Church issues clarifying statement on the Word of Wisdom

SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement on Thursday clarifying church policy. The church listed several substances it prohibits under the Word of Wisdom, part of the faith’s Doctrine and Covenants.

In the statement, the church includes vaping, e-cigarettes, green tea, and coffee-based products as not approved under the doctrine.

The church cautions that marijuana and opioids should be used only for medicinal purposes. A member of the church should use these medicinal drugs only after a competent physician prescribes them, the statement said.

Recreational marijuana, or forms of marijuana that are medicinal, would be against the Word of Wisdom without a prescription.

Marijuana can be legal and still be against the Word of Wisdom, church leaders said.

The church also says people should avoid habit-forming substances.

The same clarifications were published in the faith’s August 2019 edition of New Era magazine.

The magazine article cites a study showing nearly one-third of teen e-cigarette users believe the pods contained only flavoring when many contain nicotine and other substances.

In the New Era magazine article also cautions members who choose to order drinks in places known for coffee.

“If you’re in a coffee shop (or any other shop that’s well-known for its coffee), the drink you’re ordering probably has coffee in it, so either never buy drinks at coffee shops or always ask if there’s coffee in it.”

They also said that drinks that contain the words café, caffé, mocha, latte, or espresso usually contain coffee and as such are prohibited by the Word of Wisdom.

Also clarified in the article is the church’s stance on tea. Green tea, black tea and iced tea all fall under the churches Word of Wisdom form of tea that is against the Word of Wisdom, the statement reads. Other products that contain tea fall under the same prohibition.