From: clams casino <cc@invalid.cc>
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking,can.politics,utah.general,alt.christian.religion
Subject: Re: It's Early, But Will You Have for Dinner Tonight, Thursday,
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2024 11:16:08 -0700
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
On 11/27/2024 10:48 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
> It is odd to think of Mormons canning tons of fruit because the process
> usually involves a lot of sugar and they tend to avoid sugar.
Waxing expertly again on something American that you know next to
nothing about...
Mormons LOVE sugar, they eschew caffeine and alcohol:
https://segullah.org/sugar-mormon-drug-choice
Lets talk about addiction on this page now. As Halloween approaches,
what more perfect time to explore the sordid world of LDS sugar
addiction than now?
Mormons excel at sugar worship. Itâs not only a solo act, itâs communal.
Just ask any North American Young Womenâs leader what their treat was
last Wednesday. My bet? Chocolate chip cookies.
Thou shalt not eat sugar?
Sugar and I go way back. I canât lie, I grew up on a steady diet of my
momâs snickerdoodles, German chocolate cake, cinnamon rolls, fudge, and
English toffee. All homemade, all the time. Birthdays didnât disappoint
either: thickly frosted cupcakes, candy-stuffed goodie bags,
candy-stuffed pinatas, candy-stuffed faces. For my momâs birthday each
year (conveniently close to Halloween) we gifted her our yuckiest candyâ¦
Bit-O-Honeys and Baby Ruths artfully wrapped in toilet paper and Scotch
tape. She never complained.
If I had a chance to go back to my youth and trade those treats in for a
good-for-you kale and pinto bean salad, would I? Absolutely not.
Why do Mormons excel at sugar worship? Why does it play such a central
role in our lives, our families, our culture? Because itâs cheap, easy,
and morally benign. Culturally, sugar is a sign of gratitude, welcome,
and love. Who can say no to that?
Donât get me wrong, Iâve tried to fight it. When my children were young
I scrutinized each and every label and nutrition chart. I was
determined. We ate real food; we ate whole. Honey, sure, but anything
with high fructose corn syrup or ânatural food flavoringâ concocted by
food flavorists in white lab coats off the New Jersey turnpike? No thanks.
Somewhere along the way I caved. At extended family gatherings my dad
would spoon feed ice cream into my toddlerâs mouth. My brother would pop
Oreos into my preschoolerâs grubby hands. Cousins would scarf Lucky
Charms and share. Would could I do? At ward Trunk-or-Treats there was no
such thing as healthy or sugar-free unless some lame mom passed out
pencils (which was me, circa ten years ago).
Sigh.
Some argue that Mormons donât smoke or drink, so sugar is our vice.
Perhaps. But more likely? Sugarâs buzz along with the naughty joy of
indulgence is fun and addicting. To bury your face in a pint of Ben and
Jerryâs is not just a Mormon thing. Itâs universal.
A BYU study shows that all this sugar adds up: Mormons weigh more:
âMormons on average weigh 4.6 pounds more than other Utahansâ¦The study
also found that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints were 14 percent more likely than nonmembers to be obese. That was
18 percent for men, and 9 percent for women.â (February 2006)
Sisters and brothers, weâve got a lot of work to do.
What if by revelation the Word of Wisdom banned sugar? My guess: much
weeping and gnashing of teeth. Massive withdrawals. Because Mormons have
a corner on the dessert market. The baking aisle at my local Utah
grocery store is proof, itâs often wiped clean.