Comments about ‘LDS Church statement: 'Alcohol: A Focus on Health and Safety'’

If we are actively working to outlaw gay marriageand if the use of alcohol is another moral issuewhy aren't we then working to outlaw itl?

Any loosening of Utah's alcohol laws should include a tougher stand against adults who knowingly give alcohol to minors who then injure or kill someone else while intoxicated. The punishment should be the same as when an adult gives a gun to a minor who then uses it to injure or kill others. Fair is Fair.

Re. "LDS Member":
Do you profess to sustain a living Prophet? If yes, then why question his direction in a public forum? Any official statement from the Church has the support of the living Prophet and Apostles.

Well said. Continue to support and fight for that which is RIGHT and any issue!

Probably because outlawing alcohol isn't realistic. We've had prohibition before and look how that turned out. The fact is alcohol consumption worldwide is far too prevalent to expect that it can be eradicated. But the call for gay marriage is fairly new and homosexuality is practiced by a very small minority, and the moral consequences are much greater than a little alcohol being consumed.

The LDS church has (wisely) decided to pick their battles.

Remember the days when the choice was taken away from the citizens? It went underground, created millions for the mafia and murders were frequent to protect their turf. When you can't have something, some may desire it more. It's better for us to have the choice with less consequences. As for same-sex marriages, this is counter to the purposes of our God, not sanctioned by Him and therefore is a sin of greater consequence, viz; the destruction of our society by the breakdown of the family.

Re: LDS Member

It just goes to show how important upholding and supporting traditional family is to the Church, doesn't it?

I think that today's Church in general will not speak out about legislation that takes away from individual freedoms unless it is of particular importance. Consumption of alcohol, yes, is, according to the Church, against God's commandments. However, for the Church the family is a more central doctrine to God's plan for His children. Hence, today we see more opposition by the Church against gay marriage and more leeway for counsel to legislators on the subject of alcohol laws.

In short, the fact that the Church today is more aggresively opposing one societal issue over another does not necessarily indicate inconsistency, but rather evidence of priorities.

Perhaps the church isn't asking for an all out ban on alchohol because it is unconstitutional under the 21st Amendment. Because of this, like guns, the government is only allowed to use reasonable regulations. If this was up for a consitutional amendment process, I bet you would hear something different.

However, gay marriage in California is up for the amendment process and therefore the church can take a bolder stand to help determine the outcome of the law.

My kids always enjoy a good whine, but I don't enjoy it myself.

The Local Dominant Superstition, should just go about running their own CULT and leave everyone else alone already.

D, how is the curve in your spine from that huge chip you carry on your shoulder?

Are you aware that Joseph Smith often drank wine with guests at his house in Nauvoo? Its all about moderation, and not being a militant buddy!

I see how you mistakenly linked the two issues, but there is a flaw in it. The Church is not asking for a ban on homosexuality. They are asking that "marriage" be reserved for a man and a woman only.

With the alcohol issue, they are not saying there should be a ban but that there should be careful oversight to avoid a lot of the problems commonly associated with alcohol use (abuse).

I don't believe there is a double standard or any problem with their stance on these moral issues.

This looks very suspicious to me! Perhaps Utah corporate greed enters in here. Wealthy Utah business people see that limiting alcohol hurts their dollar, and want the laws changed to bring more money in the state. Are these business people lobbying the LDS church leadership, to change their stance, in order for the Utah economy to remain strong???

lost in DC, stay lost. If you don't live in Utah with them, you have no idea what your talking about.

It is funny how the article states that alcohal related deaths are the lowest in the country and Utah's drinking laws are what make it so. The truth is 60% of Utah is LDS and a great number of them don't drink. It has very little to do with the laws. It has everything to do with less people who drink.

RE:RE: LDSMEMBER
RE: Ken Baguely

Prohibition was NOT really tried.

NOT even one generation grew up without alcohol,

So we do NOT know how it would have turned out.

That is the real truth.

And the only reason prohibition was over-turned was because the members of the church in Utah and elsewhere dids not listen to their Prophet and vote against over-turning prohibition.

Those are the true facts of what happened.

NOt your imagined view of prohibition.

D, I do live in Utah. I have also lived outside Utah for 13 of my adult years, so I can make a comparison.

You are hurting no one but yourself with that huge chip you are carrying.

My observation has been that people either really like living in Utah, or they really hate it (sorry you're part of the latter group) - and whether or not they belong to the dominant religion has nothing to do with it. I've known Mormons outside Utah who really hate it and non-Mormons in Utah who really love it.

Sorry that you hate it so much that it appears to be affecting your overall outlook on life.

To the 6:52 commentator,
Your analogy is flawed. The logical analogy would be to our actively working to outlaw all homosexual actions. Since we are not doing so, the analogy is meaningless.
The legalization of same-sex marriage is a proactive public policy endorsement of a behavior. The lack of laws that outlaw all consumption of alchohol is not a case of pro-active public policy endorsement.

To the 10:27 commentator,
The 21st Admendment allows states to outlaw alchohol to any level and makes it illegal to transport alchohol into such a state.
There is no constitutional provision violated by outlawing alchohol totally.
What the effects of such actions would be is another story, but it in no way is constitutionally prohibited.