Church Article: Commentary: When Entertainment Media Distorts Faith

[Tacenda]

7 minutes ago, MustardSeed said:

I am very frustrated and I’m not OK with seeming bizarro.  it’s super hard to motivate others in any type of missionary effort when there’s this huge wall between us of misunderstanding. I am quite normal. I tell all my questioning friends, “ yes the policy is very confusing and I don’t have any good answers. My decision to not drink coffee has nothing to do with whether or not it’s healthy but rather it’s an issue of integrity for me. I’ve made a promise and I’m going to keep it. That is the end of it.” When I have an opportunity to say this, people understand that I’m not weird that in fact, I am a person of integrity with regards to this particular issue.  Then they want to know more about me. 
instead, when I dig in and insist that there’s probably a decent reason that we were told not to drink coffee because it’s probably unhealthy for us, and then I participate in hypocritical behaviors, like eating, something sugary after every single activity that exists at church, and looking like a complete idiot and nobody wants to get closer to that . 
 

back in the day when 90% of my social circle was LDS, I never thought about this. Now that 90% of my social circle is not LDS, I have a completely different perspective. 

And yes, I am frustrated. I think of my health issues would be better treated with natural treatments rather than chemical treatments that can cause dependency. I think we have made a complete mess of the word of wisdom. I cannot drink coffee to stay awake, but my husband can poison himself with three cans of NOS. Somebody told me what kind of sense that makes? Before you tell me that I can make those decisions for myself, no, I can’t. One of these choices keeps me out of the temple. That’s all I care about right now. I know exactly what my body needs.  And the hill we choose to die on is coffee. In my opinion, it’s absolute insanity.

For the record, I’ve never tasted coffee. My integrity matters more than being alert. I’ve made a promise and I will stick with it, but I’m not happy about it.

In my situation right now, being non active LDS, I could drink coffee, but don't choose to. I do drink my diet Dr. Pepper though. And think sugar is a huge problem with the LDS population. Maybe because of the inability to drink alcohol or coffee and some teas, not sure, but think in my area they love their Fizz drinks, etc. My husband works with someone that is a chemist and he told my husband that coffee has pesticides in it, so there's that. Unless you get organic I guess. Something about the planting of the coffee bean and the pesticides used. So maybe that crosses my mind too. Plus, coffee/tea stains the teeth and coffee sure smells up the house or breath. Also, a member once told me, it's the look of coffee drinkers. Because often those that drink coffee smoke as well, this was a while back before smoking became more of a disgrace. 

Even if the church allowed coffee drinking like the recent caffeine in soda at BYU, I don't think it would be a good look. That's just me...

[MustardSeed]

1 hour ago, Tacenda said:

My husband works with someone that is a chemist and he told my husband that coffee has pesticides in it,

Veggies, fruits…

[aw.smoot]

It has been interesting to see the world's fascination with Mormon swinging scandals, and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives seems to really lean into this. There is historical context for this, however, as the idea that Mormons we really just a pack of sexual deviants pretending to be Christians first began in the 1830's (prior to widespread polygamy) and exploded in the 1840's and 50's once the doctrine of polygamy become public knowledge. The White Protestant class peddled this narrative very early on in Church history and so it isn't surprising that the Mormon swingers were tickle the broader American consciousness because it seems to validate a narrative that Protestant America has pushed for a very long time. 

[aw.smoot]

This 1850's cartoon here is called "A Mormon and his wives dancing to the devil's tune". 

[InCognitus]

10 minutes ago, aw.smoot said:

This 1850's cartoon here is called "A Mormon and his wives dancing to the devil's tune". 

Portraying the man with a pig nose is a nice touch. 

And the devil, with a fiddle, was undoubtedly the inspiration for the Charlie Daniels Band song, The Devil Went Down to Georgia.  

[Calm]

Quite a few new, interesting posters recently.  I wonder what triggered our good fortune? (Just realized it’s September, beginning of semester, not that unusual for newcomers to arrive now and for school holidays…spacing on semesters, I guess that’s what happens when husband retires…)

Welcome aw.smoot!

Keep ‘em coming!   

Edited September 12, 2024 by Calm

[The Nehor]

2 hours ago, aw.smoot said:

It has been interesting to see the world's fascination with Mormon swinging scandals, and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives seems to really lean into this. There is historical context for this, however, as the idea that Mormons we really just a pack of sexual deviants pretending to be Christians first began in the 1830's (prior to widespread polygamy) and exploded in the 1840's and 50's once the doctrine of polygamy become public knowledge. The White Protestant class peddled this narrative very early on in Church history and so it isn't surprising that the Mormon swingers were tickle the broader American consciousness because it seems to validate a narrative that Protestant America has pushed for a very long time. 

Mormon swingers have a reputation. It is not that pervasive but those that are into it are often very weird even by swinger standards.

I don’t like swinger culture. I dabbled in it in my days of sin and vice and…..yuck.

[Tacenda]

5 hours ago, MustardSeed said:

Veggies, fruits…

Very true, and when I went back and read my comment, it sounded rather rude and judgy. I'm sure if coffee were to be okay in the future and not against the WoW, that it would become acceptable. It might just be the mindset, while many LDS I've seen various posts about elsewhere, would think it was really a terrible thing. But with the youth now, I think many LDS drink it, again from reading things. It's my age group of LDS that had it ingrained that it isn't okay. Hope that makes sense. And it might just be that the majority of friends I hang out are active LDS. So I can see how with the majority of your friends that aren't LDS and drink coffee, this would happen to you. I would probably be the same way. 

[Calm]

1 hour ago, Tacenda said:

Very true, and when I went back and read my comment, it sounded rather rude and judgy. I'm sure if coffee were to be okay in the future and not against the WoW, that it would become acceptable. It might just be the mindset, while many LDS I've seen various posts about elsewhere, would think it was really a terrible thing. But with the youth now, I think many LDS drink it, again from reading things. It's my age group of LDS that had it ingrained that it isn't okay. Hope that makes sense. And it might just be that the majority of friends I hang out are active LDS. So I can see how with the majority of your friends that aren't LDS and drink coffee, this would happen to you. I would probably be the same way. 

I have come across several articles that claim coffee is one of the worst, if not the worst legal crop for toxic chemicals.  I have no clue if they were right or sort of okay or fearmongering as never deep dove the subject.  So when you posted the pesticide remark, I was thinking of those articles.  Bet you read some of the same.  They make coffee out to be a real agricultural horror at times.  Most of the sites I saw this on today were promoting an organic coffee, so don’t know how trustworthy.

Quote

First, conventional coffee is among the most heavily chemically treated foods in the world. It is steeped in synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides – a real mouthful with a bad taste. Not only does the environment suffer from this overload, but so do the people who live in it. Farmers are exposed to a high level of chemicals while spraying the crops and while handling them during harvest. The surrounding communities are also impacted through chemical residues in the air and water. These chemical presences are not just unpleasant; many are highly toxic and detrimental to human health….

Second, most conventionally grown coffee plants are hybrids developed to flourish in open sun. Coffee naturally prefers the shade, but a crop grown in thick forest is more difficult to tend and harvest, and cannot be planted as densely.

Forests are cleared to make room for open fields in which to grow mass amounts of this sun-loving coffee variety. Production increases, but the wild ecosystem of flora and fauna is demolished. Natural pest-deterrents, like birds and lizards, are left without a habitat – and coffee-ruining insects overpopulate, leading to more pesticide use. And without the natural fertilizer of these ecosystems (bird droppings, leaf litter, and natural decay) the use of chemical fertilizer increases.

When it rains, the lack of tree cover means there is increased water runoff. Soil washes away, and with it go natural nutrients, eventually eroding and degrading the soil so much that growth is almost impossible. The rainwater carries away not just the soil, but all of the chemicals it has been treated with, and both end up in local water supplies.

https://www.info.equalexchange.coop/articles/organic-vs-conventional-coffee#:~:text=So what's the difference between,mouthful with a bad taste.

Edited September 12, 2024 by Calm

[The Nehor]

4 hours ago, Calm said:

I have come across several articles that claim coffee is one of the worst, if not the worst legal crop for toxic chemicals.  I have no clue if they were right or sort of okay or fearmongering as never deep dove the subject.  So when you posted the pesticide remark, I was thinking of those articles.  Bet you read some of the same.  They make coffee out to be a real agricultural horror at times.  Most of the sites I saw this on today were promoting an organic coffee, so don’t know how trustworthy.

https://www.info.equalexchange.coop/articles/organic-vs-conventional-coffee#:~:text=So what's the difference between,mouthful with a bad taste.

The nature of how coffee is made makes a lot of this irrelevant. You put it in really hot water. I would need to see that what is left after it is ready to drink has negative effects on the drinker.