Alcohol

[kona0197]

So I was wondering why having a beer ever so often is a bad thing?

I realize drinking alcohol is against the word of wisdom yet if I recall correctly even Jesus had wine.

Please don't tell me that wine was non-alcoholic. I'm pretty sure it was.

[skalenfehl]

The short answer?

That's what we've been commanded.

My opinion/the long answer?

God is no respecter of persons. If someone can handle only one beer but someone else can't, well then Father in Heaven probably just makes it a commandment across the board. Kind of like Mom or Dad saying, "If I let one of the kids do it..."

[kona0197]

Guess I'll never get a Temple recommend then. I like a drink after a long day at work.

[Aelswyth]

Originally Posted by kona0197

So I was wondering why having a beer ever so often is a bad thing?

I realize drinking alcohol is against the word of wisdom yet if I recall correctly even Jesus had wine.

Please don't tell me that wine was non-alcoholic. I'm pretty sure it was.

Although current Church doctrine is that all alcoholic beverages are forbidden, in the past the Word of Wisdom was interpreted differently. Some have noted that it is "strong drinks" which are forbidden and that "mild drinks" made from barley are permissible; in the old days "strong drink" referred to hard liquor and distilled spirits, while "mild drink" referred to lower-alcohol fermented beverages like beer (which was often barely considered alcohol). Several General Authorities in the past (the Apostles Brigham Young Jr. and John Henry Smith as recently as 1901) have asserted that beer is thus allowed, and this was also apparently the view taken by Joseph Smith himself.
Around the turn of the century the view generally became that all alcoholic beverages were to be avoided, but strict adherence was still not enforced, and many leaders in the church did not keep the Word of Wisdom perfectly. Only in 1921 was strict adherence to the Word of Wisdom made a requirement for temple attendance, as the Church was influenced by Prohibitionist propaganda and allied itself with the movement.

[kona0197]

If God does not want us to drink beer why give us the ingredients to make it?

[skalenfehl]

Originally Posted by kona0197

If God does not want us to drink beer why give us the ingredients to make it?

He also gave us the technology to make computers and have an internet. That doesn't mean we should view pornography.

[kona0197]

Let's not talk about pornography.

[Brother-K]

Originally Posted by kona0197

So I was wondering why having a beer ever so often is a bad thing?

I realize drinking alcohol is against the word of wisdom yet if I recall correctly even Jesus had wine.

Please don't tell me that wine was non-alcoholic. I'm pretty sure it was.

I think that people( in general) abuse it so much that Heavenly Father just made it more strict for every one.

[skalenfehl]

Apologies. It was the first analogy that popped in my head.

[kona0197]

Originally Posted by Brother-K

I think that people( in general) abuse it so much that Heavenly Father just made it more strict for every one.

Well some us can handle a drink every now and then...