Modesty, The Word of Wisdom, and Other Mormon Rules


RooTheMormon
 Share

Recommended Posts

I often have lots of questions about what I can and cantcan't wear, what I cant drink, and what type of makeup is approappropriate for and LDS youth. Being the only LDS mebermember in my family, I cannot ask my parents about this. So I thought it would be a good idea to have a froum dedicated to these types of things. We can all help each other out as we try to follow our HeavenlyHeavenly Father and stay rightouesrighteous.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, RooTheMormon said:

I often have lots of questions about what [...] I cant drink

Alcohol, coffee, tea.

Edit: Just to clarify, I'm not trying to be flippant. So I'm expounding a bit. There are discussions and considerations to be had with other things. But these are the only "can't" things. Anyone trying to tell you that you "can't' drink something else is wrong. Now a discussion of what you should and shouldn't drink is a different matter...and still subject to interpretation, personal understanding, etc. But the "can't" list is simple.

Edited by The Folk Prophet
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Godless
21 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Alcohol, coffee, tea.

Edit: Just to clarify, I'm not trying to be flippant. So I'm expounding a bit. There are discussions and considerations to be had with other things. But these are the only "can't" things. Anyone trying to tell you that you "can't' drink something else is wrong. Now a discussion of what you should and shouldn't drink is a different matter...and still subject to interpretation, personal understanding, etc. But the "can't" list is simple.

"Tea", for LDS purposes, is defined as true products of camellia sinensis. Herbal teas are subject to debate.

Edited by Godless
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, RooTheMormon said:

I often have lots of questions about what I can and cantcan't wear, what I cant drink, and what type of makeup is approappropriate for and LDS youth. Being the only LDS mebermember in my family, I cannot ask my parents about this. So I thought it would be a good idea to have a froum dedicated to these types of things. We can all help each other out as we try to follow our HeavenlyHeavenly Father and stay rightouesrighteous.

Ask your questions to one of your leaders. It sounds like you are in Young Women. I can promise you that your YW leaders would love for you to approach them and ask if you can ask them questions. You can do so in private, if that will be more comfortable for you.

When I worked in YW, I had some of the teens ask me: how do I wear a tampon? can I wear a skirt like this? isn't sex God ordained, so why wait until marriage? I thought iced coffee drinks was ok to drink? I don't understand this scripture, what does it mean? 

Please don't think your leaders will think badly of you or judge you. They love you and only want to help you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest MormonGator

You know, I think you are on the right track just for asking these questions. It shows that you care enough about how the Lord views you to think about what you can do. Remember not to be too hard on yourself. 

Stay strong and positive, you are doing fine. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@RooTheMormon

Hey Roo! I have been where you are now. I joined the church as a teenager, the only member in my family. Some leaders were helpful and some considered me a pain in the neck because I kept asking questions! In retrospect, a lot of my leaders were tired and unhappy women. So asking questions can be tricky! If you can arrive a little before class or stay a little after, sometimes it is easier to ask questions - I know this is harder if you are counting on someone to drive you!

There is website called "ask gramps" which is great for all kinds of questions.

The american version of the "lds newsroom" is great. I once got into this and looked up the tea/coffee thing. There was a very clear statement. Something like "All herbal teas okay if don't contain green or black tea. Caffeine is fine". I can only get into the Canadian site now so I can't find this. Can one of you Americans go to the site and look?

Do you have a visiting teacher? I am not sure when this program kicks in. One idea is to join your teachers on facebook and post questions through facebook. You can also look up the Young Woman's Stake leader on Lds.org. If you don't know how to do this, we can tell you. If there is an email address for this lady, you can email her.

Now I don't want to be a downer but...I have been where you are now standing. Maybe in the US, all young women's leaders are angels but...when I was where you are standing NOT!

So sometimes, you have to weed them out a bit and find a few who are willing to help. My bet is that not all of them will be. You are looking for a mentor. Sometimes the most available mentor has problems. That available mentor may be available because they have few friends of their own. So...you need about 3 mentors! Talk to all of them and be a little bit careful about taking as gospel what anyone person says...

Now I am really warning you. Not everyone who is called to a position in the lds church obeys all of the commandments. Some of these people have real problems and some of them, I am sorry about this-  but someone should warn you...are trying to lead you astray. You need to be careful. So being alone with another adult is always a situation that should be carefully assessed. One of my leaders was mentally ill and interested sexually in young women. I will not go on but you get the picture. Be careful of anyone who wants to spend a lot of time alone with you.

Heavenly Father is the very best friend to have!

All the best!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Godless said:

"Tea", for LDS purposes, is defined as true products of camellia sinensis. Herbal teas are subject to debate.

In other words, "regular tea" made from tea leaves, such as black tea, white tea, green tea, Chinese tea, Indian tea, etc. Herbal "teas" are not made from tea leaves, and are "teas" only in the sense of being leaf matter steeped in hot water.

I have never heard any debate about herbal teas being contrary to the Word of Wisdom because of their classification as "tea". Some have argued that herbal teas are "hot drinks" and therefore shouldn't be drunk; these are the same people who say you shouldn't drink hot chocolate. Whether or not their argument has any merit from a purely health-based standpoint, repeated teachings of LDS leaders show that it's not a Church doctrine to avoid herbal tea (or hot chocolate).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Godless
2 hours ago, Vort said:

In other words, "regular tea" made from tea leaves, such as black tea, white tea, green tea, Chinese tea, Indian tea, etc. Herbal "teas" are not made from tea leaves, and are "teas" only in the sense of being leaf matter steeped in hot water.

I have never heard any debate about herbal teas being contrary to the Word of Wisdom because of their classification as "tea". Some have argued that herbal teas are "hot drinks" and therefore shouldn't be drunk; these are the same people who say you shouldn't drink hot chocolate. Whether or not their argument has any merit from a purely health-based standpoint, repeated teachings of LDS leaders show that it's not a Church doctrine to avoid herbal tea (or hot chocolate).

I think I heard someone try to argue against herbal tea exactly once. Something about "appearance of evil", which is a feeble argument at best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Godless said:

I think I heard someone try to argue against herbal tea exactly once. Something about "appearance of evil", which is a feeble argument at best.

I've long thought that the scriptural injunction to "abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22) means to avoid evil when it appears, not to avoid doing anything that might look like evil to others. Not that the latter is necessarily a bad idea, but I don't think that's what the Bible teaches.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, my two cents said:

In case you're not aware of this booklet, you might find some answers here: https://www.lds.org/youth/for-the-strength-of-youth?lang=eng

This is an excellent resource, and I'm sure your youth leader can get you a paper copy if you prefer.

@Sunday21 had some good advice about asking leaders. This can also include asking your YW class president what she has been taught.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thabk you all who helped. I have read the For the Strenght of youth book. Also I have some pretty great YW leaders. Also, it was interesting to see this forum page turn into a devatedebate about herbal tea haha. I frink herbal tea, and I think thats okay for Mormons, because herbal tea is helth benifiting, and it is the water that is hot, so imI'm not auresure if it classifies as a hot drink. I think as long as we are drinking and eating things that are good for our body, Heavenly Father will be happy with us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share