The History of Mormon Beverage Rules! Coffee, Tea, Hot Cocoa, Postum, and Dirty Sodas?

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Let's talk about Latter-day Saint observance or non-observance of the prohibition of tea and coffee from the founding of the church all the way to the present. One of the most consistent, if surprising, findings in recent polling is how Latter-day Saints now are much more likely to drink tea and coffee, which is strictly prohibited from the word of wisdom, than their parents and their grandparents generation. Janna Reese's book, The Next Mormons, for instance, which surveyed Mormon millennials who still identify as active Latter-day Saints, found that 40% did not comply with the church's prohibition on coffee, which is nearly double what it was from the Boomer and silent generation. And those numbers seem to only be going up with Gen Z Mormons. And this is even setting aside the question of dirty sodas that Mormons have perfected in a way to supposedly get around the word of wisdom. Now, of course, part of this is rooted in the modern age. The general pick and choose atmosphere of American Christians. The most common throughine in American spirituality today is how people are becoming much more selective in what they want to follow in their religious observance. It is an individualistic and an anti-institutional stance of which Mormons comprise just one part. But what's also notable about this trend is that it fits into a much longer history of nonobservance of the tea and coffee prohibition within the Mormon history. So in this video, I hope to do a few things to offer some historical context for the modern dynamic. First, I'll survey the earliest interpretations of hot drinks as listed in the Word of Wisdom. I'll then show how enforcement of that prohibition was spotty from the very beginning. And then I'll touch about what the modern iteration of this movement means within the longer history, not to mention just what it means for Latter-day Saints today. One of the most common questions I received after I did a video a couple weeks ago on uh when the word of wisdom became a requirement. Go check that out if you haven't yet. It's around 1920 when the church really emphasized prohibition and it became a temple recommend question. But one of the most questions I received is that well what about the tea and coffee prohibition?

[00:02:32]Has that always been interpreted as the hot drinks? And there's a general assumption often that that attachment came much later, which is understandable given how much of Latter-day Saints uh ideas evolved over time. Although I'll also note that I think there's a bit of hope behind many of those questions that well maybe if we identify tea and coffee as a hot drinks coming later, maybe it's okay to return to an earlier position where they were allowed. So perhaps unfortunately for some, but the historical record is clear that the hot drinks identified in the Word of Wisdom in the early 1830s was tea and coffee.

[00:03:11]And we can make that attachment through two different uh ways. And by the way, this is the bad news. I'll get to the good news for those of you who want your tea and coffee later on. Um, so the first way we know that tea and coffee were what was meant by hot drinks is by what I've referred to in previous videos as the communities of discourse approach. That if you want to understand what the Latter-day Saints meant when using certain terms and phrases, you should look at how others during that time period use those terms and phrases.

[00:03:39]And there was a long history, especially in New England, to refer to tea and coffee as hot drinks. items that became a focus of some of the most radical iterations of the temperance movement of the day that went beyond just prohibiting alcohol to looking at all things that made your life unhealthy.

[00:03:57]And the hot in the reference a hot drinks is not just a reference to the temperature but a reference to temperament. It's similar to how you think of one having a hot temper. It's based on idea that the body has a natural alignment and certain stimulants will knock it out of balance. And so many of these temperance reformers argue that the stimulants found in tea and coffee will make your temper hot. It will make you agitated. It will get you out of balance. It disrupted your equilibrium. And that's why they tried to urge people not to consume those beverages. And so Mormons were borrowing that language. In fact, as a historical from a historical perspective, it would have been a surprise if they weren't referring to tea and coffee when saying hot drinks. But we don't have to merely rely on the communities of discourse approach. We also have direct references from those earliest years making this connection as well. We have a couple of diaries and letters from 1834 and 1835 directly calling out tea and coffee as the hot drinks in the word of wisdom.

[00:05:02]And we have several institutional statements. So, for instance, at a church meeting in Missouri on November 7th, 1837, the church members pledged that they would no longer support stores that break the word of wisdom, singling out those that deal in liquor, tobacco, tea, and coffee. Or a couple years later when John Coral published a church uh what was going to be the church's official history before John Carl got excommunicated, um he was explaining what they meant. Quote, "For a general rule, they the Mormons excluded the use of ardent spirits, tobacco, tea, and coffee in abundance in accordance with the revelation called the word of wisdom in which the abn abstinence from these things were recommended but not commanded. Also, wasting of flesh, the take or taking of life of animals unnecessarily or for sport was forbidden." So, you see there the connection of the word of wisdom to tea and coffee. You'll also see other interpretations like the unnecessary killing of animals, but more on that later. But that doesn't mean even though that connection was present, that did not mean that the saints always or even offo often followed those directions.

[00:06:10]Before I go much further, just a reminder that if you enjoy this type of historical content, make sure you are subscribed to this channel. I try to provide context to the modern world.

[00:06:20]Mondays I do deep dives on topics.

[00:06:22]Wednesdays I connect the past to the present, like in this video. And then on Fridays, I pull back the curtains on historians's craft, either interviewing authors of new books, highlighting relevant scholarship, or looking at the sources behind historaphical arguments so that you too can become an expert on history. And if you want to give back, and I'm so grateful for the many of you who have chosen to give back, you can become a member where for a nominal fee, you be you get early access to the videos. You get little icons next to your name when you leave comments. And most importantly, you can feel good about supporting public-f facing rigorous scholarship. I also recommend subscribing to my free kit newsletter. I send out these uh newsletters every other week or so with links and updates and announcements. Uh, and you can also follow me on my different social media platforms, especially Instagram, where I provide supplemental material. You can find links to all of those in the video description. And please mark your calendar for my next live discussion, which will be taking place on Wednesday, next Wednesday, a week from the day this video is posting, uh, Wednesday, June 3rd, at 6:00 p. p.m. Mountain time. Note the change from the usual live discussions. 6 p.m. Mountain times, I will be coming to you live from Las Vegas where the Mormon History Association will be about to take place and I'll be chatting with John Turner, the wonderful author of the Brigham Young and Joseph Smith biography as well as a biography of the Mormon Jesus, which is another great book I've recommend. We'll be dissecting what it means to study Mormonism. We'll get his perspective, you know, a year out from the publication of his Joseph Smith biography. But that should be a lot of fun. So, make sure to mark your calendar and I'll see you next week. But let's get back to the history. While the identification of hot train hot drinks being tea and co tea and coffee does date back to the 1830s, so does the tradition of Latterday Saints getting Latter-day Saint leaders getting mad at members for not following that prohibition. The most common references we have in fact to tea and coffee in these early years is in the context of leaders chastising members for not following the directions of the word of wisdom. And key to many of those chastisements is leaders telling their members, look, we know the word of wisdom does not specifically say tea and coffee, but that's what it's meant. So, for example, here's Hyram Smith in 1842.

[00:08:42]Hyram is probably the most uh consistent advocate for the word of wisdom during the early years of Mormonism. And the sermon he delivers in 1842 is one of the key most vehement statements in defense of the word of wisdom from that era. Um and in this address he says this quote and again hot drinks are not for the body or belly. There are many who wonder what this can mean whether it refers to tea or coffee or not. I say it does refer to tea and coffee. Why is it that we are frequently so dull and languid?

[00:09:16]It is because we break the word of wisdom. Deceased prays upon our system.

[00:09:20]Our understandings are darkened and we do not comprehend the things of God. The devil takes advantages of us and we fall into temptation. So here he is chastising members for look I know tea and coffee is not spelled out in the word of wisdom but I promise you that's what it means. And that argument is still being made 30 years later when Brigham Young is addressing the Saints in Utah and once again is calling them out for making that same quibble. Quote, I have heard it argued that tea and coffee are not mentioned therein. That is very true. But what were the people in the habit of drinking as hot drinks when that revelation was given? Tea and coffee. We were not in the habit of drinking ve water very hot but tea and coffee the beverage in common use. So first of all, let's give some credit for Brighgam for being a good historical interpreter looking at the communities of discourse. But further, you can see how there is frustration among church leaders even while they are still practicing it themselves. And some even went further. George Cuchanan who was in the LDS first presidency argued that yes, hot cocoa is also uh forbidden because it was the temperature although he was not the general perface of consistent view there. I could give many other examples but hopefully those will suffice. Notably, the saints were not very good at following these directions as you can see by the frequency that the leaders have to call them out. But nor were they always expected to the again the word of wisdom was given by suggestion by wisdom not by commandment.

[00:10:52]And you can see this even in institutional policies when the saints were leaving Nauvoo for Utah and the church produced a a list of what you need to pack. Here is that list which included both coffee and tea which I expected would be necessary due to the physical uh exertions on the road. Um and the church church's own department stores in Utah carried tea and coffee for many decades. So how do we reconcile this? How do we justify that on the one hand church leaders are frequently upset with members for not following this prohibition but members and leaders not always following it? Well again it was given not by commandment or constraint.

[00:11:29]They knew it was better not to it was it was maybe not as bad as drinking alcohol. Um but it was difficult. So they didn't want to give it up. So for the rest of the 19th century, Mormon leaders still denounced tea and coffee.

[00:11:43]Mormon members and leaders still mostly consumed it and they mostly felt bad about it. Moving into the period where the word of wisdom was more generally in force, which is taking place as part of the broader prohibition movement in the early 20th century. What's remarkable is that as they place a lot of attention on alcohol and tobacco, there isn't a lot of attention placed on tea and coffee, even though again there is a general understanding that that's what the hot drinks were in reference to. Um, some leaders urged members to uh to do other things that went beyond alcohol and tobacco like not consume massive amounts of meats. There were other leaders like John and Leo Witso who pushed for more attention to healthy foods that it's not just enough to avoid some things, you should be eating other things like grains and fruits. Um, and then there were some who tried to discuss tea and coffee, but it was far from the dominant theme. But it was attached from the newly enforced word of wisdom starting the 1920s, which was now a part of the temple recommend. It was almost like it was begrudgingly uh part of it because there was this long tradition of interpreting the hot drinks as tea and kebab and tobacco. And at first there were plenty who didn't follow it and they were not as strong in enforcing it as they were alcohol and tobacco. And tea and coffee consumption seemed especially pervasive in rural communities where the church didn't structure all facets of life. But instead we say a we see a slow decline of tea and coffee consumption over the 20th century where each succeeding generation was less likely to consume it as the previous generation. Part of this was due to the correlation movement where all church practice was more streamlined and consistent throughout the world. There was an emphasis on consistent worthiness especially as temples become much more ubiquitous. And so as the word wisdom became a key part or marker of the LDS identity, coffee and tea was absorbed into that as well.

[00:13:44]And you see this in how the church started embracing things like postm as a common sub substitute. I remember my grandparents drinking postumm that horrid drink. If you tried it, you know what I'm talking about. Um, and it's also important to note that they never reconciled this with other things like hot chocolate or caffeinated beverages or the disputed place of Coca-Cola and and Pepsi. I'll do another video on that at some point, especially in recent years with the rise of energy drinks.

[00:14:10]But what's important here is that the word of wisdom as practiced and taught by Latter-day Saints was never meant to make this consistent sentence. Instead, it's a boundary maintenance issue. is followed by faith and obedience rather than scientific and health data. And you see this over recent years where there's been a declining emphasis on, well, this is what all these scientific studies say about these things. You'll still see it, but it's not nearly as it was before.

[00:14:37]Instead, the following of the word of wisdom is more of a sign of a faith, a marker of your belonging and your willingness to follow church leaders, which is why they're willing to drink a mon a monster energy drink, but not drink coffee. But again, once we reach the 21st century, there's going to be new uh issues brought into the equation.

[00:15:00]So, where do we go from here? Well, I think we can see a few potential directions in how church members are following the word of wisdom. And I'm seeing some prominent examples. And I'll talk about just two potential trajectories. One is we're seeing the Saints becoming increasingly creative in finding workarounds. The rise of the dirty soda shop being the most prominent. That and the sugary cookie stores are two of Mormonism's most influential cultural exports in the last decades. It's clearly a replacement for standing in line and paying $7 for coffee for coffee. instead to stand in line and pay $7 for a coconut Dr. Pepper. And of course, there's irony in the mounds of sugar that go into these things that are clearly against a strict reading of the word of wisdom, but it's not a transgression against the cultural observance of the word of wisdom. Um, on the one hand, I generally embrace this uniqueness of the Mormon tradition. I'm in the keep Mormonism weird camp. uh someone a member of my family had a dirty soda bar at their wedding reception which was phenomenal. And even when my book American Zion was released in 2024 and some friends threw a party for me, there was also a dirty soda bar.

[00:16:11]So I love that type of expression. I love Mormons being weird. That's one trajectory, finding a loophole to emphasize the Mormon weirdness without assimilation. The other potential trajectory is also seen in the data, which is Mormons just drinking coffee.

[00:16:26]Nearly half of the youngest generation admit that they drink tea and coffee, some rarely. And I've heard some even argue that well, it's okay because tea and coffee are not explicitly said in the word of wisdom. The same argument that goes all the way back to Missouri and Nauvoo and Ohio when Hyram Smith was chastising the saints for taking up that argument. So you see this long history.

[00:16:48]So yes, on the one hand, modern Latter-day Saints who drink tea and coffee are part of an individualist uh generation of Americans who are willing to pick and choose what parts of their church they want to follow. But they're also fulfilling a long tradition embedded within the Latter Day Saint tradition of trying to find any loophole they can to drink the type of things they want to drink. I hope this video made sense. I hope this adds some context to our contemporary debates over tea and coffee consumption and caffeine in the modern LDS church and the observance or non-observance of the word of wisdom. If you enjoyed the video, please hit the like button, share with others so we can broader the conversation. Subscribe so you don't miss future content. And if you want to give back, you can become a member.

[00:17:32]History has never been more relevant than it is today because it is this cultural memory that gives meaning to all these practices that might otherwise not make sense.