Mormons, is eating meat sometimes a sin?
I was reading the following:
D&C 89: 9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.... 12 Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; 13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.
In verse 9 we have the well-known teaching which forbids Mormons from drinking hot tea or coffee, but verses 12 and 13 seem to me to make it also a sin to eat a Big Mac during the summer. Do Mormons faithfully follow that passage, or is it somehow interpreted differently from what appears to be plain language, and therefore in fact there really aren't any dietary restrictions that Mormons are required to follow?
Also, if you don't mind, how do you get drinking iced tea, iced coffee or a coke is a sin since all of those drinks are cold?
Thank you for helping me to better understand the LDS Church and its teachings.
Thanks for helping me phrog, but your answer still left me with a couple of questions. So the word "hot" is no longer really relevant, and instead the word was sort of redefined to mean tea and coffee no matter what their temperature is? Was it always like that, or did a later Mormon prophet clarify that passage?
Also, you used the word "moderation", but the passage does say meat "should NOT be used" (emphasis added).
Therefore I get the impression that no Mormon does not use meat during the summer (i.e. is a strict vegetarian) based on that passage, but rather if they don't pig out on meat all the time, they are considered in compliance with the passage. Is that true?
Publius, thanks for answering my question. Please indulge my request for further clarification So I guess what you are saying is that if a Mormon chooses to eat a hot dog on the Fourth of July, he knowingly is choosing to displease God, but will do it anyway? That amazes me. When the children of Israel displeased God, he refused to allow them to enter his rest (Heb 3:10-11). ...
... Another time the word "displeased" is used in reference to God was regarding David's adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband (2Sam 11:27). I get the impression Mormon's are somewhat cavalier about displeasing God in regard to eating meat during the summer. If that is true, are there any other similar things where Mormons routinely displease God, but don't give it much thought because they think it's not a requirement?
Obviously I'm not a Mormon, and am not trying through my question to tell any Mormons how to be a proper Mormon, but if I read something like D&C 89:12-13 in my Bible, I would instantly pick up on the words "displeasing" and "only" and therefore conclude that God only allows me to eat meat during winter, cold and famines, and anything other than that would displease God; and historically speaking, displeasing God always has a negative outcome and therefore should be avoided. ...
Again, I'm very thankful for enlightening me about the LDS Church. I'm learning a lot more about Mormonism than I anticipated with my question. There does seem to be a different attitude toward pleasing God within Mormonism than my understanding of non-Mormon Christianity. Pulbius or phrog, are you aware of any Mormons that take DC 89:12-13 as seriously as I would if I were a Mormon (meaning no Big Macs until December)?
Thank you flora for your extensive answer. I'm curious though how you would interpret those passages if it was you talking about something else in a similar way to your children. For instance, let's say you told your children: "Concerning our family computer, it should be used sparingly. It pleases me that it should not be used, only between the hours of 7 and 9 pm on school nights (but can be used anytime on the weekends)." And then let's say your son interpreted that to mean that ...
... he could use it anytime he wanted and as much as he wanted as long as he felt he had used it in moderation. If he were my child, I would tell him that is NOT what I meant. I meant only between 7 and 9 pm on school nights. On the weekends, he could use it as much as he wanted. I'm guessing that you would side with the son's interpretation rather than mine.
Maybe Mormonism and its way of interpreting God's commands are just more "fluid" (for lack of a better word) than what I am used ...
... to in my understanding of how to interpret a command of God. I mean I have read statements from Mormon prophets in the past such as Brigham Young saying things like polygyny would always be a part of the Mormon religion, and that blacks would never be part of the Mormon priesthood; obviously those commands weren't to be so concretely interpreted.
Are there any other Mormon teachings like that where the wording seems to plainly command something, but Mormons don't interpret it that way?
Thanks c. It's just my opinion as an outsider to Mormonism that the passage appears to be basically ignored with a variety of excuses given for ignoring it. I'm not trying to push the teaching on anyone. I wonder if there ever was a time in Mormon history when Mormons did avoid meat except during the winter. I also get the impression from your comment that that teaching is not the only one that basically Mormons ignore. Phrog makes it sound like a Mormoan can ignore whatever they want ...
... and assume it's not a problem unless somehow God makes his will known that in fact he meant what he said. Did you see a lot of that when you were a Mormon? Did you hear anything from other Mormons like what phrog said; basically that if God thought what a Mormon was doing was a problem (even though a passage may seem to teach against what they were doing), he would somehow make it known to them, and if he didn't, they could continue on doing whatever they were doing without consequence?