So, Why Can’t Mormons Drink Beer?

Brigham Young once commented on the origins of the Mormon Health Code, the Word of Wisdom:

“When they assembled together in this room after breakfast, the first they did was to light their pipes, and, while smoking, talk about the great things of the kingdom, and spit all over the room, and as soon as the pipe was out of their mouths a large chew of tobacco would then be taken. Often when the Prophet [Joseph Smith] entered the room to give the school instructions he would find himself in a cloud of tobacco smoke. This, and the complaints of his wife at having to clean so filthy a floor, made the Prophet think upon the matter, and he inquired of the Lord relating to the conduct of the Elders in using tobacco, and the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom was the result of his inquiry.”
Journal of Discourses, vol. 12, p. 158

Even during my true believer days, I always felt it quite convenient that Joseph Smith had this revelation shortly after his wife complained to him about having to clean up after a bunch of dudes who hung out at their house smoking and spitting tobacco on the floor.

Being married, I know the wrath of a woman whose hard cleaning work is undone shortly after she finishes. I have no doubt that someone as opinionated and sure of herself as Emma Smith would have no problem coming down on anyone, including her prophet-husband. Hell, he spent a majority of his life cowering from her and attempting to assuage her.

I find it suspiciously coincidental that when he wrote this, Joseph Smith prohibited the vices that bothered his wife the most and appeased those in the immediate vicinity who were pushing for a temperance movement in the church. It is highly amusing that he then went a step further, prohibiting coffee and tea, in what I see was a jab at the ladies’ and their gossip-filled tea parties. Take that! If you want me to tell the men they can’t drink and smoke, I’m taking away something from you!

I love how he left himself an out on all counts. It was not a “commandment” it was just advice. And Joseph’s favorite drink? Well, beer just happens to specifically allowed!

16. All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—

17. Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain. (emphasis added)

Sorry, remind me, how many drinks were made from barley in 1833? Oh, that’s right…beer and whiskey! Now, I personally think beer tastes like shit and will never get past that smell, but for those who like it, like Joseph Smith apparently did, they should be justified in drinking it AND holding a temple recommend if you ask me (which no one did).

Political Paradox: I’ve Lost My Religion, Not My Mind

I’m finding myself in a weird paradox regarding the political spectrum as I mature in my disaffection with the LDS church and the general population of members.

I was brought up in a small town (<5000 residents) by a staunchly politically conservative father, listening to Rush Limbaugh and talk radio. It always seemed to me that rural living and conservatism were the natural order of things.

As a Mormon, I was raised to think that lifestyles outside the Mormon norm were inherently wrong or flawed. This was not drilled into me by any means, but it was not in my nature to question this as I had rarely encountered differing political views or lifestyles. I never questioned politics until I moved to a larger city at the end of my high school career. There, I befriended people of various ethnicities and with varying family lifestyles. In an effort to fit in, be cool, I found it was a window in my life where I was open to new views.

At that time in young life, I experimented with social drugs and tried things outside the norm as I tested my sense of independence and indivuality. I listened to rebellious music and observed life outside a Mormon bubble. Mostly this serene time in my life marked by political apathy and teenage angst and exploration.

This window of open-mindedness quickly slapped shut when I served a full-time LDS mission in Brazil and changed course to the proscribed life plans of every young LDS man. It was after my mission that I re-discovered politics. Without consciously knowing it, I fell back to my roots and started down the road of political conservatism, but swearing that I was not the “Rush Limbaugh” type. Eventually, I even gave that up and found I liked listening to the man and the many other hosts that had cropped up during the Clinton years.

So where is the paradox, you ask? In my experience, most disaffected Mormons come from the left side of the political spectrum. I have always said to myself, “I lost my religion, not my mind” with regard to politics. So, I find myself an outcast among outcasts. I still feel that my political ideology was not driven by my participation in the LDS community, but I do fear that I accepted too many tenets of this ideology on a sense of “faith” in the radio hosts.

So, with my re-discovery of faith, I now found myself re-examining what I believed were non-questionable political beliefs. Not a lot of them, but certain  social taboos simply don’t mean as much to me now as they used to. I mostly wish that politicians and fanatical activists on both sides could find easy reconciliation and thereby reduce the amount of rancor in society.

For example, the recent push by uncompromising activists within the gay community to achieve “equality” with regard to marriage. I have finally arrived at a point in my mind where I really could care less how the gays live their life, I just wish they would live it without pushing it so hard on the rest of society that may or may not support the lifestyle.

I am inclined to vote for gay marriage based on a sense of “let’s just get over this”. However, with all the bigotry and misplaced anger against Mormons regarding the recently passed Proposition 8 in California, I could go the other way just to spite these people and teach them a lession! Their latest proposed actions, the so-called “kiss-ins” at Mormon temples seems more likely to create emnity and build a wall with the Mormon community, rather than break it down (which is the intended effect, I hope). Mormons have a serious persecution complex and the gays will play into that by doing this. Isn’t there another way?

Why can we all not be content with a simple civil union which achieves all the benefits of marriage without using the dreaded word “marriage” itself? Could not both sides be content with that or do they really need to have the decades long knockdown engagements that we’re having? Homosexuality may never be accepted by everyone in society at large. That is a fact. Why must conservative activists push so hard to condemn it and the gay activists push so hard to force the issue on those who will always disagree with them? Just, agree to shake hands and live, instead of finding bigotted ways to oppose each other!!

I’m Not Bitter. Am I Happy?

Why I’m Not Bitter
As I’ve progressed in my knowledge and comprehension in the pursuit of a truthful history and understanding of the origins of the Mormon church, I’ve come across so many different attitudes relating to the church. There are those who are angry, sarcastic and venomous towards the organization to which they sacrificed so much of their time and money. I can empathize with this viewpoint. I’ve also come across those who willfully close their minds to the possibility that what is taught in Sunday School or by the missionaries could potentially be anything other than the searing white-hot truth. I can also empathize with their desire to remain inside their protective cacooon, because it’s a frightening concept to think that what you’ve believed so long to be airtight and solid might just have some cracks in it.

For myself, however, I aspire to no more than to straddle the divide. It would be so easy to allow bitterness to well up and overflow. However, I feel no burning sense of self-righteous anger that would send me to crusade against the powers that be in Salt Lake City. I am not angered by the evolutionary processes that have transpired in that citadel of Mormonism to keep the blinders up and the plebian masses sitting in the pews each week. At a certain point, the administration of the church becomes a huge exercise in self-preservation and self-perpetuation. Given the amount of devotion that those in the upper echelons of the LDS church have to the organization (and it’s associated mythology), I understand why the “Bretheren” continue to do what they do in the face of simmering rebellion due to the internet age.

I do not understand those who feel it is their purpose in life to destroy the organization. Mormonism is my culture and my society. I do not understand their anger and hate. Why hate such a thing that once gave them joy? To me, the Mormon church is a grand social club which provides me many benefits, including a built-in support group and networking opportunities with a group of individuals who share a common life experiences. This is really invaluable.

I choose to live by my own rules within the confines of Mormonism that allow me to fully participate, yet not necessarily subject my own needs (nor those of my family) to those of the organization. I will not perform a duty or calling out of any sense of obligatory devotion to perpetuate a “good cause”. I do it because it benefits me and my family. It sounds selfish (and it is), but why should I throw all that Mormonism has provided for me? I choose to find the good in this organization that is such a part of me. I choose to laugh at myself and my community when there is cause to do so. I choose to travel outside the lines which have been so firmly drawn by church culture, so that I can live a less-judgemental life and find beauty in a wider variety of people and experiences.

Am I Happy?
A good friend, after I revealed the depths of my disbelief of Mormon origins to him, asked me “Are you happy?” It was a worthy question. I live a lot of my life hiding what I feel about such a looming player in my life. My wife is aware how I feel, but few others know to what extent I disbelieve. While I really dislike having to hide this from those I love, I also consider the hurt it would bring them if I were to reject it outright. They would personally feel rejected, and that would hurt me. While I wish I could free them from the guilt they feel at the obligations thrust on them by the church, I understand that some crave this as a way to feel engaged in a better cause.

I love my wife, and she has given up a lot from her viewpoint. It makes me happy to play a part so that she doesn’t suffer social ramifications from my disbelief. It makes me happy to see my children have a safe environment to make friends and have a sense of connectedness with the community outside of school.

So would it make me happier to shout from the rooftops that Joseph Smith is a fraudulent magician and a sexual libertine at the minimum (pedophile at the worst)? I don’t think so. While I accept the premise of these facts, I would prefer that church members find this out on their own, in an organic fashion, inspired by curiosity, not because some loudmouth spat it in their face.

So, yes, I AM happy and content and maybe even complacent. Is it such a bad thing?