinds of refreshments.
Mitt loves, respects, and is proud to march with Black Lives Matter.
Quick reminder to everyone, BLM is the anti-capitalist, anti-west, anti-Christian, anti-Nuclear family organization that likes to burn stuff down.
Every LLR/NeverTrumper around will tell you Mitt is completely representative of the "moderate" "real" "smart" "enlightened" and "electable" republican party.
Discuss.
So that is what Utah Mormons are up to :-). I don't know many members who drink caffinated soda, but know a few "Moms" who have a stash of Hershey's Kisses where the kids and husband can't find them.
I wonder how the humorless scold feels about Starbucks drinks? This just seems like a coffee-free version of those. I wouldn’t drink either but I’m not going to judge anyone who does.
Hydro homies for life!
What's the rule for Iced coffee and Iced tea. They're certainly not a Hot or Heated caffeinated drink.
There was a recent Papal Bull that large sugary drinks are more sinful than masturbation or, anyway, words to that effect. The whole problem started with a mistranslation of the Aramaic word for caffeine. The Aramaic word for caffeine is "wriggle" whereas the word for sex is "wiggle". It's all been a big misunderstanding.
"I’m not usually a humorless scold, but this is not a good thing..."
Go on, tell me another one!
Which substance is the more sinful: caffeine or sugar? I would think sugar. Its abuse leads to obesity, tooth decay, and diabetes, and it takes some will power to consume in moderation. Caffeine, by way of contrast, seems almost virtuous. Some people report heart palpitations after too much coffee, but that's because caffeine gives off warning signs when you consume too much. On the plus side, it gives one added concentration and attentiveness. Sugar appeals to the reptilian brain. More, more,gimme more. Caffeine's appeal is to the higher faculties of the brain. Help me, Lord, to acquire more rationality and consciousness. It may thus be said that sugar like the reptilian brain was created by the Devil and coffee like our rationality was created by God.... If I were God, I wouldn't forbid the use of sugar, but it's not something I would recommend either. I would, however, recommend coffee to the righteous.
Utah Mormons, especially Mormon women, have been said to have serious problems with pills. The strain of having to be perfect gets to people after a while. In comparison, soda pop isn't that big a problem.
The Social Principles of the United Methodist Church advocate abstinence from alcohol and tobacco. During my sojourn among them, I knew one UMC member who abstained from alcohol in particular and said his life was the better for it.
What is it about the Moroni love of Diet Coke that triggers Drago to belch up a "black man scary" post?
Utahn and "Mormon" here. Plenty of us avoid caffeine. Not necessarily because its prohibited, but definitely linked to the belief not to use harmful substances habitually. Caffeine is certainly a minor one, but it's not necessary for almost anyone as a stimulant. I ran five 70.3 Ironmans this year without needing caffeine.
The problem with the article is the mingling of religion and various personal philosophy. We are all a bit contradictory and ludicrous sometimes; especially if our lifestyles and quirky habits get reduced to a few lines in a newspaper.
I simply disagree with that woman and the sentiment in the articles would many others. I wish those voices were represented. Both the sugar and caffeine in those drinks are terrible. Occasionally, very rarely, sure, who cares. But as a habit it's terrible. And it's not really necessary anyway.
I thought about writing some reply to this post this morning, but then thought to myself, "Nah, Quayle will nail it." I was right.
Utahn and "Mormon" here. Plenty of us avoid caffeine. Not necessarily because its prohibited, but definitely linked to the belief not to use harmful substances habitually. Caffeine is certainly a minor one, but it's not necessary for almost anyone as a stimulant. I ran five 70.3 Ironmans this year without needing caffeine.
The problem with the article is the mingling of religion and various personal philosophy. We are all a bit contradictory and ludicrous sometimes; especially if our lifestyles and quirky habits get reduced to a few lines in a newspaper.
I simply disagree with that woman and the sentiment in the articles would many others. I wish those voices were represented. Both the sugar and caffeine in those drinks are terrible. Occasionally, very rarely, sure, who cares. But as a habit it's terrible. And it's not really necessary anyway.
Howard: "What is it about the Moroni love of Diet Coke that triggers Drago to belch up a "black man scary" post?"
I can see all your memes and narratives have collapsed. And it only took 10 months.
Not surprising at all really.
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