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Coca-Cola and the Word of Wisdom

Is coke against the word of wisdom

Updated

No—not as an explicit prohibition in the Word of Wisdom. Doctrine and Covenants 89 proscribes wine or “strong drink,” tobacco, and “hot drinks”; it does not name Coca-Cola or other cola beverages. [1]

Historically, several Church leaders and Improvement Era writers nevertheless urged Latter-day Saints to avoid cola drinks because they understood caffeine to be the active stimulant in coffee and tea. In 1922, Elder Samuel A. Bennion reported that President Heber J. Grant had asked members to abstain from “tea and coffee, tobacco, liquor, and coca-cola.” [2] In 1939, Apostle John A. Widtsoe argued that cola drinks contained caffeine and that arguments against coffee and tea could therefore also be applied to cola drinks. [3]

But Bruce R. McConkie’s 1966 Mormon Doctrine drew a distinction: cola drinks were “not included within the measuring standard” of abstinence from tea, coffee, tobacco, and liquor, even though he considered them contrary to the Word of Wisdom’s spirit. [4] Joseph Fielding Smith, then President of the Council of the Twelve, likewise said in 1966 that he personally avoided cola drinks because of caffeine, while discussing them as stimulants rather than identifying them as one of the revelation’s named prohibitions. [5]

So, Coca-Cola has often been discouraged in LDS teaching, especially caffeinated cola, but D&C 89 itself does not specifically forbid it. [1]

Sources

  1. Doctrine and Covenants 89 — Doctrine and Covenants, Current Edition, 2013, Doctrine and Covenants 89:1–9 — Canon
  2. Elder Samuel A. Bennion, April 1922 general conference — Elder Samuel A. Bennion, Conference Report, 1922, 1922, Conference Report, April 1922 general conference, pp. 139–140 — Official Church
  3. Caffeine in Cola Drinks — John A. Widtsoe, The Improvement Era, Volume 42, Number 11 (November 1939), 1939, Improvement Era 42, no. 11 (November 1939), p. 659 — Periodical
  4. Word of Wisdom — Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1966 Second Edition (post-1978 revised printing), 1966, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. (digital reprint), pp. 593–594 — Leader
  5. Your Question: Does the Church Own Stock in the Coca-Cola Company? President Joseph Fielding Smith — The Improvement Era, Volume 69, Number 9 (September 1966), 1966, Improvement Era 69, no. 9 (September 1966), pp. 766–767 — Periodical

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