Now smoking is a different story. That’s a real social barrier. But I suspect that my life is not lessened by not accompanying colleagues outside for their smoke break.

I don’t know about your business settings, but in mine, technical merit seems to outweigh the ability to hold a drink. My industry has a lot of Indians as well, and very few of them drink.

#7- can we shorten Morridor to “Mordor”? Just wonderin…

Culturally, Norwegians drink coffee in huge quantities. My Norwegian in-laws owned the bar. My husband was literally raised IN a bar. Trust me, they think we are peculiar. French and Italian members who forgo wine are peculiar. Tongans who forgo tattoos are peculiar. Dressing to cover garments where it is hot and humid makes us peculiar as well as giving us heat rash.

My husband joined the church in Boston at 25. About 3 weeks after his baptism his missionaries came into the restaurant he managed and he offered them iced tea. They were shocked and gave him the whole memorized word of wisdom lesson again right there in the restaurant. They said “,,,hot drinks which is interpreted as coffee and tea.” He still didn’t get it. They clarified that meant iced tea also. He asked them why didn’t they include iced tea in the first place and has never had it again.

Still I’m with BTD Greg on drinking with colleagues. I go out with coworkers seldom, but my husband is in sales and goes out with clients and salespeople all the time. If you can relax and enjoy yourself without self righteousness no one minds that you don’t drink. Like someone said, they appreciate the designated driver.

Recovering alcoholics who abstain from alcohol at social gatherings tend to pick up the same stigma of being a non-drinker, sometimes with the drinkers taking offense to another not imbibing with them.

Recovering alcoholics have a couple of ways to lessen the impact of the social stigma that Mormons don’t have. First, their insistence that they can’t drink is based on the understanding of the physiology of their addiction, which most people accept even if they can’t (or won’t) relate. Second, many recovering alcoholics compensate with prodigious smoking or coffee drinking, or both, and don’t stand out quite as much in social situations as Mormons do.

re #77 The point – getting too caught up in the detail of the ‘law’ might cause one to miss the principle behind it.

But that’s just the point of this entire conversation. I’ve heard at least 4, probably more, “principles” run up as the reason behind the WoW. And, oddly enough, despite a history of calling it this, none of the reasons seems centered on health.

But it’s all speculation. You don’t actually know the principle behind the WoW, none of us does. We’re all inventing the principle behind it, just like church leaders invented reasons for the priesthood ban. We’re spinning it to make it palatable, trying to shine it up. And when I say “it” I guess I mean the modern interpretation, not the original.