Posted on 03/03/2008 11:08:00 AM PST by greyfoxx39
Religious and cultural traditions collide in odd ways.
• Is it right to tell election poll workers, assigned to Mormon church meeting houses, to not bring coffee, sodas or anything else caffeinated to refresh themselves during their long day tending to voters?
-SNIP-
First, let’s look at the polling place duties and sipping Maxwell House in the meeting house.
Longtime Tempe poll worker Mary Ann Hemmingson has signed up to work the polls for the March 11 election. She’ll spend her 14- or 15-hour day in a church, but no longer one that belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I never sign up to work at a Mormon church because the board workers there are not allowed to have any caffeine on the premises,” she said. “That means no coffee in the morning and no Diet Coke in the afternoon. ... You don’t want to see what I look like without my daily dose of caffeine. It’s not a pretty picture.”
“The Word of Wisdom” portion of the Doctrine and Covenants, put forth in 1833 by church founder and prophet Joseph Smith, says that “hot drinks are not for the body or belly.” Add to that what H. Burke Peterson, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, said in 1975: “We know that cola drinks contain the drug caffeine. We know caffeine is not wholesome nor prudent for the use of our bodies. It is only sound judgment to conclude that cola drinks and any others that contain caffeine or other harmful ingredients should not be used.”
Advising followers to restrict what they take into their bodies is one thing, but applying that mandate to those people who perform a public job inside their buildings in a one-day stint seems to be taking things too Far.
(Excerpt) Read more at eastvalleytribune.com ...
Resty,
was that nice ????
Oh I’m stealing that one!
The comments on the article at the East Valley Tribune agree with that, also.
I have never had to vote in a church, and I think that if they have restrictions they should be honest and not "volunteer" their facilities.
You have to speculate on the outrage that would ensue if the shoe were on the other foot, wouldn't you?
Go ahead...I stole it myself!
I can miss the corned beef EVERY year, no problem, likewise the cabbage and soda bread. I'm not going to skip my one annual Guinness, though.
I knew bishops who drank Pepsi.
Didnt one of Joseph Smith’s sex partners die of breast cancer ???
The current medical evidence is that among black tea drinkers, there’s less breast cancer...
HMmmm...
I’ve never noticed one way or the other.
Can we call names in a NON-religious area?
Thought it was green tea, but then who has the time anyway to check ALL of Smitties wives anyway :)
Only if you are teflon-coated.
Resty - I am shocked. SHOCKED! I thought you were so.......pious!??????
Oh..... my.
FYI, Fresh Orange Juice can contain as much as 300mg of Ethyl Alcohol per liter.
Hmmmm...can or DOES? Better contact LDS, Inc.
“And what kind of dietary restrictions are placed on those that enter the building?”
None.
But we do require you to swear the Jesuit blood oath of loyalty to the Pope.
;-)
sitetest
I have been in charge of my local precient elections for the past two election cylcles.
I’ll be damned if anyone is going to tell me I can’t bring my coffee into the polls with me. In fact I take my coffeemaker in!
That would never fly.
"Your babblings denied."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.