No Smoking, Alcohol, Coffee, Tea
One of the most common things known about Mormons is that they don’t smoke cigerattes and that they don’t drink alcohol, coffee, or tea.
Why is this a commandment?
The apostle Paul taught that we have responsibility to keep our bodies clean and pure. In 1 Corinthians 6, he says:
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Living in mortality and having a physical body is a great blessing that the Lord has given us. As a result, we should strive to take care of ourselves, both spiritually and physically.
But why tobacco, alcohol, coffee and tea specifically?
In 1833, Joseph Smith (the prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) received a revelation. This revelation is now in the LDS Church’s official canon as the 89th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. In this revelation, God prohibits consuming certain things and also outlines what types of things should be consumed. As part of this revelation, it says:
And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.
And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man…
And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.
Since that time, the revelation has been interpreted by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Strong drinks” refer to alcohol and “hot drinks” mean coffee and tea.
Interestingly, this revelation was given long before tobacco or alcohol was believed to have adverse effects on our health–truly, an inspired commandment of God.
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