ACarlton

First of all, there is no tea plant! There is only the plan Camellia Sinensis. So saying that Green Tea is taken from a tea plant is not technically true!. Green Tea and Black tea are taken from the same plant just as grape juice and wine are taken from the same plant. Grape juice is good for you, but fermented grape juice (aka Wine) is not and is against the word of wisdom. Black tea is the fermented form of Green Tea. Green tea can be good for you, it depends on the company you buy it from. Whether or not it's against the word of wisdom. That is for you to decide. But saying that it's against the word of wisdom because it comes from a leaf, or a tea plant, etc has no basis what so ever! The church has not defined tea's that come from leaves as being against the WoW, nor have they stated that all tea's are against the WoW. The Doctrine and Covenants states that hot drinks are against the word of wisdom. The current church leadership has defined hot drinks to coffee and black tea! Throughout the world, when you use the word tea, people are usually talking about black tea. If they are talking about Green Tea, then they'll call it green tea! Usually! That's been my experience.

Hey Nzorient, a witness like that is always powerful. If I didn't have any experience in that category, that testimony would probably be all I'd need to make up my mind... I served my mission in Argentina. The members there drank an herbal drink called Mate. It was the blood of the Argentinians. In bishopric meeting, the purpose of the secretary was to prepare the Mate for everyone else to drink.... As missionaries, we were not allowed to drink Mate from the straw (as it is traditionally drunk), but we could drink it if it was prepared in a liquid form in a mug. When I got home from my mission, I spoke with people who served in Brazil. They told me that Mate was against the word of wisdom in Brazil and that people would have to stop drinking it in order to get baptized. Does anyone have any information on this? Are there different forms of Mate? How could this be? Are there different forms of Green Tea, some that are good and some that aren't? I don't drink typical Green Tea because it's full of caffeine. I do drink an herbal tea that is derived from Green Tea that is also Caffeine Free. So I know there is a difference here. But I really want to become more educated on this topic!!!

The only reason that I shared it was because I verified the story first hand. I talked with his Bishop and he verified the story for me, independent of my friend. Does that not count? None the less, I can have him come on and verify it personally....

I agree that truth is never relative. However, our understanding of that truth is usually never perfect until we are all knowing. My opinion is that there are very few things that we know for a certain. For example, I know that God lives, that he loves me and is interested in my well being. I know that that the church is true. However, how it is true, it's exact nature and role is something that I do not understand perfectly. I search for enlightenment through the spirit. I read the scriptures, listen to the prophets, etc. But I never take my interpretations too seriously. I live according to my understanding and try not to push that on other people.

Hey Snow, are you not able to think that maybe... just maybe he could be right, and that it's not your place to make that judgment for him? The problem that many non members have with us is that we're intolerant of those who think differently... We think that because we have the truth, that means everyone else who thinks differently than us is wrong. The flaw in that method of thinking is that we don't have the full truth... because not all truth has been restored! And even if the church did, we as growing individuals do not have all truth, otherwise we'd be exalted right now.... The fact of the matter is that the church has not come out definitively on Green Tea.. What we do know for certain is that the church does ban Alcohol, Tobacco, Black Tea, coffee and illegal drugs. Back in Joseph Smith's day, Green Tea did not exist in the United States. Because of the shipping standards, time it took to get here, it was impossible to get Green Tea. Same goes for Europe. So tea was Black Tea! There's a whole history behind it. Let's look to the Lord with a little humility instead of shoving our version of the Gospel down the throats of others with unrighteous dominion!

It is up to each person to decide for themselves if Green Tea is right for them... I have done research, I've prayed about it and I drink green tea (caffeine free) on a regular basis... See Ai3 Global Home Page, Work at Home, Nutritional Supplement, Weight Loss . It is an herbal tea product that is derived from green tea. It was developed by an active member of the church who is also a really good friend of mine. He ran into this very issue when his stake president took his recommend away because of the company. It went all the way up to the top where President Monson had to make the decision. He was 1st counselor at the time. They said that if the owner of the company felt good about doing it, then it was his decision to make and that his recommend should not be taken away. They said there is no definitive answer with regards to green tea and that each member has to prayerfully make that decision for themselves. I heard that from my friend, and then I spoke to his bishop directly and he confirmed the whole thing for me. People should watch out what they claim or don't claim unless they have the source, the true source. I believe that the WoW is about health and taking care of our bodies. There are many people who claim to obey the WoW because they don't drink coffee, tea or tobacco or alcohol or do illegal drugs. Yet, they don't eat healthy or exercise or take care of their bodies. We need to remember why Heavenly Father gave us the WoW and strive to live it!