Jon, It appears that the generally accepted definition of "hot drinks" may have been fairly broad for a period of time. A quote from Widtsoe's 1937 book on the Word of Wisdom--
Caffeine, the essential principle of tea and coffee, was discovered, as a chemical substance, a few years before the Word of Wisdom was received. This knowledge was, however, buried in scientific publications. It is very unlikely that the Prophet Joseph Smith had heard of it. It was many years after 1833 that the physiological effect of caffeine was established by science. In the days of Joseph Smith, tea and coffee did not come in for the disfavor shown by some towards alcohol and tobacco. Indeed, people were often advised to use tea and coffee as a means of conquering the liquor habit. That the expression "hot drinks" was used in the Word of Wisdom rather than "coffee and tea," is notable; for by so doing a host of other injurious habit-forming beverages now used (or that may be used) become subject to the Word of Wisdom. ( John A. Widtsoe and Leah D. Widtsoe, The Word of Wisdom: A Modern Interpretation [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1937], 99.) I see several other quotes from Church authorities during the mid-nineteen-hundreds that contain similar language with reference to caffeine-containing beverages. As far as I can recall, it was never interpreted thus during my lifetime. Apparently the revision to more narrowly focus the Word of Wisdom came about some time after the 1940's. It would also seem more significant, I suppose, if we knew specifically what the requirements for a temple recommend were based on. Again, my experience over the last thirty years is that the temple recommend interview only focused specifically on tea and coffee as "hot drinks". No bishop has ever questioned me about using caffeine. --- Mij Ebaboc Jon Spencer wrote: --- We talked about this issue today with a couple of sister customers in our bookstore. They both recall that when they were married (many moons ago), it was taught that caffeine was against the WoW. They said it was in the lesson manuals (I'll take their word for it because I am just a newbie - 9 years). They also knew that that had been retracted. --- ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
