Beer Good. Meat Bad. But we do the opposite.

[pam]

I've seen them at health food stores. I haven't tried them because, well, they don't look appealing..but I know they are out there. In fact the owner of one of the stores said that some of these drinks have been around forever. Very nutritional. He said they are kind of in line with say like what Jamba Juice sells as their grass drinks.

[Wingnut]

Try these threads, pulled from the extensive list that Pam has graciously compiled for us, so as to help avoid rehashing the same discussions over and over again:

word of wisdom and meat
Word of Wisdom and Vegetarianism
Words of Wisdom?
The Word of Wisdom

[funkenheimer]

I don't think that beer or meat are necessarily evil. Neither one is necessarily good either.

Beer, when taken in moderation, is pretty harmless. However, its the moderation that most people struggle with. I have heard the argument that a glass of wine with dinner is good for the heart. The problem is when one can't stop at one glass at dinner. Beer certainly isn't necessary for survival.

Meat can actually be good for the body when taken in moderation. However, the same as beer, its the moderation that people struggle with. Certain meats are better for you than others and certain preperation methods are healthier than others but all meat contains protein which the body needs. Having said that, meat is not neccessary for survival.

I admire those who choose a vegetarian lifestyle and most of them seem to live healthy lives. Although, I do choose to eat meat I am very selective about the meats we eat and how it is prepared. We have cut back our meat consumption quite a bit over the last several months and we are enjoying trying some new recipes that don't contain meat. At least for the most part we are enjoying it, my kids weren't real crazy about the tofu dishes I made a few weeks ago, but we are trying.

On a related note, I really do admire those who choose to limit or eliminate meat consumption. However, I don't really care for some of the politics that some vegetarians use to try to guilt me into a vegetarian lifestyle. For those that choose not to eat meat thats just fine, but don't judge me when I do decide to eat meat.

The situation above where Rampion was asked to help with a Cub Scout Banquet and notified the committee in advance that 2 vegetarians would be attending and then arrived to find nothing to eat - thats extremely inconsiderate on the part of the committee member.

[rampion]

There is this stuff simply called Barley Tea. It's just barley, in a paper tea bag. You pour water over it and let it sit in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or more. It's pretty good. Barley doesn't need to be fermented any more than grape juice does. Smells much better fresh, too.

[hordak]

Hot drink are defined as coffee and tea. They were common hot drinks in Josephs day.

Strong drinks are not only forbidden in the WoW but there use is prescribed

And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.

Back in Josephs day, before there was a wallgreens on ever corner a wound could be washed with strong drink. In fact ethanol is still used today for this the washing of bodies.See hand sanitizer.

Mild means moderate in action or effect.

What is the 3rd most popular beverage in the the world, made from barley and would be "mild" when compared to strong drink that can "wash bodies"?
Give you a hint it's not Barley water.

I think it's pretty clearly referring to Beer

Now that's not to say beer is ok.
The church teaches modern revelation. There's no need to redefine what was said.

The WoW, as written, is not the WoW as taught, no ones trying to redefine the word "NOT" as in "not by command or constraint" It's simply accepted that the WoW was different for different people in a different time.

[mnn727]

A google search of non alcoholic barley drinks brings up a multitude of drinks that the Beer and Soda companies don't want you to know how to make.

[Cydonia]

There are a few other barley drinks out there, but none that were popular in the US in that time. Brigham Young said that he understood "hot drinks" to mean coffee and tea because “I have heard it argued that tea and coffee are not mentioned therein; that is very true; but what were the people in the habit of taking as hot drinks when that revelation was given? Tea and coffee. We were not in the habit of drinking water very hot, but tea and coffee 'the beverages in common use'."

The mild barley beverage in common use was beer. So that settles that.

But the more important issue is not about beer. The more important issue is that the D&C says eat only a small amount of meat except in the winter or famine, and yet three meat sandwiches and hot dogs are common summer fair in the church.

As Seminarysnoozer said "But often times I try to follow the commandments without understanding the purpose or reasoning behind them."

If I were to do that, I'd eat meat sparingly (meaning infrequently) and I would not worry about drinking a mild beverage made from barley, which following the "beverages in common use" guideline, would be beer.

So why do we interpret and not follow the guideline as written?

[hordak]

Originally Posted by Cydonia

So why do we interpret and not follow the guideline as written?

Continuing revelation. If you really want to get technical about how it is written there's no need to follow it at all. It's in the second line. But if you do follow it it means you believe in that continuing revelation, and if revelation can change one verse.

To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—

Then it can change another

And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.

[rampion]

Maybe a lot of it is that people have not learned how to plan a meal that is not based on meat. That's easy to remedy. And tofu does not need to be included. We have plenty to eat - vegetables, fruit, bread, milk, .... In less affluent times, meat was used for celebrations and when needed - not everyday (red meat in particular). People ate vegetables and grains. Now, people eat meat because they can, and they waste it because they no longer have a close connection to the source of their food and its true cost.

People used to drink primarily beer because it made the water safe to drink. Now we have enough safe water to drink, and don't need to drink beer.

Prophets just might know what is best for one time even if not the same as another time, just maybe. And the majority of the people interpret directions to make them closest to what they want to do.

The Doctrine and Covenants also tells us that we should not have to be commanded in all things.

Why doen't the WoW tell us not to use marijuana, meth, cocaine, etc.?

[ryanh]

Originally Posted by Cydonia

So why do we interpret and not follow the guideline as written?

You wonder about interpretation, but don't see that your understanding is filtered precisely by your own interpretation? The WoW as given in D&C has some rather difficult phrasing for 2009 english readers to grasp. At times it seems contradictory – esp regarding the forbidding of the use of meat. I'm comfortable relying on subsequent interpretations by leaders to supplant my understanding of what is intended, and not to rely on my own interpretation alone.

It feels like you simply want to argue in favor of forbidding the use of meat.