Hypocrisy

This is copied directly (not translated...ahem...) from the Blogger website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (Mormon church)


"THEDOCTRINE AND COVENANTSOF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
SECTION 89
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, February 27, 1833. HC 1: 327–329. As a consequence of the early brethren using tobacco in their meetings, the Prophet was led to ponder upon the matter; consequently he inquired of the Lord concerning it. This revelation, known as the Word of Wisdom, was the result. The first three verses were originally written as an inspired introduction and description by the Prophet.
1–9, Use of wine, strong drinks, tobacco, and hot drinks proscribed; 10–17, Herbs, fruits, flesh, and grain are ordained for the use of man and of animals; 18–21, Obedience to gospel law, including the Word of Wisdom, brings temporal and spiritual blessings.

1 A aWord OF Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion—

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

3 Given for a principle with apromise, adapted to the capacity of the bweak and the weakest of all csaints, who are or can be called saints.

4 Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of aevils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of bconspiring men in the last days, I have cwarned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—

5 That inasmuch as any man adrinketh bwine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.

6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, apure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.

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

8 And again, tobacco is not for the abody, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.

9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.

10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome aherbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—

11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with aprudence and bthanksgiving.

12 Yea, aflesh also of bbeasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used csparingly;

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

14 All agrain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;

15 And athese hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.

16 All grain is good for the afood of man; as also the bfruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—

17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.

18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, ashall receive bhealth in their navel and marrow to their bones;

19 And shall afind bwisdom and great ctreasures of dknowledge, even hidden treasures;

20 And shall arun and not be bweary, and shall walk and not faint.

21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the adestroying angel shall bpass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.
The Official Scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"

I have a problem with this.

Growing up my entire life as a Mormon, it was hammered into my head that drinking, smoking, partaking of tea and any beverage with caffeine in it was a no-no. Doing so would be in violation of The Word of Wisdom.

First of all....what a bitch. What kid doesn't want to pound Dr. Pepper or Coke with their friends at a slumber party? Second of all....what a crock.

I'm assuming that the no caffeine rule is a translation issue because I never have and still do not see that it is prohibited by the Word of Wisdom.

I also see that wine is not prohibited if it's for offering sacrament and is homemade. Whoopee!!! How in the hell did I miss that part?! I guess wine wasn't really on my agenda in middle school yet. I was far too concerned about being banned from drinking all of my favorite soft drinks.

The thing that sticks in my craw the most about religion is the hypocrisy of it all. So...somewhere in there someone determined that caffeine is bad and apparently store bought wine is bad but homemade wine for religious purposes is okie dokie. I know from personal experience that this particular piece of "divine inspiration" is made a big deal of in the Mormon church. But how about the large part of this dictate that talks about not eating meat except in times of winter or famine? I know very few Mormons who are vegetarians. If followed to the letter, one would not drink store bought wine, partake of any sort of tobacco, only eat meat in winter or times of famine and eat grains as the major part of their diet. (I'm still not sure to this day what is meant by "hot" drinks. I see no cross reference of explanation for it so is the reader to assume that hot chocolate and wassail are also prohibited?

It was my understanding growing up that the Word of Wisdom was intended as a guideline to keep help the members of the church live a healthy lifestyle.

In my 30 years of experience in the Mormon church, I found that a large portion of the membership of the church was overweight or obese. Church socials were gorge fests and most of the activities revolved around food. We're not talking about vegetarian fare here. We're talking mayonnaise filled salads, chicken, hamburger, hot dogs, sweets....but no caffeine!

I would be interested to hear a rational and logical explanation as to how one can be 'obedient' to the Word of Wisdom and be obese. According to the Lord, if you're obedient to it, he will bless you that you will be able to run & not be weary and walk and not faint. Apparently, physical fitness and good health is high on the Lord's agenda. If this is indeed the case, then wouldn't he be pretty concerned that a large portion of his followers are fatties? I mean, how many caffeine related deaths and illnesses are there? Now let's count the number of illnesses and deaths directly related to obesity. A rational thinking person might conclude that obesity is a greater sin than drinking a Mountain Dew or even a glass or two of wine now and then. (And how about those reports that scientifically conclude that red wine actually has health benefits?!)

In the Mormon church there is something called a "Temple Recommend". It's basically a pass that you get that allows you to go to a Mormon temple. In order to get that pass, you have to fulfill certain requirements such as being a regular tithe payer, being obedient to the Word of Wisdom, etc. I know firsthand people that have been denied a Recommend because they admitted in their interview with their church leader that they drank beer. I also know dozens upon dozens of fat Mormons who hold those recommends in good standing.

???

I'm picking on the Mormons here because it's the church I'm most familiar with. The same hypocrisy and worse exists across the board of religious sects.

I'll be the first to stand and say that sometimes I may be hypocritical. The difference is that I don't subscribe to any philosophy that I claim to be a follower of and conduct myself in a contradictory manner to that philosophy.

My mother inspired this rant. She's a die hard Mormon who has had surgery on both knees because she's too heavy and her cartilage has worn out. In her eyes, I'm a heathen because I drink. My lifestyle (a few drinks every now and then) makes her sad because she thinks my soul is damned in the hereafter. Her lifestyle makes me sad because in my eyes, her hypocrisy has already damned her soul in the here and now.