Quote:
Originally Posted by jay santos
Why would this be uncomfortable with most LDS? Isn't it well understood that the WoW has evolved over time in its level of enforcement?
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Many adults (at least in the English-speaking church) are vaguely aware of how things have changed. They know that Brigham Young made it more commandment-ish in 1851 and so on. But they don't know about all the back and forth, or how it wasn't connected to Temple worthiness for a long time. And they haven't considered the relationship between D&C 89 and current practice. The emphasis of caring for one's body and observing to partake or not partake of certain things is there in D&C 89, but Temple worthiness today is about abstaining from 5 things:coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol, and harmful drugs. Things like the temperature of a beverage, or how often one eats meat, or whether one uses herbs, are very secondary these days (as far as the official Church is considered, individual members are sometimes zealous in these areas), and 89's distinction between mild drinks and wine of your own make and strong drinks is ignored, as are things like oats are for horses.
I think that any Church History class that wants to give a broad understanding of changing Mormon doctrine and practices should trace the material in those articles that Solon cited.