SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a warning to members that coffee is prohibited no matter how fancy the name, that vaping is banned despite the alluring flavors and that marijuana is outlawed unless prescribed by “competent” doctors.
The new guidance in the August issue of a church youth magazine does not include fundamental changes to the religion’s strict health code, but the clarifications are significant and seem to reflect growing concern about young Latter-day Saints’ adherence to the rules.
The article says it aims to clear up issues that could be confusing for young people within the religion’s “Word of Wisdom,” a set of rules about what foods and drinks are good for members and what substances they should avoid.
The rules prohibit alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs and coffee and tea. They are based on what church members believe was a revelation from God to founder Joseph Smith in 1833. The faith’s rejection of coffee has long generated curiosity and more than a few jokes, including a scene in the biting satirical Broadway musical called “The Book of Mormon” where dancing cups of coffee appear in a missionary’s nightmare.
The new instructions about coffee make clear that there’s no gray area allowing coffee-infused drinks and allude to the wide variety that could tempt members of the faith.
Jana Riess, a church member and author, said she was shocked to find that four in 10 active church members under age 51 had drunk coffee during the previous six months in a 2016 survey she conducted for her book, “The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church.”
She also found that younger members are less concerned than older members about obeying the health code, which is one of the ways that makes the religion distinct from many other faiths.
Church leaders have occasionally issued similar clarifications based on changing social norms and eating and drinking habits, Mason said. In 2012, church leaders clarified that the health code did not prevent members from drinking caffeinated soft drinks.
Brandt Malone, a church member from Detroit who hosts the Mormon News Report podcast, said he wishes the section on coffee would have instead provided guidance to young members about how to order and behave in coffee shops, which are a common place for professional work meetings.
“Let’s teach people how to make the proper choices and think for themselves based on the construct of your religious health code,” Malone said.
Malone and Riess both praised the church stance on vaping, which laments the misconception that e-cigarettes contain only flavors.
The passage about marijuana seems to underscore the faith’s desire to carve out a space to allow some members to use medical marijuana, while reiterating that recreational use is prohibited.
