Ask the member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints AKA Interrogate the Mormon

Given the importance of religion in politics, and given the recent attention given to Mitt Romney's religion of late, I thought it might be nice to open a thread where you can ask me any questions that you like.  If you simply wish to bash, I will probably not respond.  And given that the next several days are going to be very busy, I may not reply for a few days.  But I'd like to answer any genuine questions you have.  You may even bring in your handout from your "Why Mormons Aren't Christians," "Mormons Are Devil-Inspired," or "Mormons Are Just Plain Weird," courses, and I will try to clarify.  I'm fairly well-read on the subject and am willing to do some research.  Just please be honest.

Oh, a final note, I will be selective in what I discuss about the temple in order to preserve something we hold as sacred, but I will discuss what is appropriate.  Please be respectful.

EDIT: You may want to see this post for the foundation of our beliefs before proceeding to read on

I'm aware of a couple of others.  I'm definitely very vocal about it :)

What's the deal with not drinking coffee? I mean... why doesn't God love you enough?

This thread is a really, really bad idea...

Having said that... I've always wanted to ask a Mormon to explain why The Book of Abraham is still considered cannon now that our knowledge of the Egyptian language has grown to the point that real Egyptologist scholars have been able to take a look at the Joseph Smith Papyri and discovered that they don't contain anything that Joseph Smith claims to have translated from them? If the missing source for The Book of Mormon (that was only ever confirmed to exist by a very small number of men with a common agenda) doesn't smell fishy in the slightest, doesn't this whole situation with the JS Papyri turning out to just be fragments of ancient Egyptian funeral texts at least have a slightly pungent odor to it?

You're not the only LDS on these forums, and I rather like the other ones I know of here; I don't mean any disrespect to anyone, and really have no intention of stepping on toes. However, I think these are very reasonable questions and fair questions I am posing.

I wonder why I always misread it as the LSD church?

TheBoost said:

What's the deal with not drinking coffee? I mean... why doesn't God love you enough?

 To be clear... I'm aware that it's a rule in the Words of Wisdom (?) church dotrine against 'hot drinks' that also includes tea

BUT why would any God but an Evil God (Like in Time Bandits) make something so great, and then go "No coffee for you!"

Wait, that can't be right.  I thought the issue was caffeine, not temperature.

Okay, to answer the coffee question...Frink the temperature does not in itself define hot drinks.  In a book we consider scripture called the Doctrine and Covenants, section 89, it states that hot drinks are not appropriate.  This has been clarified to mean coffee and green or black leaf teas, specifically.  Therefore, hot cocoa, Dr. Pepper, and raspberry leaf tea are all okay.

To TheBoost, to give a more in depth answer is difficult, as I am not God (a recent discovery, BTW [I'm joking! I'm joking!]).  I don't know the pleasure of coffee, but I am appreciative that I don't rely on it to geth through my day.  My original answer would have gone into greater depth about the Doctrine and Covenants revelation, but since that's not what you're seeking, I'll try to reframe it.  God has given other things that many consider great: illicit drugs, sex, video games, pornography, whatever.  Of course there are those that morally disagree with me on this, but God sometimes provides things that can be pleasing, but he places restrictions: for LDS members, no drugs, only sex within marriage, use your time wisely, no pornography.  Just because something is pleasing temporarily does not mean God thinks it is truly in our best interst.

I'll get to other qustions later, maybe tomorrow.

I would like to know why hot drinks are not appropriate.  I am genuinely curious.  I always thought it was the caffeine, which I can sort of see if you view it as a similar (though lesser) evil as alcohol.  But if it's the temperature (clarified to coffee and green or black leaf tea), then my question is....why?  To what purpose?

Can you drink cold coffee and tea, and do all copies of the Book of Mormon come with a gold cover inscribed with black characters?

DuracellEnergizer said:

Can you drink cold coffee and tea

That's actually an excellent question.

Even more confused now...

darth_ender said:

 God has given other things that many consider great: illicit drugs, ... ... video games, pornography, whatever.  

 Yeah but coffees better than all those thing!

TheBoost said:

darth_ender said:

 God has given other things that many consider great: illicit drugs, ... ... video games, pornography, whatever.  

 Yeah but coffees better than all those thing!

And using an apostrophe in a contraction is the best thing of all!

TV's Frink said:

TheBoost said:

darth_ender said:

 God has given other things that many consider great: illicit drugs, ... ... video games, pornography, whatever.  

 Yeah but coffees better than all those thing!

And using an apostrophe in a contraction is the best thing of all!

You know what unite's all people of all faith's?

Hating grammar police like you'.

TheBoost said:

darth_ender said:

 God has given other things that many consider great: illicit drugs, ... ... video games, pornography, whatever.  

 Yeah but coffees better than all those thing!

I like that you removed sex from the list before saying that coffee is better. I agree. If I had to chose, I'd take sex over coffee any day, though I kind of enjoy coffee with my sex... and judge me as you will, but I am a pretty big fan of "whatever" as well... But as for everything else on that list... Mmmm, coffee!

darth_ender said:

I am not God (a recent discovery, BTW [I'm joking! I'm joking!]).  

That's what they all say.

Obvious sock account.

The term "hot drinks" is obviously rather vague.  It was clarified to mean specifically coffee or tea, hot, or lukewarm (ha ha, get it, LUKEwarm, we're at a Star Wars site, get it? Ha ha ha).

As for why, "No, no, there is no why! *exasperated sigh* Nothing more will I teach you today."

Okay, I will teach you this one last thing, and then I will follow up on the other comments tomorrow.  The reason for opposing such drinks is not given in the revelation.  However, caffeine does have some minor negative implications and can be addictive, as has been shown through the success of Starbucks (Starbuck's? S'tarbucks?) and our country's heavy reliance on coffee.  Based on  my limited research, some evidence shows that coffee has negative effects on health, though I know that this is contradictory.  The same can be said of tea, with its (it's? 'tis?) pluses and minuses.  When the said revelation was given in 1833, the negative effects of tobacco and alcohol were not known, and yet they are well-known now.  We churchy folks are happy to attribute this to the wisdom of God who knew before we did that these things just ain't good fer ya.  We believe that he knows what is best, and thus we do not consume.

BTW, I enjoyed a nice hot Ovaltine (R) malt with marshmallows with my wife the other night.  I sure enjoyed it :)

O! P.S.  CP3S, FYI, I should add that I questioned the wisdom of starting this thread myself.  However, I read what some people say online, and I wish I could at least clarify with some people what those weird Utah people (including those of us in Arizona), think.  I don't mind honest, even blunt lines of questioning.  I served my mission in Atlanta, GA where the door-to-door salesmen were looked upon more kindly (the nerve!).  I can take it, as long as it's genuine and respectful.  Your questions are truly fair and understandable, and are in fact the kind of things I'm looking to answer.  So again, tomorrow you will have at least the beginnings of an answer :)

Oh, I'm just teasing, based on TheBoost's error.  Believe me, I spent about 2 weeks being the grammar police just to irritate some bloke...can't remember his name anymore...but thanks for the help.

Hey, no need to understand.  Just understand people.  That's all I'm asking.

Ooh, levels upon levels!!! :)

Okay, better said, try to understand "The Mormon People" better.  That's my point to the thread.  I know where you're coming from as well, and I respect it.  I'm just a simple man, trying to make his way in the universe, and on the way, raise a little awareness.

With the rules for Mormons seeming to be more morally strict than other Christian denominations, I am even more confused by the whole polygamy angle. What is the rationale or justification behind it?

Two questions:

Why was Joseph Smith put into prison? Do you really believe that Adam and Eve lived in Missouri?