The WoW sucks. Even as a missionary, other than tobacoo, it was a winless teaching and imposible to debate, esspecially when momrons are allowed to drink caffinated drinks.

Ok, For 5 or 6 years, I was on the wagon so to speak and not drinking any alcohol. Looking back at my life, I have drank off and on since I was 15. So, a month or so ago, I started drinking here and there. I am finding that in truth, I have no intrest in getting drunk and when I have drank a bit much and got rather buzzed, it did not sit well with my mindset and personal spirituality (yes, I consider myself an 'athiestic' spiritual seeker ).

Also, for much of my life, I have also been a tea/coffee drinker. Even on my mission to Hong Kong, I drank a bit of herbal tea as well as OoLong tea (black dragon tea). When I was a truck driver, I drank enough coffee to put my bishop into a total snit.

I do not smoke nor have I ever smoked.

So as a life long half active member...now true exmormon, I have some definite tastes when it comes to alcohol, tea and coffee.

I drink coffee now only a few times a week, mostly when it is my turn to drive in the car pool to work (which is 70 miles away). I drink mostly black coffee, prefering folgers which is as good as any inexpensive coffee and better than most, especially Maxwell House which has to be the worst coffee there is, next to perhaps Farmers. In my experience, sugar and cream make you have to go pee more which is bad on a long commute or when driving truck like I used to. Now and then, I will make me a Mocha at home.

I drink Tea on the weekend, hot in the WInter and iced in the summer. I drink both Red Rose tea or Chinese OoLong tea straight, adding nothing. I prefer the simple earthyness of it. For iced tea, I like to add a lemon wedge which I squeeze first into the glass then drop it in before adding the tea. You can add lemonade but it really puts too much sugar into it if you are watching calories.

For alcohol, I have gone all over the place off and on for 37 years in my drinking habits, at first drinking whatever I could get as I was under age, later when I was a borderline alcohol abuser due to a failed business, I drank beer and whiskey mostly.

Now, I have been trying some new drinking habits: I like wine. Moscatos are a nice wine for semi sweet deserts and pies. I hate all other white wines prefering a soft red for pork, chicken and fish dishes. St Chappelle makes a nice Soft Red that is very nice. For red Meat I like a good Merlot.

For beer, I think too much beer will give you a 'beer gut' so I prefer to drink a heavy beer and not drink often, reserving it as to go with a meal I grilled. I like Henry Winehards Reserve as well as Sam Adams. For simple hot dogs/burgers/brats off the grill, Corona with a lime wedge in it is good as it is with a mexican dish. I think light beer is stupid.

For Whiskey, I don't mix and seldom even pour it over ice. I drank whiskey straight before and now I find I drink it straight now. If you pour it over ice, it will water it down. I just prefer to pour a couple oz 'room tempurature' whiskey into a classic wide glass and sip it which reading a book or visiting with someone. Whiskey is a personal thing and there is a ton of it out there. I like Regular Crown Royal as it is basically as good as it gets for the price which is pretty low at around 25 bucks a bottle. It has a vanilla/maple base to it and is easy to drink. If I want a more bold whiskey with a oak base, I like Canadian Mist which about half the cost.

Rum gives me a weird buzz as does Tequila so I stay away from them. I hate Southern Comfort to drink but a splash of it in some of my wife's egg nog is nice. But straight, it is too sweet and fruity. I think most American Whiskeys and Bourbons suck, except I guess Makers Mark is not bad. I am not a Sctoch Drinker. Gives me a headache.

So, there is my complicated list of WoW sins....so how do you 'sin'?



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2014 10:20PM by dcgsage.

I like tea and drink two or three cups a day, I drink coffee at work once in a while. I hate American lagers but love wheat ales like Belgian White and Hefeweizen, Beer should be malty and murky ! Once in a while I'll buy a bottle of straight rye whiskey. Bulliet straight rye is good, George Dickel is better and Sazerac is best. I drink alcohol rather sparingly.

I don't think you can commit a wofw sin. I think the only sin is in not honoring your baptismal covenant to live it.

Though it is not considered a sin in the eyes of the church, the WoW does speak against eating too much meat.

I hit Rodizio's at least once a month. All the dead animals you can eat.

I do like a steak diane too. One of those fancy steaks covered in cognac and set on fire.

Can't stand the smell if coffee. Don't drink except medicinally.

I actually still live much of the Word of Wisdom, by personal choice. I don't drink alcohol, smoke or chew tobacco, use illicit drugs, or take caffeinated tea or coffee. I find value in that and so I prefer to keep these parts of it.

That said, it is caffeine specifically, and not merely "hot drinks", that I choose to avoid, and so I have no objection to decaffeinated tea, coffee, or sodas, in addition to herbal teas.

Although this seems to be rarely followed, technically the Word of Wisdom limits meat to times of famine. As a vegetarian, also by choice (although I do take milk and other dairy, ideally from cow-protected farms), I don't take any meat at all. So technically I follow that part better than most Mormons. ;-)

But I don't do it just to be obedient to any law our scripture. I do it for me.

I also don't object to any of the above taken as medically required (except that as it involves otherwise unnecessary immense suffering to the animals I'd prefer if possible to completely avoid meat particularly if there is a suitable alternative). But I don't have any health condition at present that would require any of these. :-)

As a rather tubby 63 year old, I have gone to veggies in a big way lately.. Carrots and Broccoli are favorites. Grapes and bananas too. I cut meat back and eat it in smaller portions now. I only had one bratwurst today! And I stopped my Hot Pocket habit completely...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2014 11:25PM by rationalist01.

...and are excommunicated for doubting.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/2014 01:32AM by steve benson.

I don't drink much tea, I do drink coffee a few times a week. I drink it black. I'm huge into beer, and that is my alcoholic beverage of choice. I like to keep in pretty good control of my sobriety, and beer is easier for me to gauge than other types of alcohol. I like a diversity of beers. I'm quick to order a local or home-brew, and I rarely order the same beer twice in a row. I am quite fond of darker beers like stouts and porters. I also really like a good IPA.

As far as whiskey goes, I like Scotch and Irish Whiskey. Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Tullamore D.E.W (my favorite whiskey) or even Jameson is pretty good. Didn't like Jim Beam much, Canadian Mist is ok, but haven't branched out much further than that. Haven't ventured a whole lot into the wine arena, but I have enjoyed all that I've tried.

Don't smoke tobacco or anything else for that matter or do any illegal drugs.

I also don't eat meat all that sparingly, but then again, around here winter seems to take up more of the year than any other season so... Maybe I'm a little off the hook on that one?

The WoW was followed in the RLDS Church of my childhood, to a lesser degree than in the LDS as far as I can tell. My mother was a health food nut before it was popular to be one, so the WoW for her was a no-brainer. I still keep certain aspects of it, such as whole grain breads and cereals. I also love raw veggies and fruits, and try to eat meat sparingly. But I drink iced tea, both caffeinated and decaf, year round, and I do enjoy an occasional cocktail. I think the WoW was just the Joseph Smith contribution to all the fat diets that were popular in the nineteenth century, some pursued with the same religious fervor as the WoW.

dcgsage Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The WoW sucks. Even as a missionary, other than
> tobacoo, it was a winless teaching and imposible
> to debate, esspecially when momrons are allowed to
> drink caffinated drinks.
>

Impossible to debate because eventually the TBM will say, the WoW is a "test of obedience."

The simple fact is that tea is a very healthy drink (certainly healthier than sodas, which are allowed) and there's no way for a TBM to reconcile the healthiness of tea with it's ban, so they resort to "obedience."

Sorry, I'm just not an obedient person. I don't drink coffee, but because I don't like coffee. I don't drink wine or liquor, but only because I don't like them. I do drink beer and like it. I eat meat non-sparingly.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/2014 01:42PM by apawst8.

I started smoking at 14 (and quit at 35)...then beer and coffee at 16....but the WoW was never something I worried about...just another set of stupid fucking Mormon rules I took great pleasure in breaking.

Ron Burr



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/2014 05:26PM by Lethbridge Reprobate.

I tried Lipton hot tea and was not impressed. Finally, I sprung for some Twinings and then I realized what tea is supposed to taste like. ;) Sorry if I come across as a tea snob, I'm still a newbie but I think the expensive stuff is worth it. Now that winter is over I don't see myself having hot tea much, but I do look forward to trying sun tea.

Coffee took a while to grow on me... had to learn to get rid of my sweet tooth. I'll use coffee the morning after a bad night, but avoid it otherwise so I don't desensitize myself to the caffiene kick.

Ah, alcohol. I'm having a lot of fun with that. I don't drink to get drunk, or even tipsy. But there are so many interesting flavors and experiences! Gin and tonic: the sweet, the bitter, the glorious juniper all merge in a symphony of joy. Then there's the sweet and the sting of a margarita, a duet on the tongue.

Like dcgsage, I like whiskey and bourbon room temperature and neat. I have to take small sips, and I sometimes still cough, but the sweet caramel, vanilla, and cinnamon followed by the fire of the alcohol, which is then followed by the afterglow and tingle, is an incredible experience. It feels very dignified, like British royalty. It's also fun to sip and then inhale through your mouth and try to suppress the cough reflex as the gaseous alcohol sizzles all the way down. So far Jack Daniels and Wild Turkey are my top two, but I need to try Scotch still.

Beer and wine are not quite as fun as liquor or mixed drinks. I had a heck of a time finding beer I liked, but Corona with a lime is the ideal place to start -- almost like soda pop. I honestly don't know why they sell Corona Light though, because regular Corona seems to me about as light as you can get.

Moving up from Corona, Dos Equis Amber is probably my current favorite. Not too bitter, but with some lovely toasty grain flavor. Two thumbs up.

Sam Adam's Boston Lager was good too, I'd even go so far as to call it sweet. The sweet is balanced by bitter hops, though, which takes some getting used to. Speaking of getting used to, Guiness is delicious with lots of roasty toasty flavor, it's just gorgeous on the tongue, but again, just a little too bitter/hoppy for my tastes. The aftertaste or "finish" is unpleasant.

One thing that helps is drinking beer from a glass. It's just not as good from a bottle where you can't smell the aromas.

I find that beer is best with food. A sip of beer resets your palette so you can enjoy your food more, and the bite of food resets your palette so you can enjoy your beer more. Win-win! The exception to this is slamming a beer when you come inside all sweaty on a hot summer day... an icy cold beer is pretty good by itself then.

Then there's wine. I really wanted to like wine... such a noble beverage. Really hard to get into though! A nice white Moscato is a good place to start because it has a little sugar in it.

A dry red is really hard for a newbie to enjoy, but like beer, pairing with food is where it's at. I can see how a dry red can really compliment certain foods. But ugh, it's just no fun to drink it straight.

The other thing that sucks about wine is you need someone to share a normal sized bottle with you. An open bottle, even if re-corked, soon turns to vinegar so I either end up wasting a lot of good wine down the drain, or spending a fortune on little single-serving bottles.

I like Woodstock bourbon and cola and Heineken beer

According to my TBM family, the directive to eat meat sparingly means that you have to eat at least some meat. Apparently if you don't dine on the beasts of the earth you are being an ungrateful ass. I don't think the church has an official stance on vegetarians, but if you want to have family dinners with your mormon family be prepared to be lectured on the WoW constantly.

As far as the more fun parts of breaking the WoW... It all depends on the occasion. Trying different wine and beers is always fun, but I love a well crafted martini more than anything.

Also, I can't believe that I was missing out on tea for my whole life... What a terrible thing to deprive someone of!