Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
It looks like Brigham Young University may be Mormonism's last institutional holdout against what some see as "evil" cola drinks — you know, the ones with that unauthorized pick-me-up.
Sometime this spring, LDS Business College in Salt Lake City began selling Coke products — with caffeine — in its cafe. The church-owned Joseph Smith Memorial Building, across from downtown's iconic Mormon temple, had long since shrugged off the supposed taboo.
It makes no difference: The faith's flagship school in Provo is standing firm.
BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins previously said there was no demand for these energy-enhancing sodas. Now she says the school "has simply chosen not to sell caffeinated beverages on campus."
That stance persists about five years after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement in the midst of Mitt Romney's White House run, saying that the only forbidden "hot drinks" in the faith's health code, known as the Word of Wisdom, have been defined as coffee and tea.
This 2012 reaffirmation said that "the church revelation spelling out health practices ... does not mention the use of caffeine."
The same goes for the church's two-volume handbook, which lay leaders use to guide their congregations. It says plainly that "the only official interpretation of 'hot drinks' (D&C 89:9) in the Word of Wisdom is the statement made by early church leaders that the term 'hot drinks' means tea and coffee."
As the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, Romney was observed drinking the occasional Diet Coke on the campaign trail and enjoying a bowl of coffee ice cream.
Utah's late Gov. Olene Walker, a Mormon, once said, "Caffeine is fine as long as it's cold."
And, in the 1960s, according to biographer Gregory Prince, church President David O. McKay was at a concert hall in Bountiful, where a friend offered to get him a drink from the concession stand. The friend was mortified when the cup he handed the Mormon leader was emblazoned with the words "Coca-Cola."
"I don't care what it says on the outside," McKay told his embarrassed pal, "as long as there's Coke on the inside."
So, in short, nowhere does the Mormon Word of Wisdom mention caffeine. Or ice cream. Or Mountain Dew. Or Dr Pepper. That doesn't mean church leaders view caffeinated drinks as healthy. They just don't bar members from, say, pounding a Pepsi or slurping a hot chocolate.
Even so, many outsiders and plenty of insiders still get that wrong.
For decades, many scripture-quoting Mormons presumed that caffeine was the culprit in coffee and tea, hence they shunned colas with it as well. Families avoided these juiced-up drinks, and many local leaders preached against them over the pulpit and in private meetings with their congregants.
Former church President Gordon B. Hinckley complicated the matter in 1996, when the aging leader told "60 Minutes" that Mormons avoid caffeine.
BYU's prohibition of selling these peppy pops also was cited as evidence of doctrinal, if not divine, disfavor.
But as for the school's earlier "no demand" claim, well, an enterprising BYU student is proving otherwise — by selling these souped-up sodas door to door.
Wesley Monahan, known as "the caffeine dealer," has launched Caffeine Corner to deliver cold cans of caffeinated colas on campus within minutes of receiving an order via text.
The startup is winning high marks from test-cramming students for helping them get high marks on exams.
"It's the end of the semester and I've got an all-nighter ahead of me," one wrote on the company's Facebook page. "Caffeine Corner came to my rescue with 2 cold Dr Peppers to get me through it. Delivered promptly and friendly! Thank you!!"
Such praise isn't confined to students, Monahan told the school paper, The Daily Universe. "I even have a lot of staff members who make purchases and wish me well."
Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
- Joel
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Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
- oneClimbs
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Sigh. Siiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhhhhhhh...
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
We are not commanded in all things. With Utah and the US obesity problem do we really need to push another sugar laden addiction?
Plus, https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.co ... index.html
Plus, https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.co ... index.html
- Elizabeth
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Disappointing, to say the least.
- oneClimbs
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
One can of Coca-Cola contains 35 milligrams of caffeine, but also contains 39,000 (yes, that’s thirty-nine THOUSAND) milligrams of SUGAR. I wonder what the dominant stimulant is? Oh, sugar is not in the Word of Wisdom? Neither is caffeine.
- Elizabeth
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
The Word of Wisdom includes "anything of like substance."
- Joel
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
I would not surprise me if some type bosom burning revelation played role in this change.
- captainfearnot
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Which verse says that?
- BeNotDeceived
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Sugar laden soda should be taxed and the proceeds used to fund activities, better yet add one-penny per net-carb.Michelle wrote: ↑June 13th, 2017, 3:02 pm We are not commanded in all things. With Utah and the US obesity problem do we really need to push another sugar laden addiction?
Plus, https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.co ... index.html
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Caffeine is a unnecessary additive to soda pop to make it addictive. President Hinckley said to avoid caffeine and I think that is good advice for us to follow.
- Elizabeth
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
An early LDS Church publication I read years ago.
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Why use an inappropriate unit of measure? The appropriate unit would be grams, 39 grams. And 39 grams is really not a lot. I usually eat two servings worth (two cups) of my two preferred breakfast cereals, Kellogg's Raisin Bran and General Mills Special K Red Berry, and that gives me more sugar than a can of coke after adding the milk.
I won't argue that carbonated beverages are good for you, but I think that getting worked up over 150 calories worth of sugar is a bit extreme.
- Elizabeth
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
https://www.lds.org/manual/duties-and-b ... m?lang=eng
"Hot drinks are defined as coffee and tea. However, our Church leaders have told us not to use any beverage that contains drugs or other ingredients that are harmful or habit forming.
We should always avoid any other substances, including food or drink, that will create unnatural desires or cravings or upset the natural functions of our bodies. Failure to do so will cause us great personal misery.
If we are in doubt about a substance, we should follow the counsel of Elder Joseph Fielding Smith: “If in doubt as to any food or drink, whether it is good or harmful, let it alone until you have learned the truth in regard to it. If anything offered is habit-forming, we will be safe in concluding that it contains some ingredients that are harmful to the body and should be avoided” (“The Word of Wisdom,” Improvement Era, Feb. 1956, 79).
President Ezra Taft Benson told us to avoid anything or anyone who would influence us to consume any unhealthy substance: “My … brothers and sisters, in all love, we give you warning that Satan and his emissaries will strive to entice you to use harmful substances, because they know if you partake, your spiritual powers will be inhibited and you will be in their evil power. "
"Hot drinks are defined as coffee and tea. However, our Church leaders have told us not to use any beverage that contains drugs or other ingredients that are harmful or habit forming.
We should always avoid any other substances, including food or drink, that will create unnatural desires or cravings or upset the natural functions of our bodies. Failure to do so will cause us great personal misery.
If we are in doubt about a substance, we should follow the counsel of Elder Joseph Fielding Smith: “If in doubt as to any food or drink, whether it is good or harmful, let it alone until you have learned the truth in regard to it. If anything offered is habit-forming, we will be safe in concluding that it contains some ingredients that are harmful to the body and should be avoided” (“The Word of Wisdom,” Improvement Era, Feb. 1956, 79).
President Ezra Taft Benson told us to avoid anything or anyone who would influence us to consume any unhealthy substance: “My … brothers and sisters, in all love, we give you warning that Satan and his emissaries will strive to entice you to use harmful substances, because they know if you partake, your spiritual powers will be inhibited and you will be in their evil power. "
- captainfearnot
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
So then it would be inaccurate to say that the phrase is included in the Word of Wisdom, since nothing we currently refer to as the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89, the TR interview) contains the phrase.
- oneClimbs
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
How is an accurate unit of measure inappropriate? An inaccurate unit of measure would not just be inappropriate, but incorrect. Usually when you look up caffeine content it is listed in terms of milligrams when sugar is mentioned in terms of grams. This makes them almost look equal. 35mg of caffeine and 39g of sugar, oh that sounds about the same. I just leveled out the playing field by using the SAME unit of measure for both. That's fine we can say 0.035g of caffeine and 39g of sugar as well. People just seem to understand the impact of commas rather than decimals in their numbers. Anyway, I'm only trying to provide an alternate, yet accurate view of the usual information.brianj wrote: ↑June 13th, 2017, 10:49 pmWhy use an inappropriate unit of measure? The appropriate unit would be grams, 39 grams. And 39 grams is really not a lot. I usually eat two servings worth (two cups) of my two preferred breakfast cereals, Kellogg's Raisin Bran and General Mills Special K Red Berry, and that gives me more sugar than a can of coke after adding the milk.
I won't argue that carbonated beverages are good for you, but I think that getting worked up over 150 calories worth of sugar is a bit extreme.
Have you ever weighed out 39g of refined sugar on a scale and looked at how much it actually is? To eat that much added sugar as part of a regular meal is insane! Here's a little something I made a while back to teach my kids. This is how much just 24g of sugar is, now just add another 2/3 to that tube and you'd get about what a can of Coke has.
39 grams of refined sugar IS actually a lot. That is more than you should have in a whole day and I'm talking about the man-made stuff that has been extracted out of natural sources. There are sugars that occur in fruits and such but those are balanced with the accompanied fiber and what not. The body processes these differently. My point was that the super high sugar content is virtually ignored by people because of the caffeine.
The American Heart Association suggest no more than 36g of added sugar for men each day and 25g for women. The added sugar amount in one can of Coke exceeds the daily limit for men and is almost double that for women. Note that I'm not for banning anything, I think Coke is fine, ice cream is fine, and chocolate cake is fine, it's not a big deal to enjoy a dessert from time to time. Too much of anything can be harmful. Again, my point is how people freak out over caffeine in Coke and seem to completely ignore the sugar content and that it is probably far worse for your health than caffeine.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLi ... UFBfRPyuEI
I doubt 0.039g of caffeine is causing the "addictive" problems some have. A study has shown that the intense sweetness that refined sugar is designed to create stimulates surpasses the "reward" that cocaine brings: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl ... ne.0000698
If the real fear of Coke is caffeine because of "addiction" and loss of agency, why do people ignore sugar and LDS folks binge on sweets at every activity. Donuts, brownies, cakes, candy, etc. Why is every holiday or special occasion laced with the stuff? We know it is addictive, is in almost everything, consumed en masse by Americans, contributes to our obesity epidemic, and is dangerous to the health and well-being of people, so why do we practically ignore it? We strain out the gnat of caffeine and swallow the candy-coated camel?
If anyone is curious about the difference between naturally occurring sugars and how the differ from added sugars, I suggest the following presentation which explains it plainly and then breaks down the chemistry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Yeah, I always get a laugh when whoever is conducting whatever event at church requests that whoever is offering the closing prayer include a blessing on the refreshments 95% of which are loaded up on sugar. The prayer goes something like: "Please bless these refreshments to the nourishment of our bodies." That's like praying for the water in the swimming pool to not make us wet.5tev3 wrote: ↑June 14th, 2017, 8:35 amIf the real fear of Coke is caffeine because of "addiction" and loss of agency, why do people ignore sugar and LDS folks binge on sweets at every activity. Donuts, brownies, cakes, candy, etc. Why is every holiday or special occasion laced with the stuff? We know it is addictive, is in almost everything, consumed en masse by Americans, contributes to our obesity epidemic, and is dangerous to the health and well-being of people, so why do we practically ignore it? We strain out the gnat of caffeine and swallow the candy-coated camel?
Why can't someone say, just once, in their prayer, "Yes, we know we showed up with food that is bad for us...again...so please forgive us as we consume it. And bless us to do better at the next event."?
- oneClimbs
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Haha, the next time I get asked to pray at an activity I'm going to have a hard time not saying that, Silver.Silver wrote:Yeah, I always get a laugh when whoever is conducting whatever event at church requests that whoever is offering the closing prayer include a blessing on the refreshments 95% of which are loaded up on sugar. The prayer goes something like: "Please bless these refreshments to the nourishment of our bodies." That's like praying for the water in the swimming pool to not make us wet.
Why can't someone say, just once, in their prayer, "Yes, we know we showed up with food that is bad for us...again...so please forgive us as we consume it. And bless us to do better at the next event."?
As an aside from trying to bash my own culture and people here, I do want to note that on a primary breakout session where the primary president took all the teachers aside to get feedback and share ideas, she provided a tray of veggies and fruit as snacks which were appreciated by all.
It's not all bad out there and it's not the worst thing to show up with donuts here and there, but on the whole we tend to overdo it (at least in my experience). I'm optimistic though, I think we are becoming more health-conscious overall. If you had to compare today to say the 90s, which time would you rather live in in terms of knowledge about health and wellness? I think things are getting worse in many respects but I think they are getting better in others.
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Where did captainfearnot's post on seminary and red punch and donuts go?
I laughed out loud.
I laughed out loud.
- captainfearnot
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Sorry, I had second thoughts immediately after posting and deleted it. Surprised anyone had time to see it.
Silver's prayer suggestion reminded me of a Seminary student who was asked to say the closing prayer and bless the food after class one day. He didn't make any kind of comment about how unhealthy the food was, all he did was name what they were about to eat in his blessing: "Please bless these chocolate donuts and red punch..." or whatever it was. To nourish and strengthen etc. etc. But that sounded so disrespectful to the teacher she made him say it over using the proper euphemism, "refreshments."
Silver's prayer suggestion reminded me of a Seminary student who was asked to say the closing prayer and bless the food after class one day. He didn't make any kind of comment about how unhealthy the food was, all he did was name what they were about to eat in his blessing: "Please bless these chocolate donuts and red punch..." or whatever it was. To nourish and strengthen etc. etc. But that sounded so disrespectful to the teacher she made him say it over using the proper euphemism, "refreshments."
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
captainfearnot wrote: ↑June 14th, 2017, 1:22 pm "Please bless these chocolate donuts and red punch..." or whatever it was. To nourish and strengthen etc. etc. But that sounded so disrespectful to the teacher she made him say it over using the proper euphemism, "refreshments."
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
With so many problems that we must confront daily, what is the reason to talk if BYU sells Coca Cola or not.
- Elizabeth
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Choosing to drink Coca Cola and the like is an outward sign of spiritual degeneration, lack of intelligence, and lack of regard for ones bodily health and well being. Profiting from the sale of such, and choosing to make such readily available to others is visibly encouraging such degeneration.
Last edited by Elizabeth on June 17th, 2017, 2:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- captainfearnot
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
I'm not normally a Coke drinker but if this is some new flavor, I think I'd give it a try.
- Elizabeth
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
For what reason?
captainfearnot wrote: ↑June 17th, 2017, 1:20 pmI'm not normally a Coke drinker but if this is some new flavor, I think I'd give it a try.
- mirkwood
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Re: Coca-Cola arrives at LDS Business College, but BYU stays on no-caffeine wagon
Just finished a Mtn Dew: DEW S A. I will probably slurp another one later tonight as I prepare my Valiant 10 lesson for tomorrow. The class I was specifically chosen to teach by leaders and parents alike. Did I mention my BA or the fact that another year of school would earn me another one?