Candy (and the Word of Wisdom)
If you’ve met a Mormon (member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), one of the first things you likely noticed is that they don’t drink alcohol or coffee. This practice is based on the Word of Wisdom, an evolving code of health first instituted by Joseph Smith Jr. in February,1833.
Brigham Young called for a sustaining vote to observe the revelation at the Sept. 9, 1851 General Conference. A letter from the First Presidency to the saints said, “The Conference voted to observe the Word of Wisdom and particularly to dispense with the use of tea, coffee, snuff, and tobacco…
Joseph F. Smith became president in 1901, the Word of Wisdom was becoming an accepted and practical observance of church leaders and members. President Smith refined the interpretation of ‘hot drinks’ as tea and coffee. He also started emphasizing not issuing temple recommends to flagrant violators.
Heber J. Grant became president in 1918, one year after prohibition went into effect in Utah. He preached the Word of Wisdom with zeal and at his death in 1945 it was a requirement to obtain a temple recommend.
Since then, the code has been interpreted further into specificity. Why not named in the original revelation, specific rules have become the norm and a signal of obedience.
Nos:
Vaping, chewing, or smoking nicotine, marijuana, or other drugs. Prescription drugs are OK, even if they are narcotics
Alcohol, tea (herbal is questionable and kombucha is certainly out of the question), or coffee (no decaf or foods and desserts that have coffee flavoring or beans) and by extension, caffeine (including cola drinks)
Tattoos or body piercings beyond one earring per lobe for females (as outline by Gordon B. Hinckley and explicitly stated in the For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet.
Yeses:
While meat is said to be used sparingly, meat is at the center of every meal, and it’s not really considered a meal without it.
Sugary sweets fill in the gaps where other indulgences are absent. We would often have 5-8 kinds of dessert at family gatherings and even more at church activities and events where someone would undoubtedly be asked to bless the refreshments and ask God for them to “nourish and strengthen” our bodies unironically.
From the pages of Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine: