WRONG COLOR ;)
Posted on 03/03/2008 11:08:00 AM PST by greyfoxx39
Religious and cultural traditions collide in odd ways.
• Is it right to tell election poll workers, assigned to Mormon church meeting houses, to not bring coffee, sodas or anything else caffeinated to refresh themselves during their long day tending to voters?
-SNIP-
First, let’s look at the polling place duties and sipping Maxwell House in the meeting house.
Longtime Tempe poll worker Mary Ann Hemmingson has signed up to work the polls for the March 11 election. She’ll spend her 14- or 15-hour day in a church, but no longer one that belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I never sign up to work at a Mormon church because the board workers there are not allowed to have any caffeine on the premises,” she said. “That means no coffee in the morning and no Diet Coke in the afternoon. ... You don’t want to see what I look like without my daily dose of caffeine. It’s not a pretty picture.”
“The Word of Wisdom” portion of the Doctrine and Covenants, put forth in 1833 by church founder and prophet Joseph Smith, says that “hot drinks are not for the body or belly.” Add to that what H. Burke Peterson, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, said in 1975: “We know that cola drinks contain the drug caffeine. We know caffeine is not wholesome nor prudent for the use of our bodies. It is only sound judgment to conclude that cola drinks and any others that contain caffeine or other harmful ingredients should not be used.”
Advising followers to restrict what they take into their bodies is one thing, but applying that mandate to those people who perform a public job inside their buildings in a one-day stint seems to be taking things too Far.
(Excerpt) Read more at eastvalleytribune.com ...
it appears that in an election year the enforcement of a religious rule in our polling place deserves some comment.
PING
is de-caf OK? Buckler? O’Douls?
No tea, alcohol...postum OK. How can you prove it’s de-caf if it’s in the cup, already made?
Would Romney have prohibited coffee at state dinners, too?
No it is not alright. These polling places are not the “ward” but polling places, PUBLIC polling places.
As I wasn’t on the Romney guest list, I wouldn’t know about the state dinners.;)
No caffeine? I know plenty of LDS people who drink cola drinks.
Mitt Romney was the keynote speaker at a Chamber of Commerce Breakfast in my city and there was plenty of Joe.
And I know plenty of Christians who lie, fornicate, and swear, but that doesn't mean its allowed in their churches.
And, that applies to rules in polling places....how?
Tough call. If they own the building, they should be able to set the rules inside the building...but then again, the building is being rented or granted for use to perform a secular, public function.
}:-)4
At Catholic polling places, they have 8 kinds of domestic on tap. :)
By the by -- do they disallow chocolate as well? I'm not Mormon, I ask because chocolate also has caffeine in it.
So what’s a good Catholic Irishman or Irishman-for-a-day to do with St. Patrick’s Day?
What any good Catholic should do regardless the holiday -- give Jesus His due respect. Is it really so difficult to miss out on the drinking binge when the day falls during Holy Week? Such a sacrifice? I recall the Pope giving dispensation regarding meatless Fridays during Lent when St. Patrick's Day happened to fall on a Friday -- sheesh, people, you can't miss the corned beef ONE year?
“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
- Paul, from Colossians 2:16-17
Was the breakfast held on Mormon turf? That is the problem here, not that those of the Mormon faith cannot be around caffeinated products.
I have a simple solution.....
Why don’t they just let the heathens imbibe in their hot caffinated beverages during polling and then simply hold a rededication ceremony afterward to cleanse the premises like they do after a Temple tour?
:-)
LOL...works for me.
What a crock of bull. There is not any food we probably eat that is not in some way harmful is some way. This is just another rule placed to test how much power they have over the flock. Not working.
Why don’t they let the heathens drink what they like? Maybe the caffeine and alcohol will hasten their deaths. They’ll just be baptized into the Mormon church when they die, anyway.
,-)
How many Mormons does it take to change a lightbulb?
One, if you are offering a Pepsi after they finish.
How many Pentacostals does it take to change a lightbulb?
One to change the bulb and two to catch them after they fall.
How many Calvinists does it take to change a lightbulb?
If God wanted light he would make light.
How many Baptists does it take to change a lightbulb?
Depends on the size of the church.
Etc. . . .
***No caffeine? I know plenty of LDS people who drink cola drinks.***
But, but, that is only if you have migraines.
I guess whisky is out of the question.
Abe Lincoln, Steven Douglas and company must be rolling over in their graves.
It’s the LDS Churches property. They make the rules what people working there can and can’t have. I don’t care if the property is being used as a public polling place, and I’d say the same thing no matter where, or whose religion, the polling place was.
If there’s a problem let the FEC handle it. Oh wait apparently no problem or there wouldn’t be a polling place there.
“...postum OK.”
Postum is served hot, isn’t it? I’m confused ;)
In the Word of Wisdom, “Joseph Smith says “hot drinks are not for the body or belly.”
What about hot broth? What about hot liquids in soup? What about hot green tea? What about a non-caffeinated soda that gets warm in the noonday sun?
What about a ham sandwich in a mosque?............
I live in a VERY Mormon neighborhood in Utan. There is a LOT of soda drinking, at homes, at church events, in ward houses. No coffee, no tea, but lots of hot chocolate (never figured that one out). That being said, I think the church has the right to set the standard for what goes on in their places of worship, even for civic events. The poll workers have a choice of working there. If it becomes too much of an issue, the polling place will be moved.
Then they: a) might not be devout Mormons, or b) their cola drinks don’t contain caffeine.
Unless I am misinformed, apparently the LDS gets a "special dispensation" when the cola drink is Coca Cola. I am guessing Coke donates a healthy sum for that dispensation on BYU's campus........
Because it never has been about caffeine, it is the tannic acid tea and coffee.
The ban on cola in the church is not universally accepted. The ban is technically on hot caffeine
Persona non grata?
WRONG COLOR ;)
+++++++++++
There is an answer to this question, I was even taught it when I took the missionary lessons about 40 years ago.
Jeepers, in some elections I wouldn’t be able to stomach voting for anybody if it weren’t for the liquor.
Seems like you chose to leave out the part that said this behavior was normal, no matter where the polling place was.
“The ban on caffeine is no different than forbidding smoking, she said. Whether it is a church, synagogue or mosque, “we abide with their rules.” Reed said occasionally there are public requests to cover up crosses or remove religious materials from walls or bulletin boards of churches, but the choice is to honor the host. Some, she said, may be offended, as occurred in 2004, when people voted in military armories and President Bush’s photo was on the wall at the same time he was on the ballot.”
Tannic acid. The reason my dad looked so young before he died.
Ya but....I prefer going back to age 19 and go to a church dance in Panguitch. With my fifth of Jim Beam out in the car.
Coming in and sweeping the sweet 16 year old off her feet, breathing heavily so she gets the whiff of the good stuff and she follows me out to the car with her half empty can of church approved 7 Up, and fills it to the brim. Back in to the dance we go...
Ahhhh....those were the days my friend, I wished they’d never ended.
Banning COFFEE normal? Quite far-fetched. However, IMO, there should be no polling in places where religion of any kind sets the rules for those not of that religion. Specifically because THERE IS NO ALTERNATE CHOICE FOR VOTERS IN THAT PRECINCT!
And I wouldn't be comfortable if ONLY poll workers of a specific religion would choose to work under these circumstances...never know when a candidate of said specific religion would need some extra "help".
Move the polls OUT of religion-controlled venues.
I guess there will be no beer too! DARN!
Sounds like we went to different schools together! Half the boys at the church dances I attended had that little “pick me up” under the seat in the car.
http://www.ulcseminary.org/faqs/mormonFaq.php
2. Why do Mormons abstain from all drinks with caffeine in them?
Well, it’s not really a hard and fast *rule* that Mormons aren’t supposed to drink caffeinated beverages. There are the “black and white” guidelines that we’ve all come to know and love about Mormons, who consider these rules to be commandments. These include things like “no smoking”, “no alcohol”, “no premarital sex”. You know, all the good stuff.
There are also the “gray areas”. These are things that have been strongly suggested - but according to my knowledge aren’t going to get you in serious trouble. You’re just supposed to avoid them. These include things like drinking Coke or Pepsi, or perhaps watching rated “R” movies.
Why no Coke? Well, it has to do with another Mormon belief about always being in control of oneself. Things that can cause addictions are generally bad. Since we all know that caffeine can be addicting - that’s bad.
3. If Mormons can’t drink coffee or Coke because of the caffeine, can they eat chocolate which also contains caffeine?
They are not actually officially told not to drink caffeinated drinks, as seen by another question, but strangely enough, some choose not to drink beverages with caffeine but will still eat chocolate.
The health principles are found in the “Word of Wisdom” on the official church web site.
It’s from the book of Doctrine and Covenants. “Hot drinks” means tea and coffee, as it was 1831 and those were the only drinks that were hot back then. So yes, hot chocolate is okay (I’ve been asked that before).
The essential thing is exercise, have a good diet, don’t be enslaved to any substance, whether it’s alcohol, marijuana, coffee, Pepsi, chocolate, cereal, or french fries, or whatever... and some don’t use at all, period. Because coffee has a lot of caffeine some people, in the spirit of the law, point out examples of people who MUST have their six-pack of Pepsi each day or who truly are addicted to Coke or Mountain Dew or whatever. That in itself is against the Word of Wisdom, but the occasional soda is not specifically stated against. It’s a fuzzy, occasionally lightly debated subject among church members. A person can hold a temple recommend while still having drunk a Coke or Pepsi. If they’ve had an alcoholic drink and not repented yet, then they can’t.
My mistake on #46. I thought I was on a LDS site but it wasn’t, it was a “Universal Life Church” site. Probably not the least bit accurate. My apologies.
Careful there, don’t want to lose your head ...
......The song from the band playing “Summer Place.”
We drank Everclear in our 7-Up. It’s a good thing we’re all not blind.
"No (Heavenly) soup for you!"
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