Pilot Withdrawl and Miscellaneous Ramblings

Peter Duniho wrote:


The LDS (and other religions') prohibition against alcohol was never a
health issue. So even if your logically incorrect transposition of the
actual medical studies was correct, I see no reason it would have any
bearing on the LDS stance on drinking.

Actually, the wording of section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants,
known as the Word of Wisdom and which contains the prohibition against
"strong drink," (currently interpreted to mean alcoholic beverages and
illegal drugs, but held by the leaders of the church as open to
revision in the event of further light and knowledge), says very
specifically it is for health.

If your doctor prescribed a glass of wine every day the church's
position would be that you should follow your doctor's orders. The
church has long touted the health benefits of following the Word of
Wisdom, but it has always tempered that with the understanding that you
should follow competent medical advice. I doubt that members are going
to start drinking wine without a specific reason to do so, however. I
personally do not like even the smell of the stuff, and given the
history of alcoholism in my family (and the fact that alcoholism is
possibly hereditary) I am probably well advised to stay as far away
from alcoholic beverages as I can.


I do find it ironic that a religion in which a *defining* event within the
religion involved the consumption of wine, and the admonition to repeat that
consumption in the future "in the remembrance of me" would later evolve to
eschew the consumption of said wine. If that's not the opposite of "getting
the point", I don't know what is.

In fact, the church teaches that the members will drink wine with the
Savior when He comes again.

One of the reasons for the prohibition against wine was that there
apparently was an attempt by some enemies of the church to insert
poison in the sacramental wine. Nevertheless, the church continued to
produce wine in Utah up until the early 20th century, when it abandoned
wine even for sacramental purposes.

There are some members who will tell you that the Savior only drank
grape juice with the Apostles at Passover, which goes to show that if
you get enough people into an organization that some of them will be,
um, silly. I guess they are entitled to think whatever they want, but
there is no scriptural or authoritative basis for such a belief.